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From Clashing Cultures in Baghdad to Building Bridges in Honolulu

March 29th, 2017
By Brayden Yoder, Fellow

Brayden with filmmaker Tobias Reeujwijk, the Princess of Bhutan, and HIFF Executive Director Robert Lambeth after the screening of Reeujwijk’s documentary film 1,000 Hands of the Guru: Saving Bhutan’s Sacred Arts

It was the desert that answered, years after I first heard the question: “Ohhh, Soldier,” we used to sing, “ where have you been?”  Those that have marched to this cadence can recite the answers of previous generations, who had been to Korea and Normandy, San Juan Hill, Lexington, and all around the globe, “fighting for liberty; dying for freedom.”  After 9/11, my brothers and sisters in uniform and I could contribute a new verse: I’ve been to Baghdad.

I felt proud that years from now, when my grandson asks me what I did in the great war on terror, I wouldn’t have to tell him, (to paraphrase General Patton),  “I sat on the couch playing video games next to Mama.”  Yet like many of us, I left Iraq and the military strangely unfulfilled by the war I always thought I wanted. Every question the desert answered about my abilities as a leader opened up others for me as a human being. Continue reading “From Clashing Cultures in Baghdad to Building Bridges in Honolulu”

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The Fellowship That Gave Me a Roadmap After the Military

March 24, 2017
Gabriel Ramos, Fellow Alum

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Gabriel Ramos at the Alpha 2016 Orientation service project.

I often dreamt of becoming a real life superhero.

Although the persona I’d originally envisioned for myself evolved and took different forms – be it a masked vigilante, a gallant cowboy, a fearless detective – my vision was unwavering: I wanted to save the world.

I finally settled on my hero of choice upon watching the opening credits to A Few Good Men when I was nine years old. One glimpse of the Marine Corps’ dress blues was all I needed to know that it was the uniform I was destined to wear.

Whatever reservations I might have had would be erased during the fall of my junior year of high school in 2001. I enlisted at the age of 17, and a year later I realized my dream of becoming part of the best my country had to offer. Continue reading “The Fellowship That Gave Me a Roadmap After the Military”

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Teaming Two Unlikely Pairs in Orlando

March 17, 2017
By Melissa Geiwitz, Community Partner

The Mission Continues recently asked Home Builders Institute (HBI), “How are we doing?”

Immediately, we reminisced about the unique and special relationship The Mission Continues has helped forge between our Central Florida veterans and youth. In an effort to bring positive role models into the lives of juvenile justice-involved youth, a program called Project Bridge has teamed the two unlikely pairs, and it has led to meaningful and impactful work for so many.

Since September 2015, HBI and Eckerd Kids Project Bridge have partnered with The Mission Continues Orlando 1st Service Platoon. With this innovative partnership, veterans can continue serving at home while solving specific challenges in their communities.

In Orlando, the mission of the local platoon is working with Project Bridge youth who are at risk of failing in major tasks necessary to assure a productive life. Continue reading “Teaming Two Unlikely Pairs in Orlando”

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AmeriCorps: Another Way to Serve Your Country

March 11, 2017

The military isn’t the only way one can be of service to country.

The drive to serve isn’t borne by servicemembers and veterans alone; it is the flag under which veterans and civilians unite.

An integral part of our philosophy is that while continued service can play an important role in veterans’ lives, change can only happen when we join hands with the next generation of Americans: our youth. Just as we enlist veterans to serve where their community needs it most, AmeriCorps enlists young adults to do the same.

In our experience, both AmeriCorps alumni and veterans come away from their experience with a drive to continue serving. While it’s no question that the military and AmeriCorps are vastly different, there are a few notable common threads. Like the military, AmeriCorps provides young adults in their formative years a unique opportunity to shape their careers, experience comradery, grow personally, find their niche, and even find a sense of purpose.  In this way, government programs like AmeriCorps are an important part of the service ecosystem in which we live. Continue reading “AmeriCorps: Another Way to Serve Your Country”

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I’m a Student, Scientist, and a Warrior

March 3, 2017
By David Riera, Fellow

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Current fellow David Riera with former Governor of Florida, Bob Graham at a conference.

The Everglades National Park is my home, both figuratively and literally. As a budding ecologist, environmental educator and advocate, I fervently believe that this unique ecosystem represents more than a biological stronghold. And even though the Everglades’ luster has been tarnished by human activities, my students, peers, fellow veterans, and I still believe it is one of the crowning jewels of this planet.

As a first-generation Floridian, I grew up throughout Miami-Dade County, and moved around frequently. The only consistency in my life was the Everglades, the National Seashores of south Florida, and numerous other state and municipal parks. Whether it was snorkeling with my godfather, hiking with my father, or working with park staff on environmental projects, I knew I was a part of these natural places and that these places became a part of me.

This fascination with nature, especially in Florida, followed me through my life, as a juvenile, United States Marine, college student, researcher, and now as a teacher. I have been fortunate enough to reacquaint and re-engage with such a critical piece of myself. Continue reading “I’m a Student, Scientist, and a Warrior”