Member Stories

Scott Hanna, Member 2002–2003

I am the first person in my family to take a college course, let alone obtain a degree. I attended all thirteen grades in the same building in the small, rural town of Hettinger, North Dakota. My family did not have health insurance or dental coverage. I learned what it was like to grow up poor, eat syrup sandwiches, and hold down two jobs in high school. These experiences have made me intensely aware of how instrumental public programs, and more generally public policy, are to the quality of our lives.

However, when spending hours on Applied Quantitative Analysis or Public Financial Management as a graduate student, these memories sometimes fade. I start to lose sight of my purpose and my motivation waivers.

This is where AmeriCorps enters the scene for me: twice a week I get a chance to work with some amazing kids who remind me exactly why I am doing what I am. I believe in the power of government to improve the quality of life of those it serves, but I also think that this is possible only through intelligent public policy decisions and passionate public servants. AmeriCorps has helped me in both these aspects. ACEE has allowed me to observe educational policy decisions in action, and every Monday and Friday I am inspired to work harder by my kids.

I am realistic about the role I play in the lives of my kids; I understand many of the problems they face need a more holistic strategy than an hour or two of literacy tutoring a week. However, there is no doubt in my mind about the impact these kids have had on me. I don't suppose many people would expect to find a six-foot, three-hundred pound white guy from North Dakota at Oak Springs Elementary, but I cannot imagine anywhere else I would rather be.