By Ryan Pernell, Outreach Coordinator, A Greater Applegate
If you’re like me, you may be a person who feels uncomfortable when forced to question what you think you know, especially when it comes to matters of the self. When applying for a position in RARE I knew that the job would come with a certain level of discomfort. Moving away from family and friends, adapting to rural living, using the skills learned in college in a real world setting for the first time, all very, shall we say, uncomfy things. I did not, however, expect this experience to transform what I thought I wanted in life into what I now know I needed, and realizing the comfort that comes along with this shift.
Upon applying for RARE I had it in my mind that the best and easiest way for me to have a fulfilling career that would pay well and keep me occupied until retirement was to aim for a job in local government. So when asked to rank the organizations that I had interviewed with in order of most to least interested in I placed A Greater Applegate, the nonprofit that I was eventually placed with, as 4 out of 5, despite having a great interview with the folks that worked there. I did this purely on the basis that they were not a governmental organization while all the others I had interviewed with were. So you could imagine my upset when I was told that I was being placed with my second to last choice. But I was committed to doing whatever job I was offered and I am so grateful I did because my life is all the much better for it.
Within the first few weeks on the job I began to get the sense that I had been placed right where I needed to be. I was surrounded by hardworking people who were proud of their work and happy to be doing it, despite the many challenges a small, rural-based nonprofit faces. I saw that interactions with the community were more positive and trusting than experiences I had had in the past working under a government entity. But most importantly I began to see the difference between wants and needs within a community setting and the role nonprofit organizations play in realizing both.
Every community has needs, this will always be true. Generally, it is the job of the local government to provide these needs. The Applegate Valley, where I live and work, has nearly 20,000 residents and is entirely unincorporated. Because of this I came into the position with the belief that A Greater Applegate would be serving as a quasi-governmental organization that aimed to meet needs within the Valley, which we do to a certain extent. Yet I was surprised to find out through various engagements with community groups is that A Greater Applegate is primarily an organization that helps procure community wants. And as it turns out, satisfying wants is a very close second to securing needs when it comes to “community building”.
Upon making this realization I found that not only was I exactly where I needed to be, this was truly where I wanted to be as well. Rural living is simple and the people here like it that way. Fortunately this is a place where the basic needs—water, food and shelter—are generally met. So the work I have been able to engage with has been community driven passion projects. What we heard is the community wants a local branding campaign to proudly identify products that are uniquely Applegate, people want community convening centers where social connections can be fostered or local businesses can operate, and people want to protect the sanctity of the Valley that they have cherished for generations. As a nonprofit community building organization we here at A Greater Applegate get the pleasure of helping people make the community what they want it to be.
It has been exciting and humbling to have the opportunity to do this work. I didn’t know when I started this journey that what I needed was to have the ability to help a community achieve what they want. Working in the nonprofit sector has allowed me to be able to help a community move from one that merely exists to one that is self-inspired and thriving. My new intention for life after RARE is to get a graduate degree in nonprofit administration and to continue to do work that speaks to my heart. RARE did not provide me with what I wanted but it certainly gave me the direction I needed!
About the author, Ryan Pernell: Ryan graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development and a Minor in Disaster Risk Reduction. Ryan enjoys the intersection between community development, health and safety, and environmental sustainability. Ryan looks forward to bringing her experience working in rural communities to the nonprofit sector and engaging with individuals who care deeply about the place they live.
Does community development work interest you? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program via our website: https://rare.uoregon.edu/application-process/member-application-process