Mitzi Coles recently completed two service terms and is beginning her third term as an AmeriCorps member at the
Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), within their
Dan River Year AmeriCorps program, which is dedicated to addressing community needs in Southern Virginia. Dan River Year AmeriCorps members build capacity in the region, strengthen community involvement, and address pressing needs through their focus on building the region’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and literacy capacity.
When Mitzi first joined the Dan River Year AmeriCorps program, it was a big adjustment. She recalls, “My first AmeriCorps term was very exciting but also very challenging. I thought I was in over my head and maybe had missed my time in life to do this kind of work.”
However, with mentorship and support, she soon found her footing and credits IALR staff for helping her achieve her goals within AmeriCorps as well as her own personal goals. “It’s like I was in Oz and I needed a wizard to help me figure things out but I didn’t know the way to find him. But lo and behold, there was [the IALR staff] who gave me encouragement when I needed it, knowledge when I couldn’t figure something out, and all the love and compassion I needed.”
“Since joining this program, I have been able to work with numerous community and outreach programs, tutoring and engaging the young and adult citizens here in Danville, Virginia,” Mitzi continues. “I now realize that there is a great need for more programs that will help not only our community but the city as a whole, and maybe one day the work being done locally will be a blueprint for cities all over the world.”
Having now completed her second term, Mitzi has a new-found confidence and sense of direction in her life. She says, “I want to start my own non-profit organization. I have been doing research and know that there are thousands of people like me who want to do more but don’t know where or how to start. They also need a wizard and proper guidance to help them find business mentors for their goals.”
Mitzi adds, “My mission will be to bring people out of darkness and to share with them the light and to help point them in the right direction. AmeriCorps and IALR have become a beacon of light for me and I want to share what I have learned with others…. As I review my life decisions, joining AmeriCorps has been a great accomplishment. I have been searching all of my life to discover my life purpose and working with AmeriCorps is in alignment with my life direction.”
