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Kenny H. – Summer Associate at FareStart

Public service within the University is defined by deliverables. While working to serve communities, you also need to meet the demands of the quarter system. On a ten-week timeline, you must get to know the community, research the issues and potential solutions, and produce a deliverable in the form of a report or presentation, all while finding the time to provide on-the-ground service to address the unique challenges of your partner community. Whether or not the needs of the community can neatly fit into a “deliverable” comes second to the institutional requirements of the University.

My time serving as an AmeriCorps Summer Associate so far has shown me a different side to public service. No longer in the quarter system, and no longer requiring a deliverable, service leans more true to the needs of the community. My biggest goal for pursuing this opportunity with AmeriCorps is to get to know the people that I may one day serve as a lawyer—to know their names, stories, and hopes. AmeriCorps is bringing me closer to this goal as I get to spend more time outside, on the ground, and with the community, as opposed to at a desk writing a deliverable.

This summer, I am supporting the Food Security Program at FareStart. I’ve been able to visit many farms, partner with teams of volunteers, and process and distribute fresh produce to food banks. These experiences allowed me to intimately live the challenges agricultural workers face—even if just for small bits at a time.

Although I am only beginning my service, I can already imagine the many ways this summer of service will affect my future endeavors as a law student and eventual lawyer. I am hopeful that my time as an AmeriCorps Summer Associate will be a pivotal moment as I transition from service within the University to service as a lawyer.