How My AmeriCorps Service Year Prepared Me for a Social-Impact Career

When I was a senior in college, I thought that maybe I wanted to be a journalist. But I wasn’t totally convinced, and decided that what I really wanted to do after graduating was spend a year in service to others.

I joined AmeriCorps and was placed with an organization called Boys Hope Girls Hope of Southern California. At age 22, I left the east coast and moved to Orange County without a clear plan, but with a desire to be useful and do work that meant something.

My service year was one of the hardest and most transformative experiences of my life. It pushed me far outside my comfort zone, tested my limits, and taught me how to lead with empathy. It also launched a career I never could have planned: a handful of years in the nonprofit sector, then a role at a global investment management firm before becoming an executive director, and eventually founding my own social-impact consultancy in 2018.

None of it would have happened without that service year. Here’s what I want you to take from my story:

You don’t need a clear plan, but you do need clear values

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when I signed up for AmeriCorps. I just knew that I loved to volunteer, that I cared about people, and that I wanted to do work that meant something. Those values are what eventually led me on my social-impact career journey—not a carefully organized career plan that I followed after graduation.

If you’re sitting with uncertainty right now, don’t wait until you have it all figured out. There are many ways to find your footing in purpose-driven work: a service year, a volunteer role, a part-time commitment, a career pivot. Find an organization doing work you believe in and show up for it, however you can. That’s where clarity starts.

Try this: Before you apply anywhere, write down three things you want to feel at the end of a work day. Let those feelings be your compass. For more on mapping your professional direction, check out Idealist’s Career Blueprint guide.

Say yes to being uncomfortable—that’s where the learning happens

Nobody handed me a manual for my AmeriCorps service year. I was 22, partly responsible for six teenage girls who were navigating challenging circumstances. It was our job as houseparents to listen, care for them, ease their worries, and encourage them, all while managing schedules, appointments, schoolwork, and life skills. There were dance parties in the kitchen and late-night talks about life dreams. There were also days when the responsibility was just…a lot. 

But that’s exactly where the learning happened. The skills I built that year—empathy, communication, logistics, leadership—were forged because the stakes were real. That’s true in any context. The roles that stretch you, that don’t come with a clear roadmap, that require you to figure it out in real time; those are the roles that help you grow.

Try this: When you’re evaluating potential opportunities, look for roles that scare you a little. The uncomfortable stretch is where you grow; the stretch is the point.

Service changes how you see the world

Something shifts in you when you spend a year showing up for others. You start to see the complexity behind people’s circumstances. You develop patience for situations you might have previously dismissed. You learn that most people are doing the best they can with what they have. Living alongside six teenage girls rewired how I think about empathy.

That shift has followed me into every job I’ve had since. When I started working on building a global employee volunteer program for PIMCO, I didn’t approach the work as a corporate checkbox. I asked what people needed and wanted, listening before designing, and building something that connected employees to communities in a real way. Empathy made me better at my work. (It still does!)

Try this: Find one way to show up for your community. Consider a one-time volunteer shift or recurring commitment for a cause you believe in. The empathy you build will make you better at any job in the social-impact sector, and the experience will give you something no resume template can manufacture: proof that you actually care. For more on how volunteering can shape your career, check out “How Volunteering is Useful for Career Development.”

The world is changing fast, but purpose-driven work prepares you to change with it

We’re living through a period of profound uncertainty. The social-impact sector is not immune; if anything, it feels it more acutely. I learned how to adapt to shifting circumstances every single day during my AmeriCorps service year, and stay grounded in my values when things got hard.

Purpose-driven work builds courage, conviction, and flexibility. Above all, this kind of work makes you a better listener. And being a better listener keeps you relevant and informed in ways that no algorithm or news feed can replicate. 

Try this: Identify one organization doing work you believe in and reach out to someone there for a 20-minute conversation. Not to ask for a job, but just to listen. You’ll learn more in that conversation than in hours of online research. If you’re not sure how to start, check out the “4 Reasons to Ask for Informational Interviews” on Idealist’s Career Advice blog.

Purpose brings humanity to the work we do in our 9-to-5. It motivates us, sustains us, and reminds us why we showed up in the first place. I found my purpose in a year of service at age 22—you might find yours differently. The search itself is worth it, because it allows you to decide what your work stands for.

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About the Author | Since beginning her career in 2001 with AmeriCorps, Sarah Middleton has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of corporate and nonprofit sectors to drive social impact. She serves on the board of the National Museum and Center for Service and lives in Orange County, California with her family.