What was thought to be a short term job with AmeriCorps right out of school turned into a career helping communities in Michigan flourish. As AmeriCorps celebrates its 20th year, Tahirih Ziegler, executive director of Detroit LISC and one of the first AmeriCorps members, reflects on how that experience influenced her career, which now involves helping in Detroit's recovery.
How AmeriCorps Helped Shape My Career
As President Obama swears in the one-millionth AmeriCorps member and celebrates the program’s 20th year, I can’t help but reflect on my own experience as one of the first to serve in this initiative. Being an AmeriCorps member helped open my eyes to opportunities in the non-profit sector and provided shape to my current role as the executive director for LISC Detroit.
As a young college graduate with a degree in construction management, a number of for-profit companies, along with Albion College, offered me project management opportunities. But I took an AmeriCorps position in Lansing, Michigan so I could give back to my community before beginning my career. Little did I know that AmeriCorps experience would become the foundation of my career.
Through my AmeriCorps service and with the guidance of a wonderful mentor I realized that making an impact in my community interested me much more than just working on another building project. AmeriCorps led me to a position with the Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Service, where I continued to learn about affordable housing development and how community development affects change. And I continued to meet people who would guide me through my career and deepen my commitment to the field.
After a short stint as a consultant, my desire to return to community-oriented work led me to LISC, first as a program officer, then as executive director for LISC Michigan statewide, and ultimately to my current role as executive director for LISC Detroit.
AmeriCorps first introduced me to the world of community development. And now, the positive neighborhood changes I see every day working alongside local community development corporations and residents are far more satisfying to me than just a paycheck or a more traditional career path.
Revitalized affordable housing not only benefits the families that live in these homes, but the larger community as well. Once people begin to take pride in where they live, that self-respect spreads to other areas of their lives, inspiring them to connect with their neighbors and recommit to making their own community a great place to live.
AmeriCorps is just as vital to our country now as it was 20 years ago. When the legislation was signed into law in 1993 and members got to work improving lives and neighborhoods, most people were not aware of what community development was or how it could possibly matter to them.
Twenty years later, there is still so much to do, but the word is out—AmeriCorps is getting things done. All across the country, national service is seen as solution and a cost-effective resource to accomplish local community goals.
I am excited for the LISC AmeriCorps program in Detroit, and to mentor the next generation of people committed to their communities. The city has suffered tremendously and is in the beginning stages of redevelopment. These new AmeriCorps members have the chance to watch their hard work help to rebuild and shape our great city as it moves forward.