I think it emblematic of my time at CAP that I write this reflection of my life after CAP hours after having dinner with one of my housemates who lives about an hour away. After 6-1/2 years, we can still pick up like we just came in from work days in the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky.
To say that choosing a major or post-college activity was tough for me would be a gross understatement. Despite my fondness for trying new things and venturing down multiple paths, I don’t think I’d have believed you if you’d told me I’d someday volunteer for a year in Appalachia after school prior to a trip out to WorkFest during my junior year of college. There were too many other attractive options: work for the government, go to grad school, spend a few years working for a non-profit, live in a beach town…
I’m happy to report that I’ve done all of those things since finishing my time with CAP. I’d hate to apply the “but for” test to this, but I will: “But for my experience at CAP, I’m not sure I’d have done any of those things.” We are (mercifully) not given the chance to know how things might have turned out had we done something different in our lives, but I find that when I look back at the decisions I’ve made since volunteering, influences of CAP and eastern Kentucky are woven throughout.
When I finished my year at CAP, there were people who said, “Oh, so now what are you doing after taking a year off?” My response was usually something to the effect of, “Well, now that my year ON is over…”
Stacie in "Big Blue," her mode of transportatin as a Family Advocacy volunteer
I was initially frustrated that people didn’t really understand that what I’d done out there was actual work (that was more fulfilling than many jobs you’ll find), but I now understand that, for many people, that kind of work is very foreign. It may have been shocking to them that, in the case of my first two jobs after CAP, my experience at CAP landed me an interview. I first worked as a campus minister at a medium-sized public university. Following that, I worked as a program director for a national non-profit focused on volunteer service.
I mentioned that influences from CAP and eastern Kentucky are woven throughout my post-service career history. That may be clear in the cases of campus ministry and working for a service-oriented non-profit. My friends worried that it would be a tougher sell when I applied for a masters degree in Urban Planning. On the contrary, those influences make perfect sense (and I’m grateful to the admissions committee who agreed with me!). While in Kentucky, I learned a lot about community, the importance of land and a sense of place, and about working with people – both those who were similar to me and folks who were – on the surface – pretty different.
In all of my work experience, these life lessons have been very important. So when I sit down with old friends from my days at CAP, I look back on an opportunity that opened various doors for me, eventually leading to where I (very happily) am now. In another 6 or 7 years, I hope to sit down again, and marvel at the doors that have continued to open.
Stacie West, CAP Volunteer '03-'04, lived in the Jackson Volunteer House and served in Family Advocacy. She's currently pursuing a Masters in Urban Planning and working on her "30 before 30" list.
