My name is Preeti Kamat and I take pride in my service as a Magee Middle school and Leman Academy education coordinator. As I am nearing the end of my service, I feel good to share that my organization was able to achieve the goal of helping children recover from the learning loss that occurred because of COVID-19.
While I am writing about “champions of change” for this blog, I would like to share that I am pursuing my Doctor of Education in Health Professions from A. T. Still University. In one of the classes that I took, we were working with our instructor trying to understand the real meaning behind these magical words “champions of change” for that week. I went on to associate my learning with everything that surrounded me to find the real meaning behind the words “champions of change.”
So as per the readings, I accumulated the following information. Champions of change are those individuals who volunteer their time to make communities better. They are also selected within organizations to create a change for the betterment of a community, or others who are working on a project that’s dedicated towards making a change. These are the individuals who are believed to have a vision and further advocate to bring in change. They are driven by energy to follow their passion for service in making communities better.
And then I found a YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX5aRzXUzJo
This video made me realize that a person who performs the appropriate actions to help others is the real champion.
For my term as an AmeriCorps State member, the real champions of change are Sarah Haber, who valued and trusted me with an opportunity to be a part of Arizona Serve; Elaine McPherson, who motivated me to enroll in the Civic Leadership Training that increased my knowledge base to serve well for the Seeds Community Center (my service organization); Christe LePeau, who coaches me and brings out the best of me to serve each day better than it was the day before ; Red Jessup, who trained me to use the best practices and evidence in programs that we serve; Allison Doty, who supported me in my term; and Gianni Bisio who respected my work and encouraged me to share my service with others. This was my universe for this term that I served – my real champions that helped me to bring a change!!! Someday, I wish to be like them.
What About You?
Looking to join a dedicated team after high school or college? Or during school, like Preeti? Need professional or personal direction? Or are you trying to figure out what to do after retirement? Serving as an AmeriCorps member through Arizona Serve may be the right thing for you!
Or do you want to grow your non-profit or public entity? Do you need help with accessing or developing community development resources? Hosting an member supported by the dedicated staff of Arizona Serve member, like Seeds Community Center, may be the right start for you!