On the Bright Side: Area grad puts college on hold to volunteer

On the Bright Side

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December 30, 2011

By Michelle Miller Staff writer The Daily Star Mon Jan 16, 2012, 11:07 AM EST

Helping others has become a family endeavor for the Pearlman family.

Cooperstown Central School graduate Molly Pearlman has been home for the holidays while between projects. The 2011 graduate began a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program, last month. She said her inspiration to participate in the program came from her father and brother.

"My dad volunteered in New Orleans with the Red Cross after the floods hit there," Pearlman said. "He came home and talked about how great it was and how he wished he did it right after high school before going to college."

Pearlman said his stories inspired her brother, Joshua, to sign up for AmeriCorps in 2009.

"I've known since the 10th grade that I would also do it," she said. "I am thankful for Joshua doing it and for my dad for bringing back the idea. The experience has been absolutely amazing."

Founded in 1994, AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential national service program that supports disaster relief, the environment, infrastructure improvement, energy conservation and urban and rural development.

Pearlman, daughter of David Pearlman and Nancy Potter of Cooperstown, arrived at AmeriCorps NCCC's Southwest Region Campus in Denver and began training in October. According to a media release from the NCCC, training emphasized teamwork, leadership development, communication, service learning and certification by the American Red Cross.

Pearlman said she is among 300 other young adults, ages 18-24, staying at Denver Heights Campus.

She said as a corps member, she will be responsible for completing what should be four long-term service projects. She said it could be more if her team is called upon to help during a disaster.

According to Pearlman, her campus consists of four units: Water, earth, sun and fire. She is part of the water unit. She said there are seven teams within a unit with about 10 people per team.

Pearlman just finished up her first service project in Boulder, Colo. She said her team worked with Open Space and Mountain Parks, an organization that preserves and protects the natural environment and land resources that characterize Boulder. According to its website, 45,000 acres of land has been preserved and protected.

It is an inspiring organization, said Pearlman, whose team assisted in building the Green Briar trail for a couple weeks.

"The good thing about the project was they did not tell us how to do it; they told us why we were doing it, which gave the project much more meaning," Pearlman said.

Pearlman said she and her fellow team members also got to travel into the heavily forested mountains to do fire mitigation. A bunch of trees were down, she said, so we helped with things like wood chipping and spreading out the brush so it would not be in big clumps and kill off vegetation.

Pearlman's team was also assigned to work in a large food bank for a week. She said she helped prepare thousands of pounds of food to be shipped off to other food banks.

"It was a really fulfilling month," Pearlman said.

Soon Pearlman will be off to Eudora, Ark., a poverty-stricken town of 2,000 in the southeast corner of the state, for her next assignment.

Pearlman said she and her fellow team members will be living in cabins and going to help out the teachers at the schools during the day and conducting their own classes in the afternoons. Some will be at the elementary, middle or high school, according to Pearlman. She will be at the elementary school.

Pearlman said the schools are facing program losses, specifically in the arts. She said she plans to teach some sort of sports class, a literature appreciation class and a tutoring class so students can get help with their homework.

"I really would like to find a way to get a bunch of copies of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to read. Maybe I will get some short stores and so forth," Pearlman said. "I am really excited to work with the kids, building trails was a good experience and fun, but working with kids is really what I love to do."

Pearlman said she was interested in studying journalism, law, international relations or government and politics before her experiences with the corps, but now she's unsure.

"I never thought I would like to teach, but this might change that," Pearlman said. "I also never though I would be building trails and enjoying it. I think the things I always thought I would want to do may be altered by this year."

Pearlman said she plans to attend Brandeis University and finds its social justice and social policy program "really interesting."

She said she is soaking up the experiences that are in front of her now.

"AmeriCorps is an amazing organization, and I can't say enough good things about it," she said. "They really teach you to respect and take care of your stuff and your life. They don't just throw you into a city and say good luck."

Pearlman said she has become homesick during her journeys but not for long, as everyone there is in the same situation and they lean on each other.

"It is like having my own little family there," she said. "I didn't think I could get so close to nine other people so fast. I feel like I have known them forever."

Pearlman said she would urge others to think about AmeriCorps as another option after high school.

AmeriCorps NCCC members complete at least 1,700 hours of service during the 10-month program. In exchange for their service, they receive $5,550 to help pay for college. According to the release, "other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, leadership development, team-building skills and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, they can indeed make a difference."

"I have learned so much about myself and who I want to be and who has always been inside of me," Pearlman said. "I've gained a lot of confidence through this and figuring out myself. AmeriCorps gives you a lot of time to think and reflect on things."

AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at www.americorps.gov/nccc.