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From before I walked into Registration Day at ��ɫ��Ƶ Milwaukee������������summer, I knew that I wanted to serve again. During Basic Training Academy (BTA), I told my Team Leader and Impact Manager that I wanted to return as a Team Leader the next year, or even an Impact Manager. I immediately started taking as many opportunities as I could to put myself out there, get more leadership experience, and learn more about City Year in general and ��ɫ��Ƶ Milwaukee specifically. How was I so sure that I wanted to come back even before service had started? I had already “come back” once before!��

In the 2018-2019 school year, I started service with City Year in my hometown of Orlando, Florida. Service was��very difficult��for me for various reasons. My fiancée and I were both struggling with our health – by the end of September, my fiancée’s health struggles became so intense that they needed to move back home to Milwaukee so that they could have access to more healthcare providers.��My decision may have looked easy to those on the outside of the situation, but it was��actually an��internal struggle. I did, however, very quickly make the difficult decision to end my service year early, in October, and move to Milwaukee with my fiancée.����

When we arrived in Milwaukee, I immediately began searching for a job. I considered applying to ��ɫ��Ƶ Milwaukee as a mid-year start, but ultimately it wasn’t possible for me to meet that deadline. I applied for ��ɫ��Ƶ Milwaukee as quickly as possible for the 2019-2020 school year, and when I received my offer to serve, I accepted it the same day.����

City Year is an amazing opportunity and experience. I am deeply passionate about National Service. I believe that National Service is one of the best, if not the best, ways to make a positive change in my community. ��ɫ��Ƶ gives us the opportunity to directly serve students along with district and other organizational partners to give our students the best opportunity for success. It is amazing to be a part of an organization where everybody involved cares so much for our students and their families. City Year is��very��challenging, but it is ultimately a positive challenge. There are so many opportunities for personal and professional growth.����

In service with ��ɫ��Ƶ, I get to spend every day in service��with��students and my community. I get to be a part of something much bigger than myself. I get to stand by my students through good and bad, through progress and setbacks, through rewards for positive behavior and reprimands. I get to be a consistent force for good for my students. I get to show up every day and partner with a teacher who has more passion for her students’ learning and success than I’ve ever seen before. I have learned so much this service year and I have grown a lot. I feel like I have become more confident. I’ve become a better leader and I’ve made connections and friendships that I hope will last forever.����

I decided to come back to ��ɫ��Ƶ, both the first time and this time, because I don’t think my work is done.

I believe that I still have more to learn and I still have more to give. I want to learn how to lead corps members toward our common goal of helping bring our��students the success they and their families deserve and want to see in their lives. I decided to come back because I believe that City Year is an amazing organization with commendable goals and great vision, and it is an organization that I am so proud to be able to serve with. I would encourage everybody to serve at least one year with ��ɫ��Ƶ, or some other service program, if they’re able – it is an amazing opportunity to serve our communities and grow together, and to be the positive change we want to see in our communities.����

Andrew Colegrove proudly serves on the Carver Team at ��ɫ��Ƶ Milwaukee and is coming back next year as a Team Leader. Andrew is from the Orlando area in Florida and attended the University of Central Florida.����