Skye Cronje: End of the Year Reflection
A Year of Personal and Professional Growth and Development
I became inspired to join AmeriCorps after being connected to the program through my professional experiences during my undergrad at Stetson University. I first learned about the program after hearing stories from former AmeriCorps members when I interned at Hope CommUnity Center in 2021. The members emphasized how serving with AmeriCorps changed their lives and how they found a sense of belonging throughout their service. Galvanized by their stories, I realized how impactful it would be to take a gap year and serve with AmeriCorps after college. After graduating from Stetson University in 2023, I applied to the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers AmeriCorps program in Apopka and was placed at St. Andrew Catholic School.
As an NDMVA member at St. Andrew Catholic School, I served as an instructional assistant for K-8 students. I worked with students one-on-one and in small groups and provided them academic and social emotional support. Not only was I involved with the school during the school day, but also after school and during special functions. On Mondays, I volunteered with CreativeU - an afterschool art program that incorporates visual and performing arts to explore social issues, identity, and empowerment. In CreativeU, I offered social emotional support to students exploring their identity through art. CreativeU was my favorite part about serving at St. Andrew Catholic School because not only did I offer positive encouragement, but I also got to express myself and my creativity to model to other students.
My experience at St. Andrew Catholic school allowed me to learn about my strengths and weaknesses. I utilized my skills and strengths in working with diverse backgrounds, bringing positive energy, and empowering youth. However, I faced many challenges throughout my service. One issue was that I tried to be a perfectionist and I tended to get stressed out even over the smallest of things. At one point, I got so stressed that students and staff were worried about me. Fortunately, the principal, AmeriCorps staff, and I met and discussed how to manage stressful situations and setting healthy boundaries. The principal, the AmeriCorps Apopka site manager, and I planned weekly check-in meetings to discuss enjoyable and stressful moments, as well as future plans and aspirations. Needless to say, my mental health showed drastic improvement after setting these boundaries and meeting weekly. I finished the rest of the school year on a positive note with memorable moments etched into my mind.
If I could describe my service year, I would describe it as a year of personal and professional growth and development. My service experience at St. Andrew Catholic School was lifechanging, and I learned so much about other people and even myself. Networking opportunities, practicing many languages [Spanish, Haitian Creole, etc.], and relationship building opened up as a result of my service. I built and strengthened meaningful connections with the students and many staff members. I also learned how to work with staff that have different personalities, where we did not always agree on the same concepts. Although it was stressful, I managed to pull through this major obstacle. In the future, I will have to learn to work with different personalities and individuals that do not necessarily agree with my values. Overall, the staff - even those that I did not have a strong relationship with - appreciated my service, and I felt a sense of gratitude and motivation to finish the service year strong.
Words cannot describe my gratitude towards committing to a service year with AmeriCorps. I learned so much about other people, the community I worked in, and even myself. I demonstrated major improvement in leadership, communication, and most importantly, self-advocacy. My experience taught me how to advocate for myself regarding boundaries, any obstacles I faced, and even enjoyable moments. In the fall, I will be attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota to study Human Rights in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. I am so ecstatic about this new chapter of my life, and I look forward to utilizing what I learned throughout my service year to rock it in graduate school and my future life.
