Fellow Perspective: Alpha Orientation
Roman Baca is a Mission Continues Fellow volunteering at Battery Dance Company in New York City. He joined the Marine Corps Reserves in 2000 and was assigned to TOW Platoon 25th Marines. Roman’s unit was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2005 where served as a Machine Gunner and Fire Team Leader. In 2007, Roman co-founded Exit 12 Dance Company as a way to bring the military experience to a civilian audience.
It’s not a charity, it’s a challenge, and the key to meeting any challenge is motivation.
The Mission Continues held the orientation for its first group of Fellows in St. Louis, Missouri. I was to join this group, dubbed Alpha Class, for three days of paperwork, rules, regulations, events, activities, and MOTIVATION!
The Mission Continues has hosted 200 Fellows from its start in 2007 until 2011. It has taken the challenge of adding 500 Fellows in 2012 alone. The 38 Fellows in Alpha Class are veterans called to find a purpose by serving as volunteers in their community. Upon receiving my itinerary for the orientation, I noticed that the three days were packed. There were classes, lectures, talks, and a service project that was to serve as our graduation as Mission Continues Fellows.
The three days in St. Louis were a whirlwind of activities, but it is the people that I was inspired and motivated to meet and talk with. I met people who work with The Mission Continues, alumni, supporters, and other fellows. Every single one of them was motivating. Over the weekend each one shared, what they had been through, what brought them to the organization, and what inspired them to continue to serve.
The speech by The Mission Continues co-founder, Eric Grietens, was a great launching point on Saturday morning. Eric retold the story of General George Washington, but instead of a tale of victory, he told of defeat. The story was that Gen. Washington was defeated on the battlefield, and if not for an aide, would have stayed on the battlefield until he was captured or killed. Gen. Washington’s aide led him to safety and assured Gen. Washington that he was still needed. Eric drew the parallel to current veterans. That even though we may feel defeated, we are still needed.
Then Eric talked about personal growth. His talk took me back to a pivotal point in my life, right after high school. I was in a nowhere job, not in school, sleeping on a cot in my best friend’s breakfast nook, with no direction. His father sat me down for a man-to-man talk and said, “you’re not growing personally. You can stay here as long as you need to, but you need to put together a plan that will allow you to grow, no matter what it is.” That talk has stuck with me throughout the years, and whispers to me when I’m stuck, or not moving forward. Eric’s words echoed, “The amount of growth in your life depends on the size of the challenge you take on.” The slide Eric used showed an equation detailing the ratio of the size of growth directly relating to the size of the challenge. The bigger the challenge, the more growth will be gained. Then Eric challenged us to challenge ourselves, remember the people that depended on us in our lives, and to remember what drove us to serve: purpose.
Not only was Eric a motivating speaker but the weekend was full of people describing how Eric challenged them to challenge themselves. My recruiter, Tiffany Garcia said, “When I took this job Eric told me if I grew comfortable in it, I was probably in the wrong job. He constantly pushed me to do more, achieve more.” In his first talk to Alpha Class, Eric did the same, challenging us to serve and grow.
Another motivating event was working with the 38 Alpha Class Fellows, staff from The Mission Continues, and volunteers at a day homeless shelter called the Bridge, in downtown St. Louis. Service projects are an important facet of The Mission Continues, and the Alpha Class was to earn the title Fellow by conquering the tasks at the Bridge. We had four hours to empty their basement and paint their cafeteria. The basement was full of building materials, old furniture, and various compounds for cleaning or painting-a huge fire hazard.
The cafeteria, where a hundred or so people are served warm meals, was in desperate need of a cleaning, and a new coat of paint. Half of the Alpha Class grabbed rollers and paint. My half of the class donned hardhats, dust masks, and gloves – tackling the basement. A true leader leads by example, and Eric is a true leader. He put his time in, hauling huge items out of a dusty, dirty basement. The basement crew filled two huge dumpsters with the contents of the basement. Everyone was so driven and motivated that we completed the major tasks in two hours. Alpha Class had pledged four hours and used the extra two to spruce up the grounds, clean out offices, and haul decorations to storage. After the service project, we recited The Mission Continues pledge and received our coins as a token that we were now Fellows and our work had only begun.
Motivating us even further was the keynote speaker that greeted us on Sunday morning. Lt. Col. Mark Weber’s motivating speech can be seen here. In his speech, Lt. Col. Weber details his daunting challenges and his fight. His words are incredibly motivating. Instead of paraphrasing, I challenge you to not just watch it, but use it as an example to challenge yourself in the service of others.
