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              Starr Shoemaker
              AmeriCorps member
      Submitted by 
dsong
 on 
Tue, 05/16/2023 - 16:02"One day, I decided to take myself on a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pa. At the time, I was overwhelmed with so many losses in my life. My father passed away suddenly, and I lost two sisters-in-law to cancer and suicide. Then I lost my beloved godfather and had to care for my mother, who suffered from memory loss after a stroke.

During my tour of Fallingwater, I also visited Bear Run Nature Reserve - an area protected by Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. I hiked into Bear Run many times and appreciated the clean streams, diverse trees, and abundant wildflowers and native plants. The care by stewards to keep the area in its natural state as much as possible impressed me every time.

I decided to learn more about Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and applied to be an AmeriCorps member as a land steward. It felt like the perfect opportunity. I knew I would learn and gain inspiration from this position, meeting more like-minded people from other places who share a love for nature and conservation. I wanted to learn new skills and use them to do more service and begin personal projects.

I can't believe how fast my service went by. I've enjoyed every moment and am so grateful for this opportunity."
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