Back in the IE

November Great Story by Mairany Anaya, 2018-19 Inland Empire Climate Fellow Recently, a co-worker and I were having a conversation about what we wanted to be when we were growing up. When it was my turn to answer the question, I replied with “I wanted to be a chef in the 6th grade for reasons…

November Great Story

November Great Story by Sarah Risher, 2018-19 Sacramento and Sierra Climate Fellow It started raining as we drove into Paradise. In place of traffic lights and stop signs, National Guards directed the vehicles coming in and out of the incinerated town. The roads were lined with crews tagging and removing trees that posed any risk…

Passing on the Torch of Environmental Justice

October Great Story by Edgar Barraza, 2018-19 Bay Area Climate Fellow I would like to first thank Oceane and Elizabeth for the car ride to Bart and giving me the empowerment to write this great story. This great story is something you might not expect as its draws its empowerment from systemic oppression, drawing its…

October Story

October Great Story by Micah Houston, 2018-19 Central Inland Opportunity Access Fellow When I got the unlikely email in October that I had passed the screening phase of the United Nations Young Professional Program and had been convoked to take the first written exam, I was thrilled! This is a program which is only open…

CivicSpark October Alumni Story

Alumni Story by Elena Guevara, 2016-17 CivicSpark Alum, Southern California Region The last two years — the time during my fellowship and after entering the “real world” — have taught me so much about myself (both personally and professionally) and about my career path of choice. My CivicSpark placement was my first “real job” after…

Be the Expert you Want to See in the World

September Great Story by Peter Brown, 2018-19 Sacramento and Sierra Opportunity Access Fellow Having spent most of my time doing research, I’ve often found it difficult to track my progress. After all, how can you measure how much you know? Well, so far, I’ve found that the best way to measure that kind of progress…

Escaping Existential Dread with a Leap of Faith

September Great Story by Angeline Foshay, 2018-19 Central Coast Climate Fellow It’s hard to know where to start when writing about an experience that’s been so transformative in such a short amount of time. Just two months ago, I was staring at my computer screen at my stable nonprofit job with decent pay, thinking to…

Water Governance: Empowerment Amidst Complexity

September Great Story by Marisa Perez-Reyes, 2018-19 Inland Empire Water Fellow Although I wrote that I believed “the resource challenges of today [would] require that we adopt adaptive, interconnected, and empathy-infused models of governance” in my CivicSpark application essay, I’m not sure that I knew what that meant at the time. I knew little about…

Letter to Self

July Great Story by Sarah Huang, 2017-18 Greater Los Angeles Climate Fellow The feeling that tend to come with the end of anything are often bittersweet. It felt strangely nostalgic being back in the same hostel in Sacramento both for orientation and graduation. The people who were all once strangers almost a month ago are…

Oh the Places You’ll Go!

July Great Story by Savannah Rose, 2017-18 Greater Los Angeles Climate Fellow This service year is wrapping up to a close and with a new chapter ready to begin. This year has gone far beyond my expectations of what an AmeriCorps position could provide. My past supervisor at my University told me that she loved…
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