One year as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat turned into a life of public service

As I enter my seventh year in the civil service, I reflect on how serving in the AmeriCorps program with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity led me to a career as a public servant.

In 1999, Habitat’s AmeriCorps program gave me my first real life experience after college. I had volunteered with developmentally disabled adults while in school, and learned that our country is full of people with a great deal of potential, many of whom need just a little help to realize that potential. Studying abroad taught me about the transformative social power of government programs like the Peace Corps, how a very dedicated group of citizens can use a very small amount of money to improve a great many lives. I knew that there are also many Americans who need just a little help, and I wanted to live these lessons as a professional, here at home. That’s why I joined AmeriCorps and served with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity in Minnesota.

Serving in AmeriCorps with Twin Cities Habitat was difficult and rewarding. Difficult because we received very little financial compensation (just enough to pay the rent, put gas in the car, and cover the grocery bills) while serving long, physically draining hours in Minnesota’s cold winters and hot summers. Rewarding because every day I had the opportunity to help fellow Americans live their dreams and help our country. Families who build and own their own homes value and maintain them. Because they value their homes, they value their neighborhoods, and have a stake in their communities. This makes America stronger.

As an AmeriCorps member with Habitat, I came to believe strongly in sacrifice and hard work toward a just end. This belief propelled me into a career in public service. After AmeriCorps, I taught in an elementary school and worked for several public interest organizations. I am now an analyst working on national security issues for the U.S. Congress.

Chris Turner, Twin Cities Habitat AmeriCorps Member 1999-2000