Today’s story comes from Colleen Holohan, Member Development Manager at Massachusetts Promise Fellowship.  Colleen tells about how she met her husband through service.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Eight years ago this summer, I had just finished college and was excited to begin my first year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Massachusetts Campus Compact (MACC). I was a service nerd in college and spent my free time volunteering at afterschool programs and organizing student service events, so I thought AmeriCorps would be an appropriate next step. I was looking forward to new experiences in Boston and meeting new and interesting people. I never would have imagined that I’d meet my husband!

My favorite part of being an AmeriCorps member is that you get put in challenging situations with people you wouldn’t normally cross paths with. I’ve met people from different parts of the country (and the world) with a variety of life experiences and backgrounds. This diversity within my experience has led me to forge close friendships with people I never would have thought I had any commonalities with…which leads me to Adam Reinke.

When I first saw Adam at Pre-Service Orientation, I thought to my self, “Wow, I’ve never met someone so genuinely nice and simultaneously obsessed with Wisconsin sports!”  I learned later that this was something called Midwest charm. Growing up in New York and not have strayed much from the east coast, I had never been to Wisconsin nor had I heard of Marquette, the alma mater he was so extremely passionate about.

Our first year of service together kicked off a great friendship. The dozens of icebreakers and early morning service projects taught us a lot about each other-you’d be surprised at what several rounds of Two Truths and a Lie can bring out! After our first year of service, we both decided to keep the experience going and became VISTA Leaders for the MACC program. We spent countless hours together planning workshops for our peers and supporting them through their challenges. Eventually, our friendship turned to more and the rest is history!

This past September, Adam and I got married in Boston and several of our fellow AmeriCorps*VISTA friends were there to celebrate with us!  We both continue to be involved with AmeriCorps through our non-profit work. I serve as the Member Development Manager with the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship, a statewide AmeriCorps program that places members at non-profits, city agencies, and schools to create, lead, and manage youth development projects.

I love my job because I work towards creating a service experience for AmeriCorps members that was just amazing as mine! Adam serves as the Director of Community Engagement with ACCESS, an organization that works to ensure that all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to find an affordable path to college. In his role, he works to create new community partnerships for the organization, manages the Center for College Affordability, and has supervised numerous AmeriCorps members throughout the years.

I’m so grateful for my years of AmeriCorps and all of the opportunities the experience provided me with. It has definitely shaped my life. I kick off every service year by telling my Massachusetts Promise Fellows that the year ahead will be an amazing experience-and may even lead to finding their perfect match!