By Sienna Fitzpatrick, Community Development Specialist, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council

I looked around the shop in Madras—a product of the Downtown Association I worked with—suddenly struck by the fact that I had no idea what I was doing. Again.

This shouldn’t have been a shock for me, since this isn’t my first time in the RARE program. My previous year, in legitimately rural southern Oregon, hadn’t been easy for a freshly graduated city dweller. In the tri-county region of Central Oregon, though, it was a whole new ball game. Since September 2019, I have been working out of the Bend office for the regional council of governments for Jefferson, Deschutes, and Crook counties, learning the many roles and functions of a neutral governmental body in this vast and diverse region. My department, Community and Economic Development, is hardly described by its title. The small team touches everything from hazard mitigation planning, downtown revitalization, entrepreneur service development, strategic planning, forestry management, recreation, water management, emergency planning support, grant writing across every field mentioned…the list goes on. But the Holy Grail of these services, the one function that the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council does the best and most is: facilitation.

Which brings me back to the Co-Op shop, surrounded by the powerhouse that is the Madras Downtown Association board of directors and their guests from the Warm Springs tribe, wondering what on earth I’m doing here. Facilitation, I thought as I fidgeted with the flipchart and markers, requires authority and assertiveness. It requires knowledge of the people in the room, context for the purpose of the meeting, and intuition for when to guide discussion and when to let it flow.

I felt my stomach begin to drop as the gravity of my inexperience became clearer, but then I caught myself. I can do this, I thought. It might not be pretty, but I can get through it.

And it sure wasn’t anything pretty or neat. But I wasn’t alone; every time my hesitation arose, or I couldn’t wrangle back the conversation, my supervisor piped up with an audible and pointed reminder that brought the group back. I muddled through my overly ambitious agenda, got enough information to take the next steps for the project, and tried to be proud of what I managed to do…which felt like the hardest part of the night.

Later that week I met with my supervisors for our regular check-in on my performance. I was not excited, especially after that difficult meeting. I couldn’t help but think, I can’t do the one thing that I need to be able to do for this job: facilitate a group.

But here’s the thing: RARE isn’t about getting it right on the first try. And as my wonderful supervisors pointed out, I tried something completely new almost entirely on my own, and I learned from it. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t go according to plan (few things do when it comes to important meetings) but I still got something out of it, and so did the Downtown Association. RARE is about trying, missing the mark, trying again, and learning at every step. Many of us in the program, like myself, are coming into these positions with little experience with real world jobs. We’re asked to get outside of our comfort zones every week, and all we can do in those moments is show up and rise to the occasion as best we can.

I didn’t nail that meeting. I probably won’t nail the next one either, but I won’t let that stop me, just like I didn’t let it stop me the first time. And I know from my first year of RARE that that attitude makes all the difference. Serving rural isn’t easy, but nobody signs up to move to the middle of nowhere thinking that it’ll be a breeze. We come to RARE to grow, to change, to improve the places we live, and to connect to ourselves and others in ways that push the boundaries on our perspectives. I am not the same person I was a year ago; I’m not even the same person I was in September, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

About the author, Sienna Fitzpatrick: Sienna spent last year in the RARE program serving Southern Oregon, and naturally fell in love with the beauty, opportunity, and challenges of this great state. In the last year, Sienna realized her passion for community building and decided to pursue a new project through RARE that would help her explore that career area, which lead her to Central Oregon. Sienna’s background is in environmental policy, science, Spanish, and extensive volunteer experiences, positioning her to see the big picture and the “story” behind every project she works on. In her free time, Sienna enjoys photography, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.

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 

By Sarah Birkle, Community Development Assistant, City of Cornelius

It began with the first meeting I was running. The Downtown Advisory Group in Cornelius consists of local business and organization leaders who have lived and worked in the city for years. As part of my service year, I am helping to find new strategies in order to help reorganize the group.

Organizing and planning the meetings was no problem. I created agendas, nameplates and documents to share and discuss. Feeling prepared, and satisfied with my organization prior to the meeting, I thought I would have no problems speaking in front of the group. However, as soon as I looked into the faces theses established business leaders who sat down one by one around the table; I lost all stream of consciousness. I was talking, but receiving blank stares; I was handing out papers, but couldn’t find the words to explain them.

In stand-up comedy terms – I bombed.

Half way through the meeting, my supervisor asked me a question to help steer the discussion into a better direction with the group. This direction helped immensely and I was thankful for the push. For the final 30 minutes, the group now somewhat re-energized, pushed through the awkwardness from before. The meeting ended with smiles and hand-shakes- but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I had made a complete fool of myself. After the meeting, my supervisor, spoke with me – he was not angry with me, but rather gave a motivational push.

He said, “Everyone here wants to support you- these people want to see you succeed- there is no need to feel intimidated.”

When he said this to me, I took a step back and was humbled. I realized that I had put so much pressure on myself- spent so much time overthinking, that I had lost my own personality in the process. He was right. Cornelius wants me to succeed- they see the potential for their community to grow and connect; and I am able to help provide support for their vision to come to life. Community Development, at its heart is about cultivating, sharing and hearing the stories of people from all sections of the city. These stories shape how a city can flourish and this process demonstrates how those ideas are important in shaping a city’s identity. Working in this field has allowed me to rediscover how important it is to voice your opinions because you never know how positive an influence this can be- opinions create change for the better.

Five months ago, I was struggling with many areas of my life both personally and with my job search. After graduating from university 4 years ago- I found myself lost and unsure that the field I studied was the right path. This paired with lost confidence in my abilities and quite honestly myself; I had become intimidated by authority, scared to speak my opinions and afraid to ask for help. However, after the push from that awkward first meeting, I am discovering tools to overcome the feeling of intimidation by others, to ask questions and not be afraid to ask for help.

I am finding my voice again.  I may not continue working in the amazing world of community development after my year of service- but what RARE has given – what this position in Cornelius has provided- is the push to go after the career I want- the journey is just beginning- and I am looking forward to giving direction of where I want to go.

About the author, Sarah Birkle: Sarah grew up in Saint Helens, Oregon and studied International and Intercultural Affairs at Portland State University. She has experience working in tourism, restaurants, teaching and coordinating programs. After seeing her hometown begin to revitalize, Sarah was inspired to be a part of positive change for rural communities and is excited about the growth which Cornelius has seen and will continue to develop. She hopes to learn more about the community, the residents and the great possibilities for the city in the next year. You can find her at your nearest coffee shop.

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