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Empowering Lives through Economic Coaching and Service
Empowering Lives through Economic Coaching and Service
Tessa Link has been making a significant impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities serving with AmeriCorps as an Economic Opportunity Coach at Peckham in Lansing. Her role involves coaching on employability and financial skills, covering everything from crafting cover letters and resumes to providing credit education and doing taxes. Link’s motivation to serve stems from her passion for helping others grow.
“It all started because I wanted to help people,” Link said. “I didn’t care what it was, what I was doing, as long as at the end of the day I was helping someone. That’s what my passion is in life, to help somebody grow in any way.”
The position at Peckham has helped her do just that, but it was not one she stumbled on coincidentally. Link’s mother served with AmeriCorps at Peckham for a year, teaching English as a second language and citizenship classes. Link witnessed her mother serving firsthand as they both served for Peckham during Link’s first few months. Following in her mother's footsteps, Link found fulfillment in helping others grow in their professional lives, whether through advancing to higher positions or embarking on new career paths.
Among the many significant experiences during her service, one of her biggest accomplishments was assisting a team member in securing a position with AmeriCorps. This opportunity allowed the older individual, who was seeking part-time employment, to continue contributing to the community while maintaining social security benefits. Link played a pivotal role in crafting his resume, conducting interview preparation, and helping with the necessary paperwork to secure the position. She found it rewarding to be part of this full circle moment.
Additionally, Link and her co-worker assisted around 75 people with their taxes this year. Although she admits taxes are not her favorite activity, she has since developed confidence in navigating the process and helping others through it. To encourage self-sufficiency and understanding, Link helped organize drop-in sessions where individuals could dedicate two hours of their day, twice a week, to work through their taxes with guidance. Unlike the traditional approach of completing taxes on their behalf, this new approach aims to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to handle their taxes independently in the future.
As Link’s service term concludes, she prepares for her wedding while simultaneously planning to continue her community involvement through volunteering. She met her fiancé in October when her service term began, got engaged in May, and is now concluding her term with the plans to instill the value of serving others in her future family.
Reflecting on her experience, Link believes everyone thinking about serving could benefit from doing so with AmeriCorps. Her advice to others is “If you’re thinking about doing it, give it a try. Even if you do the short-term, part-time commitment to get a feel, just try it if you really want to help people out.”