By Kyle Kearns
Graduating college, whether it is for a first time, second time or “…about time” is always an interesting experience. You find yourself making big decisions, for what feels like the first time in your life (although in reality it is not). Some people turn towards a job near home, some far from home. Some choose travel; others choose to hit the books again. For me, my decision was simple, I was going to be a part of RARE.
Starting back in September with the beginning of the RARE Program all the way up to the moment I wrote this, I’ve been given the chance to work on exciting and current projects that I couldn’t have imagined working on right out of school. Part of this is due to the nature of my placement. Coastal and Rural Oregon find a unique home in Tillamook, Oregon where I have been fortunate enough to have been placed for my service year.
Initially, getting acquainted with the ways of the town was tough. However, persistence has been my friend. Now I have been given lead over projects ranging from port master planning, to community meeting facilitation to gather local input on housing issues. The beauty of this is no one handed me these projects, I went after them and now I’ve been accepted as a part of the team. Having a local community entrust some their needs in a complete stranger is not easy, but that single action to me has been the thing that has given me the most satisfaction in the first few months of my service year.
Not only is working in Coastal/Rural Oregon an experience one won’t soon forget, but living there is just as unforgettable. Summing up the RARE experience into a simple list, really doesn’t do it justice. Explaining the personal and professional growth I’ve experienced simply in the first few months is like trying to explain brain surgery to a baby, it isn’t possible. However below are some key takeaways that I feel are comprehensive of the whole RARE Program, not just my placement.
- Proper professional and educational guidance: Unsure if you want to go back to school for a Master’s Degree? Take a year to think about it. RARE has enabled me to better prioritize my goals both personally and professionally putting me in a position where I feel I am making decisions, and not simply following a path.
- Incomparable professional experience: When graduating college, I looked at several entry-level jobs, that I already dreaded going to. RARE gives you the opportunity to lead on projects, something that many entry-level jobs didn’t offer for me.
- Unbelievable experiences: Remember that envy you had momentarily of your friend taking some crazy river trip in a country you can’t pronounce? Well, here in Oregon, you can take your fair share of river trips, cliff jumps, powder days and summits and take that envy and throw it out the window.
- Community Engagement: To truly understand what your professors were talking about for hours on end, you need to get your hands dirty with community members. Rural Oregon is no better place, as there is no shortage of stories to be heard and solutions to discover no matter the placement through RARE.
- Friendship: Wherever you come from, your RARE placement is not home. However, the RARE Program introduces you to a family, which has been rightfully named the RARE Family. You are never alone, no matter how hard the times get and you get to share the amazing experiences with some great new friends that decided to join the RARE Program the same time you did.
Again, simply putting my RARE experience into a list doesn’t do it justice. This time last year, I was unsure of what the future held for me. No decision felt right, and the pressure to come up with a decision only grow larger by the day. Coming to Tillamook through RARE has put everything into perspective for me. For me, serving in Tillamook has been a breath of fresh air. The confidence I’ve gained in myself can be attributed to my RARE experience so far. I plan to now take this confidence I’ve gained in Tillamook, and repay the community for what it has done for me in the first few months in my last few months.
Kyle Kearns
Kyle received his bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati. While working on his degree, Kyle worked as a Community Development A
ssistant in Salida, Colorado, where he worked as the main point of contact for residential and commercial permits, and produced maps and conceptual designs for several projects. He also worked as a Planning Department Intern in Troy, Ohio, where he updated GIS data, created a digital database of historic properties, and performed zoning reviews for various permits throughout the city. Though RARE AmeriCorps – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, Kyle hopes to gain a variety of experience to help better define his area of focus in planning. After his year with RARE, Kyle would like to obtain a master’s degree, and then later he’d like to be a lead planner on projects that are progressive, environmentally sound, and community-driven.