Samantha Cripe began her AmeriCorps journey as a City Year Corps member in Boston. There, she collaborated with 15 team members and served over 17,000 hours in a 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts classroom in South Boston. While the focus of her service was to support students’ attendance, behavior and coursework, Samantha also served as a Service Reserve Corps member leading four physical service events, and she represented her peers as a Corps Council member.

Samantha’s first service year sparked a passion for leadership and mentoring, and she applied for a second service year with Legal Aid Chicago. There, Samanatha served 17 months (an extended service term) as a VISTA Leader and focused her efforts on recruiting and supporting new members. This role further developed her skills as a people connector, project manager and leader.

After her years of AmeriCorps service, Samantha has had the privilege of hosting AmeriCorps members in the NCCC program and VISTA program as the Volunteer Manager at The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri. Because of her years of service, Samantha is a stronger leader, problem-solver and community advocate.