Serve Alum Paul Gregory Attributes Success in New Position to Experience in VISTA

Paul Gregory helping out at a service
project for AmeriCorps Week during his
term as a VISTA member

Serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member has helped me discover what I am passionate about.  I love to work with people and more importantly changing and improving people’s lives.  I have had the pleasure of doing both of these during my AmeriCorps VISTA experience and now in my current role with the American Cancer Society.  I discovered so many strengths, talents, and learned new skills which have contributed to the growing success in my life.  Although I am in a completely different field, I am still able to apply everything that I learned to help alleviate poverty in my community.

I now work for the American Cancer Society as a Community Relations Manager, and part of my mission is to educate the public on the free programs and services which the ACS provides.  There are so many people out there who are being affected by poverty and do not know about our services or what we do. Thank you AmeriCorps VISTA for helping me find new ways of alleviating poverty.

Throughout my year of service I had the opportunity to work with high school students, college students, young adults, and retirees.  In my new role I work closely with these populations, especially retirees and high school students.  My job is to recruit volunteers to be on a volunteer committee which organizes the largest movement in the world, Relay For Life. I am doing very well with my new job, thanks to my experience doing outreach with Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. During my first month at the American Cancer Society, I was Community Relations Manager of the Month. I am able to excel in all my strengths working for the American Cancer Society.

 I would not be where I am today had I not had the opportunity of being an AmeriCorps VISTA for Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. With the assistance of Debbie Marks, my supervisor at Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Ben Olsen, the Program Coordinator at Serve Yavapai, I was able to build upon my strengths, discover hidden talents, and find ways to improve upon my weaknesses.  Thank you AmeriCorps VISTA for allowing me to discover what it is that I find most rewarding.

Best wishes,

Paul Gregory