Alcott '07 serving Youth Corps
15 July 2007 Alcott '07 serving Youth Corps
This summer, Emily Alcott 07 is combining her interests in public service and the environment while working as a Team Leader for the Boulder County Youth Corps in Boulder County, Colo. 
The Corps, developed and funded by the Boulder County government, strives to teach youths the importance of teamwork, commitment and community service, while accomplishing tasks that benefit all residents of the county.
Alcott, a biology major, is responsible for supervising high school participants in various service projects, including restoring an inline skating rink and building fences to keep prairie dogs out of a development area. She also provides participants with lessons in environmental education.
The environment has always been an interest of hers, partly a result of spending a lot of time in the Adirondacks when she was growing up. Last summer, she was a trip leader at YMCA Camp Shady Brook in Deckers, Colo.; and at HWS, she was a trip leader for the Outdoor Recreation Adventure Program and worked alongside Assistant Dean David Mapstone and other HWS students to organize an outdoor orientation program that will begin next year.
Working for the Corps is a valuable opportunity to work on her leadership skills, and she enjoys helping get kids outside and enjoying the environment. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the experience is teaching them about their own capabilities and what dedication and teamwork can achieve.
Its an opportunity to make a difference each day, she said. I think its really rewarding working with kids to accomplish something they didnt think they could do I hope to help kids see that service projects can be rewarding and that to do things for others can also help them feel good about themselves.