Wow – What a great first year it was for Energy Corps in Pennsylvania!
Pennsylvania Energy Corps members arrived in Wilkes-Barre, PA for their End of Service Training last week, which included; reflection activities, a group dinner at Thai Thai restaurant, a hike around the 7 Tubs Nature Area, a service activity providing disaster relief assistance for victims of the recent flooding and a tour of the Berwick Nuclear Power Plant, operated by PP&L, a supporter of the MT Energy Corps Program. The training also covered information on applying for jobs, resume writing, and using the Segal Education Award.
Of the 5 members ending their AmeriCorps years, 2 will be going on to full time employment with their Host Site, 1 is going to Grad School (in Sustainability), 1 is going to Cambodia to teach english, and 1 is going on a North-American Concert Tour!
Here is what some of the members had to say about their service year;
“I learned to become a better public speaker, and to speak on energy conservation, efficiency and weatherization with knowledge” – Dominick Grillo, Bucks County Opportunity Council
“I learned how to interact with the people we are trying to help, and to view things from their perspectives, which made me better able to help them” – Robert Abraham, The Commission on Economic Opportunity
“I received more education in working and speaking with people in this one year than I did all throughout college, it is amazing what you can learn from people with different backgrounds” – Aaron Slater, The Energy Coordinating Agency
All members agreed they learned how to be successful implementing and completing projects, new perspectives on poverty, and increased knowledge in the energy field. The also agreed that Energy Corps filled the need for them as they wanted to get into the green economy, but without prior experience were unable to find a job.
A big thank you to PP&L for the tour and The Commission on Economic Opportunity for the meeting space and allowing us to help with their Disaster Relief.
In closing members were asked to reflect on the following quote, by Albert Einstein;
“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
