AmeriCorps Reflection
My Reflection of a year of Service with Missouri River Relief
By Starkie Kreuder
As my two years in Missouri and my year of service draw to a close, I reflect on my gratitude for Missouri River Relief being part of my introduction to Missouri.
My River Introduction
Two months into a new part of the country endeavoring on my ceramics journey and I was already making connections to the Missouri River as a teaching artist at Missouri River Days fall program. Early mornings driving to Coopers to watch the mist rise off the river and get bombarded with hundreds of fourth grade faces, soaked from the rain or sweating from the sun by the end of the day, I remember thinking, “wow, what an incredible ‘workday.’” Little did I know a year later I'd be out ON the river teaching!
My Service Reflection
My first few weeks as the AmeriCorps Education Assistant were filled with introductions, shadowing the education team and others, and soon shifted to me standing aboard the bows of boats teaching the lessons I had recently internalized. We had education programs with MU journalism students, DNR employees, veterans, over 1,000 fourth graders, hundreds of families, campers, and more. I participated in the large-scale cleanups, hauled my first big river trash, and found my first river treasures. Something that I appreciate about the programs here is that there is so much thought and development that goes into programs beforehand, and always reflection and gathering feedback for improvement afterwards. If you would like to take a look at past education programs, click HERE.
As programming season slowed into the winter months, my attention shifted to work on bolstering the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) skills within River Relief. This work included expanding the Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Relevancy plan, creating an implementation plan for staff and board to contribute to, and designing staff surveys to gain valuable insight on areas for growth. Most rewarding for me was creating resource guides to help the Missouri River Relief community better understand and support people of certain marginalized identities during programs. My hope is that these documents will be put into action through repeated use to create a base knowledge of ways to begin supporting people who are neurodivergent, disabled, or LGBTQIA+. These documents were a little labor of love for me, drawing on my community, educational background, and my personal experiences like having to regularly face transphobia. These resources live in the Equity Inclusion binder if you find yourself with time on your hands at an education program!
I have had a great time working under Kristen’s direction as she is a passionate, experienced, and talented educator who has taught me so much about how to create positive experiences for students, program attendees, and volunteers. During this past year with Missouri River Relief, I have honed my skills in program development and education, my familiarity with the Missouri River, and my connection to the Missouri River Relief community.
My time with Missouri River Relief has cemented the power that the Missouri River brings to this place, and to us. The mission of Missouri River Relief is to connect people to the river, and what I have found from my time with River Relief is that when people connect to the River, the River helps connect people back to each other. Serving with Missouri River Relief has been a way for me to connect more deeply not just with communities in Missouri, but also with the land and history it holds.
Cheers and best wishes,
Starkie
Click HERE to see past AmeriCorps Reflections
