Abigail Garlock

Responsibilities

My two biggest responsibilities were to be the ticketing chair for the November Fundraiser and a team member on the Story County Workforce Initiative team (SCWI). The SCWI team works to spread the word about free job training being offered through Project Iowa to Story County residents. Being on this team consisted of a lot of outreach to city leaders, setting up meetings, planning presentations, and determining the next steps. I also assisted with the research of issues in Iowa, partook in 1:1s with AMOS leaders, attended actions such as the Des Moines School Board action and the Community Land Trust Kickoff, shadowed my supervisor on meetings and 1:1s, and every Friday I attended the weekly staff meeting.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment was improving my leadership skills and understanding how I want to lead in the future. I was given many opportunities to be a leader, such as leading monthly SCWI meetings, leading presentations, setting up meetings with leaders, and speaking at AMOS events. I was able to gain a lot of confidence in myself, which I am really excited to apply to future positions.

Learning experience

AMOS centers around relational organizing, so relationship building is incredibly important. I learned a lot about the importance of being intentional when building relationships, and the importance of being curious. I also understood how relationship-building leads to power (people power), which helped me understand how to seek action on issues in my future positions. Overall I learned much about how I want to operate in the workforce.

What advice would you give?

You are valuable and have a voice! Don't let past experiences or pressures make you feel as though your voice is unimported or doesn't matter in any space. It always matters, and people want to hear what you have to say.