Hey everyone, my name is Tim Fasano and I am an AmeriCorps member living in the McCreary community and serving in the Youth Worker position. I am from Long Island, New York and graduated this past May from the University of Dayton (UD).
During my senior year at UD I was discerning between a year of service and going directly to graduate school. For months I was going back and forth between these two options. I was very involved with service at UD, and heard time and time again about the benefits of a year of service, but I was not sure that was where God was calling me. Looking at different year of service programs, CAP had always been on the top of my list. This is primarily because of my experience with my school’s own program in Appalachia, the University of Dayton Summer Appalachia Program (UDSAP). This program allowed me to not only discover the beautiful town of Salyersville, KY and the incredible people there, but it also ignited a indelible passion for the people and region of Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky, something I believed CAP would be able to nourish and grow. As time went by I was leaning more and more towards going straight to graduate school. But then something happened that changed everything—I had my placement interview with CAP. This happened over Skype because of time constraints, but after my first interview with my future manager, Brinda Campbell, I knew this was it, and my mind was made up that if CAP would have me I would be there in August.
I am placed as the Youth Worker in McCreary county where I tutor first through fourth graders in math and reading at the local elementary and help run an afterschool program where kids and teens ages 5-17 can come, work on homework, play games, and simply be kids. Come the summer months and the end of school we will also run a summer day camp for local kids.
As a lover of people and someone with a passion for working with youth, I have found great joy in my short time here in McCreary County. My dream is to become a mental health counselor in Eastern Kentucky working with youth and families, so one could say that I am now just beginning to live that dream.
As a Volunteer Ambassador, Tim will be sharing more of his stories and experiences throughout the year. Check back often to hear from him again!
