Holiday Edition: Five ways to describe your City Year to your family

‘Tis the season for spending lots of time with family and friends. While you’re gathered, it’s likely your loved ones will ask what you’re up to. Whether you’re currently in the middle of your AmeriCorps service journey or getting ready to join City Year next year, you may be wondering, “How do I explain my City Year experience to my friends and family?”

We’re here to help! Here five ways to bring your unique journey of becoming an AmeriCorps member to life, whether by sharing what brought you to City Year in the first place or by talking about all of the ways your role in schools supports students on their path to college and career.

Share what a day in your life looks, or will look like.

Throughout the school day, the majority of City Year AmeriCorps members serve as student success coaches—tutors, mentors and role models who build positive, caring and consistent relationships with students. These positive relationships enable student success coaches to partner with classroom teachers and provide students with tutoring, mentoring, skills coaching, afterschool programming, and more.

Some sites allow corps members join alternate service opportunities in schools and some alums focus on civic engagement projects through City Year Care Force.

Read more about the AmeriCorps experience with City Year.

If you’re currently serving as an AmeriCorps member, you can talk about the students you’ve worked with who have made a real impression on you. Share some of the things you’ve done this fall in the classroom and within the community. Tell your family and friends about your partner teacher and how you work with them.

Bring the conversation back to students and schools.

Remind people that City Year AmeriCorps members work in partnership with teachers and principals to help provide holistic student support by showing up to school every day. By supporting students academically, socially and emotionally, you’re helping them to stay in school and on track to graduate from high school, ready for college and beyond.

Learn more about City Year’s holistic approach to student success.

Although some students can face challenges that affect their attendance, we know ALL students can succeed when they have access to resources, relationships and supportive learning environments.

Explain how City Year AmeriCorps members are mentors and role models.

Every day in the classroom is an opportunity to build relationships with students. City Year AmeriCorps members serve as Student Success Coaches—near-peer tutors, mentors and role models—who are powerfully positioned to provide individualized academic and social-emotional supports. Every day, AmeriCorps members help students thrive while helping to improve the school-wide learning environment by planning fun and engaging whole school activities, greeting students when they arrive at school each morning and running afterschool programs.

Read about how relationships with students can make an enormous difference in their success both in and out of school.

Students who have a mentor are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college. Talk about a student you’ve developed a bond with or ways you’re learning to make one-on-one connections with students so that you can help them feel more connected to school.

Mention the skills and experience you will gain as a City Year AmeriCorps member.

When you choose to serve with City Year, you know you’ll be making a difference in the lives of students, every day. But equally important are the ways you will learn and develop during your 11 months of service, becoming part of a diverse team of AmeriCorps members, partnering with classroom teachers and school staff, and participating in weekly professional development training offered by your City Year site.

Many of the skills you will hone during your service are the exact same skills that are most in demand by employers today: analytical and creative thinking, resilience, motivation, self-awareness, curiosity, attention to detail, empathy and leadership, among others.

According to the 2023 Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum, “analytical thinking and creative thinking remain the most important skills for workers.” City Year’s school-based program and ongoing training for AmeriCorps members emphasize and reinforce eight of the 10 top professional skills outlined in the report.

Other top skills include resilience, motivation, self-awareness, curiosity, attention to detail, empathy and leadership, among others. These are the same durable skills that City Year AmeriCorps members support and nurture in the students they serve as student success coaches, and that they themselves sharpen and refine during their year of service in schools.

“All the basic group skills that I felt that were lacking on my professional side I developed in City Year.” – City Year alum

Above all, be authentic about what brought you to City Year in the first place.

All AmeriCorps members come to City Year with a personal story—talk about your own journey and what it was that inspired you to want to give back. Be open about what sparks your passion, whether it’s helping the next generation of students, advancing equity in education or making a difference in your community. By being human, authentic, truthful and trustworthy, you embody City Year’s values and lead by positive example.

The more you open up about your life with City Year, the more City Year is able to grow the inspiring work we do together to help more students and schools succeed. Be proud, be loud. Most of all, be YOU!

Learn more