Claire Weber (she/her) is in her second year of service as an After-School Prevention Specialist with Sitkans Against Family Violence (SAFV). She reflects on the idea of perseverance while a coach for SAFV’s Girls on the Run program and living in community on Sheetʼ-ká Xʼáatʼl (the native Tlingit name for what is known as Baranof Island, where Sitka lies in the Pacific Ocean).
In the bathroom of my service site, there’s a sticky note taped to the wall that reads, “This is hard but at least I get to try something new.” It is written by a child but I’ve never asked for the context. From running youth programming, however, I can imagine a kid writing it in between running laps with teammates or playing a new game.
Notes that I’ve received this year have included “We grew together” and “You help me for prsvering” (spelled just like that).
A JV year can be framed through these three kids’ notes. Immediately, you try many new things! From a delightful community met at orientation to your own smaller community (that misses their connection from Juneau to Sitka but eventually makes it home)…from hiking and trying berries found on the trail to starting service with a supervisor you may have only met over Zoom, jumping in to the busy life of a JV year is full of new experiences that push you to learn, grow, and explore.
The new things can be intimidating. You’re pushed in new directions – for me, this looked like navigating Bear Country for the first time, learning just how much produce costs in Southeast Alaska (you don’t want to know!), and building a support system about as far from Dallas as I could be.
Over the course of my first year, I saw my community grow alongside one another, walking with each other through the challenges of the year whether it was the Sitka weather (all of its rain) or being as far from home as some of us have ever been. We also celebrated one another’s successes, building up one another at home and in the community. As we learned what life looked like here in Sitka, we also learned about each other, sharing stories about who we were before this and sharing our joys from the present.
As I continue my second year of JVCNW, still in sweet Sitka, persevering feels more relevant than ever. The transitions between a first and second year happen quickly with little space to reflect — as one year ended, I found myself back in Portland for another round of orientation. Persevering through the silly small things at orientation, like sharing a cabin with people you’ve just met or pushing yourself out of your comfort zone into new conversations or activities, sets us all up for the need to persevere through the JV year as a whole. I can already anticipate some of the challenges ahead of me and know that many will be unique and unanticipated, like the town-wide internet outage of my first year. Indeed, in the midst of a trying year where funding has felt uncertain for many a nonprofit, persevering has become a necessity.
A JV year is not one of ease – nor should it be. Saying yes to a year with JVC Northwest means you accept a year full of unknowns, from new locales to new people to new service roles. And as I am into my second year, I could not imagine doing anything else with my time. The need for perseverance is true, but this is not a journey you take on alone. Learning to persevere alongside and with your community gives you the opportunity to grow together, discover new things, and become part of a larger movement.
Claire with both of her Sitka JV communities (2024-25 and 2025-26).
