UP in the South: Pre-Service Orientation: Atlanta

“People may not remember the words you said, but they’ll remember how you made them feel.”

Marriott Marquis from the pool

PSO took place Aug 8-11 in Atlanta at the Marriott Marquis. I have never been in that hotel before and once I was in, I didn’t want to leave. The hotel is gorgeous. There were two-hundred other VISTAs there for orientation as well. There are multiple locations for your PSO depending upon your start date, so we had people from all over-- from Hawaii, Washington, to Maine Florida, West Virginia, you name it. We participated in group sessions at night and smaller groups of 24 or so people during the day.

Looking up from the Atrium level

And then there was the food. The hotel staff spoiled us with delicious all-you-can-eat Food Network-worthy fares everywhere you looked. Plus, the desserts—I’m talking tarts, cheesecakes, tiramisu, and chocolate-dipped cannolis. You could have made a meal off of dessert alone. We also had breaks in between meals during our small group sessions where they had fruit, veggies, Starbucks coffee, hot tea, and ice cream. It was because of all of the food that I took advantage of the fitness center later at night. On one such occasion, I decided that I would walk up the stairs to my room on the 24^th floor for an extra workout. I made it to the 12^th floor before I couldn’t take anymore and crawled to the elevator.

My terribly-blurry pic of the filming set

On my way back from the fitness center on the third night, I decided to check out the top floor as it seemed everyone else already had. I got into the elevator to go to the 47^th floor and a woman with a headset and radio stepped in behind me. After having spent an entire night in the B’ham airport to be extras on a movie with Roberts and the Katies in college, I know what a film crew member looks like. I decided to play dumb and ask her if she was here for PSO and she replied no, that they were filming a TV show in ATL. I asked if she was allowed to tell me which one. She replied casually “Necessary Roughness. You know, on USA. We’re actually filming on the 45^th floor right now.” Needless to say, my journey to the 47^th floor included taking pictures of the 45^th floor and texting everyone like crazy J

Anyway, the first night we learned about the history of VISTA. It was started in 1965 by Kennedy as a means to eliminate poverty domestically. Some of the popular programs that came about because of AmeriCorps include Head Start and neighborhood watch. VISTA’s goals include an anti-poverty focus, community empowerment, capacity building, and sustainable solutions.

The next day, we spent all day talking about poverty. I usually would have been really excited about this; however, it was a repeat from the semester in college where I took a class on poverty. In addition, we had to go around and talk about what we thought about poverty. I guess I am too accustomed to being around sociologists but I was surprised by the number of people that knew nothing about it. By the end of the day, not only were we all well-versed in poverty, but we were trained to combat it as well.

The third and last day there, we went in depth about of job assignments, community entry, and how to generate volunteers and resources. On the last day, we took the oath and were sworn is as VISTAs. The best part about PSO was not the training but the networking; getting to meet people from all over that have the same heart to serve people as you-- getting to hear their stories, where they are serving and what led them to that passion. And okay, the food was a close second. J