Yesterday evening, VISTA Dominique and I drove up to Flandreau, South Dakota to listen to Brigadier General Donald L. Scott speak about being the founder and first director of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).
The 90-mile round trip was definitely worth it. When we sat down in the auditorium of Flandreau Indian School, we noticed a whole team of AmeriCorps NCCC. Cool! We talked with various core members and the team leader, Rachel, about their Custer project and the differences between NCCC and VISTA.
Shortly after, four of the students presented the flags and Adrienne introduced General Scott.
General Scott began the event by telling us a little bit more about himself. He spoke about his youth, military career, AmeriCorps NCCC founding and his work at the U.S. Library of Congress.
He incorporated the Native American medicine wheel, encouraging us to consider using the wheel to keep us balanced. The wheel involves being balanced physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Another strong point in General Scott's speech was encouraging us to be "positive warriors." These warriors always look past prejudices to see the best qualities in others and supporting them in their pursuits. General Scott mentioned several "positive" warriors that pushed him to step outside of his comfort zone towards success.
General Scott was an honored guest at the kick off event for the AmeriCorps NCCC team on campus at Flandreau Indian School. The NCCC Cedar 5 team, stationed out of Iowa, will be serving at the school until April 22. Projects may include tutoring, development and implementation of a recycling program, grounds clean up and maintenance, and participating in after school activities with the students.
Learn more about:
AmeriCorps NCCC | Flandreau Indian School | City of Flandreau
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1 comment:
I'm glad both of you had a chance to visit. Too bad it wasn't on a weekend; otherwise, I would have made the trip. So, thanks for the report!
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