AmeriCorps NCCC Class 19 Corps Member Spotlight: Vincent Beyer

Vincent Beyer, from Bloomington, Ind., is a member of Oak 1 in NCCC’s Class 19. He arrived in Vinton on February 5, 2013, to start his 10-month service term on a team of people between the ages of 18 and 24. Oak 1 is made up of eight people from across the country, and they are serving together in a number of service projects across the North Central Region throughout their term.

“I chose to do a year of service with NCCC because I really enjoy doing a variety of things and I'm uncertain of what I want to do in the future,” Vincent said. “I think that by participating in AmeriCorps NCCC with the variety of service projects that it entails, I will be able to have a wide range of experiences that will give me a better idea of what I want to do, all the while meeting and working with new people to make the world a better place!”

Vincent brings several skills with him to NCCC, which help him be successful throughout his term with the program. “I grew up on collectively owned 300 acres of pristine Indiana forest,” he said, “where I learned a-lot about the outdoors and developed a fondness for working and being outside.” He also knows a lot about organic crop production and irrigation through working on an organic farm for his sister. Vincent has other skills in construction, bicycle mechanics, digital and manual photography, and has taught himself to play multiple instruments.

Prior to NCCC, Vincent was working part time at the local public library and had just finished acting in the play Rimers of Eldritch by Lanford Wilson. He completed one year at Ivy Tech Community College, and graduated from Bloomington High School South in 2012. After finishing the program, Vincent hopes to go back to school and transfer to a 4 year university, possibly Indiana University. He then wants to acquire a bachelor’s degree, perhaps with a minor in music or writing.

Vincent’s experience growing up in rural Indiana, on a place called May Creek Farm, made a significant impact on his values. “May Creek Farm was started by my parents and their friends got together and decided to buy a large parcel of land to build homes and raise families there. I have grown up surrounded by forest and trees and my neighbors. It's like having extended family growing up on the frontier, and while at times I may have been a little isolated from town and my friends at school, I also think that lead me to embrace unusual aspects of growing up the way I did. I feel that I have very strong sense of nature and community, and that's something that I wouldn't give up for the world!”

Oak 1 is currently serving from August 10 to September 26 with Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation in Caseville and Carp Lake, Mich. The team is assisting park staff in the supervision and leadership of “extended work projects” at Sleeper and Wilderness State Parks. The NCCC team and Summer Youth Employment Program participants are accomplishing their work details in the following areas: invasive species removal, trail maintenance, picnic table repair, painting projects, and installation of boundary signs, cutting and splitting of firewood.

Et cetera : AmeriCorps NCCC Class 19 Corps Member Spotlight: Vincent Beyer

Comments