Keisha Johnson, 2013

"There is nothing greater in the world than being able to see your hard work pay off for the betterment of someone else." 

Why did you join City Year?

I joined City Year because I wanted to make a greater impact on the world than just your average community service project. I was drawn to City Year’s mission and the passion its corps members had for the work they were doing. I have been helped in many ways in my life, and I feel that it’s only right to give back to someone else, whether or not it’s the same person that helped me. I believe in the idea of giving one year of my life to change the entire course of someone else’s.

What do you hope to achieve with your service? Any personal goals?

I hope to help students along on a path toward graduation and life-long success, even if it’s only one student.

What are you looking forward to most in your upcoming year of service?

I’m most looking forward to joining with other like-minded people to work on such an amazing project. It’s not every day that you find a group of college students willing to take a year off from their education to pursue something as great as City Year.

Discuss your experience so far for the following:

Experience in your City Year School:

Working at Central has been nothing short of an eye-opening experience. I’ve learned so much about the needs of the Miami-Dade community and have seen first-hand the struggles many children are having as a result of these needs. Aside from a few minor setbacks, things have been going really well at school. The administration has been really receptive to us being there and has done its best to accommodate us in any way. The students have also been wonderful; I have this one group that I work with often who is so respectful and eager to learn. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us.

Experience with other City Year Corps Members.

My experience so far with other City Year corps members has been good. For the most part, the people in our corps are really dedicated to their work. My team specifically, though, is amazing. I work with 8 other corps members, 1 program manager, and 1 team leader. We have bonded so well and enjoy each other’s company. I can’t imagine being on a better team with more fun and passionate people.

Exploration or travel experience in your new home area.

There is nothing short of a million things to do in Miami! A couple weeks ago, we went to the Miami Zoo which was great; I’ve also volunteered at and ran a 5k in honor of 9/11. We’ve been to a Marlins game; participated in a downtown Miami scavenger hunt; seen a performance by Kat DeLuna; and, of course visited multiple beaches! Good thing I have a whole year here because there is so much more to see and do.

Experience/process in securing housing for the year (both positive and negative.

Our housing search started out a little rocky. The realty company suggested by City Year did not really help us at all; our realtor definitely was not meant to deal with first-time home searchers. But after getting over that hump, things went much better. We had a realtor that was on top of things and worked hard to accommodate us. We secured a place by June and were all set to go once we arrived at the end of July. The place is beautiful, came fully furnished and is in a really nice area. We really lucked out, considering some people are still sleeping on couches until they find a place of their own.