John Painter serves as an AmeriCorps member with Campus Compact K2H Civic Futures at PeaceJam Rocky Mountain.

Tell us a bit about your project!
My main project with PeaceJam Rocky Mountain is creating a podcast to showcase and inspire youth in the region. I work with various partners of PeaceJam Rocky Mountain to produce interviews that are designed to discuss the power of youth civic action. The podcast seeks to inform local youth of ways they can get involved too.

What have you learned from your AmeriCorps K2H service?
Service with K2H Civic Futures has led me to learn about coalition building and the power of community.  As a person in civic action, there are many people who try to cut you down or get in your way, but when you have other people, organizations, and groups backing you up, there is no obstacle too large. Through my time with my K2H service, I have learned how to find those people, and, every day,  I get the honor of being reminded that there are great people out there doing wonderful things.

What is your proudest achievement from your time with AmeriCorps?
My proudest achievement so far has been the interviews that I have facilitated. I am still in the publication process for the podcast, but the interviews themselves were absolutely a highlight. I was glad to be successful in reaching out to the people that I would be interviewing, and the interviews themselves were so fantastic, they made my week every time!

John Painter