Looking to help Glacier senior joins AmeriCorps

Kate Heston, Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
·3 min read

May 13—Seanna Dube loves to help people and her country, a sentiment she is extending past high school as she joins the AmeriCorps.

"I definitely am proud. I'm really excited to experience all these different places and things," said Dube, a senior at Glacier High School.

The National Civilian Community Corps, or the NCCC, through the AmeriCorps program is catered to young adults aged 18 to 26. The program sends volunteers to a home base, where from there they travel to different states to work with climate change mitigation, building affordable housing, disaster response and more.

Each year, volunteers serve full-time on teams of about 10 people. The team will travel to a series of different six to 12 week projects in various places throughout a 10-month term.

Dube grew up in a family with military influence; it was something she was always passionate about and interested in. For the longest time, Dube thought she wanted to go into the Navy after high school. As that decision got closer, Dube questioned what other options were available to her.

Her mother, Shalie Dube, had joined the AmeriCorps when she graduated high school — an experience that Seanna heard about often throughout her life.

"I knew she had done AmeriCorps and that she loved it," Dube said. "She's talked about it my entire life."

Prior to choosing her path with AmeriCorps, Dube was meeting seriously with a Navy recruiter. She had a plan to go, but there was no guarantee of when she would be back. The AmeriCorps program is just under a year in length, giving some insurance for when she would be able to go home.

Dube's home base is in Mississippi, where she will train and live while not on assignment. On assignment, Dube will be traveling across the southern United States, helping with nonprofit and volunteer work.

Dube has always been active in the community. She currently participates in work opportunities through her school as a barista for staff members. Each morning, she leads a team of students from the special education program in running the coffee business.

She also is a manager at Famous Footwear in Kalispell, where she has worked for years. Volunteer work is also not foreign to Dube, who said that she and her family grew up volunteering.

After applying for the program it was a moment of bliss and excitement. She also expressed her wish for the program to be talked about more in schools. Seniors, especially those who may not want to go to college, should have access to applying, and knowing about, the AmeriCorps program as an option.

Dube leaves for Mississippi on July 15.

"I think it's kind of a legacy almost," Dube's mother, Shalie, said. "I'm so proud of her."

Since 2000, AmeriCorps NCCC teams have assisted more than 20 million people in disaster areas, had nearly 1 million volunteers, assisted more than 33,000 veterans, served more than 6 million meals and protected more than 1.6 million acres of land through firefighting and fire management, among other things, according to AmeriCorps.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at khesotn@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.