Rose Callahan recently completed a year of service as an AmeriCorp member with the Red Cross in Billings. She looks back on that experience:

I dedicated nearly a year of my life to service as an AmeriCorps member at the American Red Cross in Billings. If I could go back in time, I would make the same choices. I would choose Billings, and I would choose the American Red Cross.

I have lived in metropolitan areas of Colorado for most of my life, and I was not prepared for what I would learn in Billings. I’d made it through Colorado blizzards and tornadoes but never fathomed the minus-40-degree temperatures and brutal wind speeds of Big Sky Country. Eastern Montana taught me determination, flexibility, humility, and, above all, resiliency. That’s just what it takes to be here.

We get things done. That’s the AmeriCorps motto, and it is represented here at the American Red Cross of Idaho, Montana and East Oregon. For each of the 252 days that I served, I saw staff members and volunteers consistently devote their ultimate efforts to fulfilling the mission. The most honorable component of my time here has been serving alongside you all. Thank you.

Service led me from Billings, to Laurel and Bridger, across the reservation lands of the Apsaalooke and Northern Cheyenne nations, and all the way out to Miles City and Circle. It led me to schools, fairgrounds, government buildings and church basements. Service led me home. Not to a place, but to a sense of self. It instilled in me a dedication to serve without ever giving up, because the people of Eastern Montana simply do not give up.

In the final weeks of my service, I took what I learned to a Red Cross shelter in Splendora, Texas, near the Gulf Coast of the United States, where our neighbors live on the front lines of intense tropical storms and hurricanes. Each day following Hurricane Beryl, hundreds of people came through the doors of that shelter, and I was the first face they saw. Staying resilient, humble and true amidst such human suffering was one of the most challenging pursuits I have ever faced. It was Eastern Montana determination that taught me how to do it. And now that I’ve done what I’ve done and seen what I’ve seen, I cannot imagine dedicating my life to anything else.

AmeriCorps service at the American Red Cross has awakened me to what I have to offer to the world. What I have done here goes beyond personal or professional accomplishments. This experience has transformed me. For good.

AMERICORPS MEMBERS NEEDED

Our AmeriCorps Red Cross program is searching for six passionate people to join a team of highly motivated volunteers who are striving to make a lasting impact in communities near and far. This program offers a range of opportunities in public health and safety with positions in Billings and Missoula, Mont., and Ontario, Ore. Benefits include bi-weekly stipends, health and dental coverage and child care assistance to those who qualify. Visit here to learn more bit.ly/americorps-redcross. This term begins Sept. 16. Please help us share with others who might be interested.