Conor Folger: Senior Conor Folger is going to join the AmeriCorps after graduation to gain new volunteering experience

Lounging on the couch in his living room listening to a podcast, senior Conor Folger was interrupted by his parents with a suggestion for his post-high school plans:

“My friend’s daughter is doing this thing called AmeriCorps where you get to travel the United States for free.”

His parents then pulled up a video about the program and waited in anticipation for his thoughts on the idea — this sparked Conor’s application to become a volunteer for the AmeriCorps organization post-graduation.

Conor and his parents both knew he had second thoughts about college. He’s on the younger side of his class — turning 18 the day after graduation — and high school has never academically come naturally to Conor, according to Conor’s mom, Rachel Folger. This is why the AmeriCorps stuck out to Conor.

“I fell in love with the idea,” Conor said. “It was so different, something I didn’t expect them to say, and they thought it’d be really good for me especially if I’m trying to see what my passions are or learn new life skills.”

AmeriCorps is a federally organized volunteer organization that focuses on six key areas of impact: Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Futures and Veterans & Military Families. They do this by providing services in each of these areas like creating trails, building houses or doing whatever else they’re asked to do for the day, according to Conor. 

This service aspect of AmeriCorps is what appealed to Rachel. From watching him give $5 to a homeless woman at around 8 or 9 years old and, more recently, package peanut butter sandwiches and socks into brown paper bags to hand out, she knew that pursuing civil services would provide him a well-needed break from school.

“He’s always been really passionate about helping other people, and that’s what AmeriCorps is all about,” Rachel said. “He’s gonna get so much exposure with that right off the bat. I think it’s going to be fulfilling in so many different ways.”

Right now, Conor is working through his applications — involving questionnaires about previous volunteer work, information about himself and what he wants to achieve through the program — while also saving money and soaking in moments with his family and friends before he leaves.  

“I’m hoping to learn some life skills that most college students don’t learn as soon as they get out of high school,” Folger said. “I just want to be prepared for the world [and] to learn about things I would never expect to learn in my lifetime.”