Et cetera : NCCC Corps Class 21 Team Leader Spotlight: Ryan Van Winckle

Ryan Van Winckle from Queens, New York is serving on team Maple 5 in AmeriCorps NCCC Corps Class 21. He arrived in Vinton in January of 2015 to start her 11-month service term with the program. Maple 5 is made up of ten people from across the country who serve together around the Midwest.

Prior to joining AmeriCorps NCCC he made a living working many odd jobs throughout New York City after he graduated college from the University at Albany in May of 2013. After he worked with a temp agency and quickly began weekly or biweekly jobs such as a receptionist, telemarketer, and YMCA gym janitor. Ryan then moved to Florida for a month in late September of 2013 to help take care of his grandparents. During that time Ryan planned his move to Chicago to live with his aunt to work part-time for her wine importing company.

Ryan talks about his motivation for joining a second year, “Quite simply I fell in love with the program and the Midwest. The trials and tribulations of living with a team filled with diversity and the desire for growth fueled my need to return. I also had unfinished business to attend to, mainly the lack of a fire-project last year which I had the chance and completed round one this year at Hoosier National Forrest in Tell City Indiana!”

Maple 5 served on their first project in Tell City, Indiana with the Hoosier National Forest helping reduce hazardous fuel loads within 202,000 acres. This involved various tasks including the removal of non- native invasive species such as the Tree of Heaven and doing controlled burns to reduce fuel buildup and lessen the potential for major forest fires.

On their second project in Columbus, Nebraska they served with Connect Columbus by conducting trail maintenance by installing trail trenches and clearing overgrown vegetation around the retreat center. They finished homes for low income families by installing siding and painting the interior and exterior. In addition, the team built garden boxes and painted concrete window sills for the local housing authority. Finally, members tutored children who are learning English as a second language and educated seniors on media literacy.

They are currently on their third project with the Coggon Area Betterment Association restoring the local opera house, an abandoned Coggon school building, and a historical building that houses artifacts and documents. In addition, members are scanning and archiving documents, landscaping, deep cleaning, and remodeling the community and church kitchen. Finally, the team is moving and relocating storage items, and creating barn quilt panels.

Ryan reflects on his past two years in NCCC by saying, “I never thought I would actually make it to AmeriCorps NCCC, not when I accepted, nor when I boarded the plane to Cedar Rapids, and many times I thought I would not make it through my years as a Corps Member. Yet somehow I did and I am all the more thankful for the friends, memories and experiences I made.”

Some fun facts about Ryan:

Q: What is your favorite TV show and why? Game of Thrones. After reading the first five books of “A Song of Ice and Fire” which is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin, I became addicted to the political and family driven world.

Q: What song best describes you? Gahhhhh I don’t have a song to describe me, I love all music!

Q: If you could have a superpower what would it be and why? The ability to fly, it would make all the future adventures I plan to make quicker a more cost efficient!

Q: What is the most challenging and/or exciting thing you have done? The most exciting thing I have ever done was visit Peru, where I went to Machu Pichhu and swam in the Amazon River.

Q: What is one thing you can’t live without? Back-packing across Europe by myself. I believe you never truly find yourself until you are in a place where no one knows you. The rich history and my mixed heritage make visiting Europe on the top of my bucket list.

Q: What is one thing you would like to try but have not had the chance? Back-packing across Europe by myself. I believe you never truly find yourself until you are in a place where no one knows you. The rich history and my mixed heritage make visiting Europe on the top of my bucket list.