Things we wish we knew. Ideas we didn’t think of. Ways to make your experience at Mile High Youth Corps even better than ours.
Here are some tips from current ACLCs for future ACLCs:
Money! Money! Money!
One of the biggest challenges of doing a year of service is taking a major pay cut and learning how to live happily on a stipend.
- Once you know exactly how much money you’ll be receiving every month, create a budget. Subtract all of your monthly expenses (rent, phone bill, utilities, etc) and figure out how much disposable income you have. USE THIS MONEY WISELY, perhaps creating a weekly allowance or saving up for one special event like a concert or play.
- Look into Food Stamp Benefits. Many of us did this and received benefits of $200 a month, which helped immensely.
- It’s hard to think of tacking on another job after an already exhausting and full week, but for some of us, having a second job on the weekends or evenings helped keep our finances in order and allowed us to do more extracurricular activities.
- If applicable, defer student loans. Staff at MHYC will be happy to discuss your options and help you with this.
- Be thrifty. Denver offers a colorful array of second-hand stores where you can furnish your apartment and wardrobe cheaply and with style. Also check out websites like Craigslist.com and peruse their free section. One of us got an amazing bed and frame free of charge!
Love Your City
Take advantage of the mile high city. Taking an interest in and being apart of your community makes you feel more invested in the people and places around you and will make it even easier than it already is to love Denver.
- Before settling on an apartment, research the different neighborhoods in Denver and find which one suites you and your needs best. Consider the surrounding area of a neighborhood: Is it close to downtown? Museums? Concert Venues? Bus lines? (Check out Steve Lynch’s blog “Life on Colfax” for his experience in Denver)
- If possible, get a bike. Denver is not that big and very bike friendly. There are paths in and around the city and biking can be faster than public transportation and a great way to get exercise.
- The museums are free the first Saturday of the month and there is an Art Walk on Santa Fe Drive.the first Friday of the month. Go, walk around, see some art and enjoy it all… for free
- Denver is really close to the mountains. If you have a car or know someone who does, get up there! Go on a hike. Take in the scenery. Mountain Bike. Go skiing or snowboarding. See a show or movie at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Love Your Job
Mile High Youth Corps is a great place to work, so go above and beyond!
- Get to know staff. They are here for you and are very helpful. Of course, they’re busy too, so be sure to take opportunities to talk with them, network and help out.
- Take advantage of all opportunities presented to you. Learn to chainsaw. Take on leadership roles. You may get the chance to work with the Water Crew for a day or go out on site with the Youth Build program. Not only will you find yourself doing things you never thought you would (installing toilets for example) but you’ll also have even more to add to your resume when your year of service is finished.
- Take ownership of your experience here, don’t wait around for things to happen to you, make things happen!
Planning For the Future
Now that fall has arrived and “Job Readiness Training” is in full swing for us ACLCs, we are all scrambling for our next job. Be prepared for this and plan, plan, plan!
- Since so many of us need more experience, internships now look truly appealing. But so many of them are unpaid or only part-time. The hassle of two jobs may not be fun, but if you want to hit the ground running after December consider doing one of those part-time internships someplace interesting and in the field you may eventually want to work. Downtown Aquarium. The Senator’s Office. Department of Environmental Conservation. It may just give you that edge up in the job market!
- It’s difficult enough to live on a stipend let alone save, but consider opening a savings account and putting something manageable in it each pay check, fifteen or twenty dollars for example. This way you’ll have a little money when the program is complete to tide you over until you get a new job.
- Be sure to keep track of all the fun and exciting things you’re doing and learning at MHYC so you’ll be able to whip up a shiny, new and very impressive resume. When it’s all said and done you don’t want to forget anything
- I have to make up hours for that??! By the end of your stint at MHYC you will have completed 1700 hours of service. In the course of ten months, this is very possible but remember to plan ahead. If you have to go out of town for a family reunion or wedding or you come down with the flu, you have to make up all of those hours missed by doing Independent Service Hours (ISP). And when it comes to ISP, it’s an almost perfect certainty you will need some. From this past year, it has been proven that you might very well need a whole lot. So 1) Start early. A lot of the best volunteer opportunities (The zoo, for example) require training or a time commitment of some sort, just to show you’re dedicated to helping the cause. It will also lend you peace of mind to know you have a place to go to get hours. 2) Don’t hesitate to seek out something you love for those hours, and try not to flinch if they require time or even a little money. Hours made up doing something you can at least enjoy, respect or write down on your resume are by far better than hours you forced yourself to do in Logistic Support some sunny afternoon. Lastly: look, look, look!! Interested in teaching? Look for a great tutoring opportunity. Want to do some more trail work? Dedicate some weekends to Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, there are some fun people and fun work projects! The hours are out there, sometimes in the most bizarre places. Don’t give up, and just grit your teeth about needing those hours.
