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Back in 2022, Andy Wilson with the assistance of Molly Stuber interviewed Alissa Cook, who served with ��ɫ��Ƶ Tulsa ‘21 and Team Care Force 15. Following her graduation from Team Care Force, Alissa returned to ��ɫ��Ƶ Tulsa as staff member on the Development Team. She has since relocated to North Carolina and no longer works for ��ɫ��Ƶ, but has returned as a Care Force Reserve on multiple occasions.

Andi Wilson: Thanks so much for taking the time to be part of this interview today. We really appreciate it. What is your favorite memory from your first AmeriCorps year?

Alissa Cook: During my corps year in Tulsa, I served in a year that was partially virtual because of the pandemic.  I spent August through February, mostly remotely not seeing students everyday. But our school did an experience called Care and Connect with students who needed the extra help would come to school. Even if they just wanted to be around people and get to learn in person, they’d come to the school. Our students would come in and sit in the cafeteria and we wouldn’t know if an adult came up and talked to them, or you know why they were or what they needed. Sometimes they really needed one-on-one intervention time. And so, our team enacted an idea. We followed the PSDA cycle – Plan, Study, Do, and Act. We made these little note cards that adults could go around and students would write their name and what they need help with. They had little check boxes at the bottom for each subject so that the right adult could come up and have some more intervention time.. Since we had a high population of Spanish speakers in our school, students were able to check the box with Spanish or English, so an adult who could tutor in English or Spanish could work with the student. The idea worked out really, really well and one of the staff at the middle school actually made copies. Originally, we had just written on a piece of paper and then we made a tri-fold version. It was just really nice to be part of a team that could create this idea and then observe how it works like in the real world.

Andi Wilson: Thanks for sharing about that. What was the school that you served at your first year?

Alissa Cook: It was East Central Junior High at the time. Now, it’s East Central Middle in Tulsa.

Andi Wilson: Cool. Did you have a math or ELA assignment when you were a Corps Member?

Alissa Cook: I was math.

Andi Wilson: Nice! What grade?

Alissa Cook: 7^th Grade

Andi Wilson: Oh, okay cool. I was 6th grade math last year. I know they’re so fun. What was your favorite trip with Care Force?

Alissa Cook: I would have to say they’re all great, but if I had to pick one favorite, I think going to Denver in May of 2022 was probably my favorite. It ended up being a really small team, so it was just myself and my teammate Caitlyn. It was towards the end of the year, so we kind of built up some confidence and kind of knew what was going on. We had a lot of agency and it was great being able to have a better handle on the project. Ted ended up leading the project after another staff member was unable to go. We got to learn directly from Ted and talk through why he was making certain decisions or why some of the conversations were happening with different partners. We sat in on some of those conversations, which kind of helped me get a fuller picture of all of the pieces of the event coming together with the school partner. Also, the project was perfectly timed. As soon as we put down that last paintbrush, the students walked out of the school at the end of the school day. So, the volunteers really got to experience all the kids coming out and being so excited about the work that they had done. Also, the mural colors on the wall just ended up popping really well.

Andi Wilson: That’s great. Have them see the impact of their work right there. Thank you for sharing about that.

Andi Wilson: So can you tell us a little bit more about your current position and what you do?

Alissa Cook: Yep, so I work at ��ɫ��Ƶ Tulsa as the Events and Marketing Manager. That includes obviously events and marketing. I do anything from planning MLK Day of Service, I have an annual luncheon coming up that’s kind of our version of a gala. I do help with quarterly staff retreats. And I do Opening Day and Graduation for corps members. I also work on fundraising campaigns, writing newsletters for internal and external audiences, and then coordinating some of our social media as well.

Andi Wilson: That’s cool. What would you say is your favorite thing about the work that you do?

Alissa Cook: That is so hard. I’ll say something that I didn’t fully expect when I came into this role was how much project management I’d be doing and how it’s more about building a team to help you accomplish these things. I didn’t plan MLK all by myself. I’m definitely not planning the luncheon all by myself, and so having a Team and being able to manage the relationships with other people at my site has been a really cool experience and something that I’m excited to have developed.

Andi Wilson: Yeah, that’s great. And what would you say that there were skills that you developed with TCF that show up a lot in your current work that you use the most?

Alissa Cook: I think adaptability. Our year on Team Care Force year was a little uncertain. We were just coming off the pandemic. So just being flexible and knowing that things might change and might be out of your control, but being able to adapt and kind of adjust what your expectations can help unexpected happenings.

Andi Wilson: I feel like we’ve done two of these alumni interviews and flexibility or adaptability. It always shows up. Thank you for that. Would you say that there’s a piece of advice that you have for future TCF or potential ��ɫ��Ƶ members?

Alissa Cook: This one’s so difficult to pinpoint because I feel like I’m so close to my year with TCF that I am still thinking about and understanding my experience. I’d say piece of advice that I’d give TCF members in the future: Be open to trying new things. I learned so many different skills on Care Force. When I moved into my new apartment in Tulsa after leaving Care Force, I like got out my drill and started assembling my bookshelf and hanging things on my wall with no hesitation. I felt very well prepared. It’s been nice to be able to rely on some of those skills.

Andi Wilson: Absolutely. What compelled you to stay with ��ɫ��Ƶ at the end of your Care Force year? What made you want to come back into it?

Alissa Cook: So, the reason I came to ��ɫ��Ƶ that I was always interested, throughout college and for a career, to improve people’s experiences. In the classroom, I felt like if I could just make one student’s school day just a little bit better that would be a worthwhile change. When I first heard about Care Force, I just knew it would be a really cool opportunity to impact lots of different communities across the country and to curate an excellent volunteer experience, so they want to continue to serve. And then also, learning lots of new skills along the way.

Andi Wilson: Great. So, in your continued work with ��ɫ��Ƶ, do you feel like there’s a ��ɫ��Ƶ culture piece that you strongly believe in and want to continue your personal Growth with?

Alissa Cook: I’d say city of value of Service To A Cause Greater Than Self. I think it’s kind of counter cultural in a way. Most of like my educational career was spent trying to improve myself so that I could go out and get this good job, earn money and you know all that. After two AmeriCorps years of ��ɫ��Ƶ, and continuing to work in ��ɫ��Ƶ now, just shows me that service makes you so much richer. The ability to connect with other people is a lot more important to me than I thought. It kind of shifted my lens too, looking at a bigger picture. I like that value a lot.

Andi Wilson: I had a very similar experience. And what has been your proudest accomplishment thus far as a staff member?

Alissa Cook: This was so difficult I’ve literally thought about this single question all day because I just don’t know. The MLK Day of service this year, I feel like it really culminated a lot of the skills I learned on Care Force combined with a lot of the managerial skills that I was learning once I got on staff at ��ɫ��Ƶ. Being able to combine those and create an experience that a lot of staff and corps really, really enjoyed. I am lucky to serve on staff with my impact manager from my first corps year. And four of my eight team members from my year are still at ��ɫ��Ƶ Tulsa as well. And so, one of my service leaders from that from my career came up to me afterwards and told me how proud she was of me, of the growth that I had after MLK Day. So, it was just really neat to have that experience to be able to take what I learned at Care Force and pour it back into a community that I served previously.

Andi Wilson: That’s awesome. Can you tell us more about what you did for your MLK day?

Alissa Cook: It was at McLain High School here in Tulsa. We ended up doing several murals. We did a Celebration Wall with page protectors where students could put their acceptance letters from colleges. The school has some cool down spaces, so we made little kits with DIY puppets, some manipulatives with bubble wrap cut in cool designs. We did teacher appreciate bags and pencil pouch bags as well.

Andi Wilson: That’s incredible. That sounds like that was an exceptional day of service that you planned. Thank you for sharing about that. Just a couple of personal quick questions for you. What is your hometown?

Alissa Cook: Miamisburg, Ohio.

Andi Wilson: What brought you to Tulsa for your Corps Year?

Alissa Cook: I was looking for a chance to serve in a new community and just a new opportunity. Tulsa was kind of interesting to me because it was a city I hadn’t really spent a lot of time in.

Andi Wilson: So I think that you mentioned you attended school before your corps year. Where did you go?

Alissa Cook: I went to Miami University of Ohio and I studied graphic design.

Hugh Harlow: What has made you come back and serve with Care Force as a Reserve? (this question was added in 2024 during the editing process)

I love continuing to serve communities all across the country and in the U.K. Care Force Reserves is a great opportunity to continue the work I am passionate about – improving other’s experiences. Just as I learned so many skills during my year on TCF, I have kept them fresh by working on so many unique projects. I also appreciate connecting with more of the ��ɫ��Ƶ community, including staff and alums from other sites!