Vantaggi
I worked for Visions in two very distinct but equally amazing locations on the Blackfeet Reservation just outside of Glacier National Park and along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi. My entire experience, from onboarding and training to the program itself to post program wrap-up was as fulfilling as it was fun and engaging. I felt very supported by leadership back at headquarters and my fellow staffers on site as we navigated through a summer of enriching, but at times difficult, situations and relationships. I left my first summer with Visions a changed person, as the mission it strives to achieve with its students was implanted in my heart. I altered my career path to more service oriented jobs and returned two summers later to work with Visions again! Unforgettable bonds and memories were created with the students and my coworkers, and some even turned into deep, life-long friendships. Leading students on the adventure piece is certainly very fun and indelible, but it was really the relationships with community members cemented through service I think back on the most. It’s such an incredibly unique opportunity to spend a summer truly immersed in a culture - working alongside them, eating with them in their homes, laughing together and dreaming together. The relationships with the community members, students and staff members is the backbone for a working experience that’s transformational, not transactional. Be careful, if you do it once, you may end up doing it over and over again!
Svantaggi
There are a lot of variables when working in an environment like this that can present challenges - the students come in from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, working in a swamp can be a bit hot and muggy, as a Director you may need to spend a part of your day off checking in on something. But like all challenges there are many more opportunities to mitigate the risk of these challenges by being aware of them, building healthy, positive relationships and proactively addressing potential issues when possible. This is indeed a full full-time job, so it behooves you to know that it will require selflessness and intentionality, but with that can come a very rewarding experience that’s hard to replicate in workin’-for-the-man work.