News : AmeriCorps member Brittney Green shares reflections during Graduation

Brittney Green shares her reflections on the past year at AmeriCorps graduation.

The members of AmeriCorps NCCC Class 16 (Oak and Cedar units) officially completed their service at the campus in Vinton with Thursday's graduation.

Several speakers shared insights with the graduates during the ceremony.

One of the highlights was the following speech by Brittney Green, one of the AmeriCorps members who spent the past nine months based in Vinton:

By Brittney Green, AmeriCorps

A warm welcome to everyone this morning: friends, parents, NCCC staff from near and far, alumni, honored guests, and most of all, Class 16.

Once upon a time…on a bus coming from the airport…. passing a corn field not so far from here… we started our journey. We never knew what was going to happen, and that never really changed throughout the past 10 months.

What we knew, though, was that we had about 160 people who were going the same way we were.

I am going to ask for a bit of audience participation now. This does not include just Class 16. Parents, friends, guests, and staff, please participate as well.

Matti Graves, please stand. Now Matti and I were in the same group together. We became fast friends, even though were are different in so many ways. Matti has touched my life and had so many positive impacts on me, even though we have only spent what has amounted to a little over 2 months in the same place. I would like everyone who considers Matti to have had a positive impact on their lives to stand. Now I would like everyone to look around, if you see someone standing who has had a positive impact on your life, please stand as well.

Everyone please sit now.

Everyone in this auditorium has been impacted in a positive way by one another.

Now think about every single place we have been. Every sponsor, every organization, every community that we have touched in the past 10 months can now take those positive impacts and pass on the story.

It is amazing to think of how many people we have touched, and truthfully, we will never know. What we do know, is that in our small community of AmeriCorps NCCC, we have accomplished things that others outside of our community could never imagine.

Now there have been specific instances of life on campus and out on spikes. Little snapshots if you will. Things we have learned, discovered, been frustrated with, been happy with, and that have changed us all in small but significant degrees…

So, how late is Fareway open on Sunday?

How much pasta can you buy for 4.50 a day?

AmerOlympics wasn’t rigged, but the teams were a bit stacked.

The tunnels only smell bad when you breathe while walking through them.

5:30 PT? Yeah! THANKS ROB!

A kitchen is still useful without a stove. Cooking for 10 people takes 10 times as long as cooking for 1.

Sharing your stove with another team can be more than a little challenge.

Why are all the uniforms in male sizes, Tom?

Sledding is not only for kids.

Gator!!! Eat it even if you don’t know what IT is.

We can only bring the red bag?

But you can’t fit ANYTHING in that bag.

Be who you really are.

If you don’t clean, the bugs will come.

Work hard.

Whistle while you work.

Work harder.

Drink lots of water while you work.

Be yourself.

I hate my boots!

Never let them get you down.

Dog pile your team leader; it’s fun.

Your attitude affects everyone around you.

Just say NO to Drugs, Underaged drinking, and TeamCest!

Americrush!

Make yourself a positive experience.

Fight.

Water fight.

Fight for what you believe is right.

Food fight.

Fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.

Fight the seatbelt winding its way around your neck.

Fight for the right to live without judgment.

No 15 P’s in parking garages!

Fight for the big things that can change the world.

Don’t fight with your team.

Fight for the little things that make everyday life better.

Eat desert before dinner.

Garbage disposals are people too, thanks Niko!

Make your own decisions.

Storing? Staying? Moving? Nope…No one knows where I am living either.

Listen to your heart and your mind. They will never agree, but make them compromise.

Yes there are pictures of you sleeping in the van and drooling on the window.

Never apologize for being who you are.

Don’t eat squirrel in front of other squirrels; it makes them sad.

Don’t intentionally hurt others.

Laundry is only optional until your teammates tell you you’re smelling up the van.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Ride IN the van, not on top of it.

Take responsibility for the reactions you cause in others.

Sometimes it IS gunshots you hear; welcome to Michigan.

Never know anything, but have strong ideas.

Never beat a dead horse, it gets mushy after awhile, not to mention pointless.

Griff got peed on by a tiger.

Appreciate the things you have before you lose them, not after.

Expiration dates are irrelevant if it still smells ok.

Man, you can fit EVERYTHING in that red bag.

Take every single opportunity that comes at you.

I love my boots!

You can sleep when you’re dead.

Always think of the consequences before you start the actions.

Listen to music that makes you happy, even if it has to be with your headphones on because no one else likes it.

Be sincere.

Try brussel sprouts, they really aren’t that bad.

Class 16A???

Make your own decisions.

How do you cook for 1 person again?

Never sleep next to a door that everyone uses.

Put the team before yourself.

Dark chocolate can be a life-saver.

Never say “it’s ok” when it isn’t.

Singing in the shower is a privilege, not a right. So is spandex.

Recognize the strengths in yourself more than the weaknesses in others.

Never forget that once upon a time… you impacted thousands of people in the course of only a year and never forget that that doesn’t have to change.

It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve with everyone here. Thank you.