After spending the summer of 2008 building trails as part of Mile High Youth Corps Summer of Service Program, Corpsmember Darcie McDougall doubted she'd ever find such enjoyable employment. "I loved that my job allowed me to work outside and participate in such meaningful projects." It was that passion for helping others that drew Darcie back for a second MHYC term, this fall working on a land conservation crew focusing on sawyer work and fire mitigation.
What attracted you to MHYC?
I plan to work outdoors in my career someday and MHYC offered valuable experience towards that goal.
What crew are you on now? I'm currently with a seasonal land conservation crew. We focus on sawyer work, including invasive species removal, habitat restoration, tree planting, native landscaping, invasive weeds mitigation and fire fuels mitigation.
What's the most rewarding part of your job?
The people I work with. Spending nine and a half hours a day with your fellow Corpsmembers gives you a lot of time to get to know and appreciate them.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is the physical aspect of it. I feel it's different than other labor-intensive jobs though because at the end of the day you know that your hard work went toward something good.
How is working at MHYC different than other jobs you've held?MHYC really cares about its staff and Corpsmembers. The organization's main goal is to give young people skills and experience so that we'll be better prepared to make it in the big world. It's pretty rare to find a job that will do that.
What are you plans after you leave the Corps?After my term is done, I'm going to school full time at Metropolitan State College of Denver, with help from my two AmeriCorps Education Awards. I'm working on a degree in Environmental Science and would like to focus on Ecological Restoration.
