Get Outdoors - Volunteer: SCA Participant Honored at White House

When Arthur White learned he'd won a prestigious national honor, he responded with utter disbelief. Things like this just don't happen to me, he shrugs. Then he found out he had to pick up the award at the White House. Yeah, he adds, definitely a first.White, 21, of Swanzey, NH, and a two-time participant in the Student Conservation Association (SCA), recently traveled to Washington to accept a first-ever AmeriCorps Leadership Award in recognition of his services as a member of SCA's 1998-99 NH Parks AmeriCorps. Along with 20 other SCA members, Arthur lived for 10 months in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, NH, alternately teaching environmental curriculum in Manchester public schools and performing conservation services in New Hampshire State Parks.

The AmeriCorps Awards, marking the national service program's fifth anniversary, were presented by President and Mrs. Clinton, General Colin Powell, Utah Governor Michael Leavitt (R), and Coretta Scott King. White was among 21 honorees selected from the more than 150,000 individuals who have served in AmeriCorps since 1994.

"I wish my crew could have been there with me," he says. "At first, I couldn't understand why I had won the award. I mean, we all worked hard. We all did the same things. But then I realized all of us couldn't get an award, and I was representing the entire group. I accepted the award for them, and that made me feel good."Challenges and Triumphs
When AmeriCorps first opened its doors five years ago, Arthur White was already on his own. He'd left home at the age of 15 to escape a turbulent upbringing. He completed high school despite learning disabilities that severely limited his ability to read and write. After his junior year, he served in a Granite State summer conservation crew sponsored by SCA, the nation's leading provider of conservation service opportunities for youth. At home in the outdoors, Arthur leaned on SCA for direction and focus and upon graduation entered the Association?s NH AmeriCorps program.

"Joining SCA at that point in my life provided some much needed stability and support," he states. "I learned you can accomplish anything provided you have a goal and the will to achieve it."

Arthur admits it took a while before revealing his dyslexia to his Corps mates. "After a while," he notes, "it became clear we all had certain strengths and weaknesses. They offered me help when I needed it and I found I could excel in other areas."

Even as he taught elementary school students about the environment, Arthur worked with a tutor to improve his own reading and writing. Today he's an Environmental Educator at the Shavers Creek Environmental Center in Petersburg, PA, an affiliate of Penn State. Eventually he hopes to open his own wildlife center that will serve as both a refuge for injured animals and a classroom for people.

"It's an awesome feeling to teach young people about the outdoors and know these are lessons they'll carry with them throughout their lives," Arthur says.

Since 1994, some 150,000 Americans have joined AmeriCorps, helping to meet vital needs in areas such as education, public safety, health care, housing, and the environment.

Student Conservation Association: The Student Conservation Association administers four AmeriCorps programs in New Hampshire, the Massachusetts Berkshires and New York's Adirondacks and Hudson River Valley. SCA is the nation's leading provider of hands-on conservation service opportunities, outdoor education and career training for youth. Each year SCA volunteers perform more than one million hours of hands-on conservation service in national parks, forests, refuges and urban areas in all 50 states. For more information, visit the SCA website at www.sca-inc.org.