How often I found where I should be going, only by setting out for somewhere else.
--Buckminster Fuller

I am the new Community Relations AmeriCorps*VISTA at Mission: St. Louis. As I was told, I was primarily hired to be the "writer" of the agency (I apologize for any mistakes that may follow!) My position also encompasses corporate, media, and foundation relations. I have only been at Mission: St. Louis for ten weeks, yet it seems like this is the perfect place for me at this point in my life. Even so, I was definitely surprised to find myself here!

At this time a year ago, I was beginning my final semester of college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison working towards majors in Anthropology/Archaeology and Classical Studies with Focuses in Latin and the History of Medicine. I planned to continue my education through the study human paleo-osteopathology. During my five years at college, I worked at a popular college bar and in the ArcheaoChem lab at UW where we processed archaeological human remains for isotope testing (in short, I cut, measured, weighed, and shipped human bones and teeth).

At this point, you are probably wondering what in the world brought me to my current position (ergo, the quote above).

As it turns out, much of my seemingly unrelated endeavors in college perfectly prepared me for my current position. Bartending taught me the ins and outs of building relationships with people and tackling challenging environments. It is interesting how handling customers at a bar lends itself to developing program resources!

The hundreds of hours I spent translating Latin medical texts and poetry led to an exceptional vocabulary and understanding of grammar. This obviously helps with the amount of writing and wordsmithing I do. Scores of research papers prepared me for the details and depth of grant proposals. The short time I spent participating in a sorority fostered my obsession with the perfected and handwritten thank you note.

As far as my job in the ArchaeoChem Lab, it's true, there aren't very many transferable skills from my physical tasks, but I was in charge of coordinating the shipping and receiving of testing materials all over the world. I was also responsible for updating and organizing a collection and database of more than 7,000 samples. The amount of coordination this required has helped me immensely at Mission: St. Louis and has put many stressful situations in perspective. This job also taught me the importance of even the smallest task. When working with the testing materials from research, even the smallest error or oversight on my part could change the test results, compromising decades of research. I understand that even the most minor task deserves my best effort because it is part of the foundation of a much bigger action that will not succeed without a solid base. Now when I spend an afternoon with the tedious task of stuffing envelopes, I can still understand its role in working towards our mission and how my actions, no matter how small, are making our community a better place for everyone!

I am thrilled that my varied college experiences helped prepare me so well for the everyday challenges I get to tackle here at Mission: St. Louis, but I truly believe that my time here will serve as one of my greatest learning periods and, in turn, prepare me for the rest of my life. The experiences I am gaining through the programming and relationships in this organization are invaluable. They have already changed my perspective on "service" and have given me the motivation to seek service through my talents for any future career I choose to pursue.