With November being National Career Development Month, we wanted to highlight the work that Up2Us Sports has been doing through our Career Readiness program. Beyond our AmeriCorps Coach and VISTA national service programs, we offer support to our service members who wish to find full-time nonprofit and/or sports-related work after their term completion. Over the past two years, Up2Us Career Readiness has grown to support those coaches and VISTAs (Volunteers In Service to America) who are preparing to enter the workforce.
We spoke with Brandon Pack, an alum of our Coach and VISTA program, about how his experiences and the support he received help lead him into his current full-time position as our Northeast Program Manager.
Name: Brandon Pack
Current City & State: New York, NY
Current Up2Us Sports Full-Time Position: Northeast Program Manager
Month and Year Hired Full-Time: September 2021
AmeriCorps Position served at Up2Us Sports: HT Coach August 2019- August 2020, Northeast Coach Program VISTA 2020-2021
Months and Years of AmeriCorps Service through Up2Us Sports: August 2019 - August 2021
In what ways did serving with Up2Us Sports influence your choice of career path?
Serving with Up2Us Sports has reopened my eyes to the change that I want to make and how I want to go about making it. As a service member I was able to see the direct effect that the application of my training had on the lives of the youth I worked with. I've been lucky to work in youth development for many years now, and my time served with Up2Us Sports has helped solidify, and remind me of, why I started working with youth to begin with.
In what ways were you able to utilize the career readiness team with Up2Us Sports during your service?
I have had the opportunity to participate in many different events such as Career Mapping Workshops, Career Accelerator networking events, Financial Workshops, hard skill/soft skill workshops, etc. The Career Readiness program has also used these events to create and foster a safe space for participants to reflect and ask deeper intrapersonal questions, like "What is your 'why'?". Questions like these helped me and many others grow in many different areas of my life including our careers.
How did career readiness help prepare you for making the transition from an AmeriCorps service member to full time employment?
Career Readiness has helped me make the transition from being an AmeriCorps service member to a full-time employee of Up2Us Sports by utilizing many different events, efforts, and resources to clearly convey the standard that professionals are operating under. The Career Readiness team also allows scheduled 1-on-1 time for career advice and guidance if needed.
If you’re a current Up2Us Sports service member and would like to schedule a 1:1 time for career advice with Lee Wickham, our Career Readiness Program Manager, click here.
