Abington graduate joins AmeriCorps--heads to Alaskan wilderness

Recent Penn State Abington graduate Andrew Lee will be heading to the wilds of Alaska, having left May 30 for a five month excursion with AmeriCorps, a national organization that provides opportunities for Americans to make an intensive commitment to service.

Already bitten by the travel bug from taking trips abroad, Lee knew he wanted to travel after commencement. He also knew he wanted to do "something positive." Joining AmeriCorps was the perfect opportunity to achieve both goals.

Lee will be working with a team of eight young adults as they do back-breaking, manual labor clearing park trails and highways in the Alaskan wilderness. The team will spend two weeks in the town of Indian, near Anchorage, for orientation and then it’s off to the work sites. No comfy bed to come home to at the end of a hard day’s work, as the team will be sleeping in tents. According to Lee, the temperature can range from  zero to ninety degrees in Alaska during the months from June through October so layering is a key factor to staying dry, warm, and comfortable. Lee will receive a small monthly stipend for his labors and also receive a bonus at the end of his five month commitment.

"Instead of starting fires," quipped Lee sarcastically, "or working for a company, I’ll be helping the environment and my fellow man. I’d rather be doing that than helping someone else make money. I can make money anyway. Money isn’t everything. Just seeing Alaska will be worth it."

Lee graduated on May 15 from Penn State Abington with a bachelor’s degree in art. "There’s so much I want to do--time willing and financially speaking," said Lee. "After my AmeriCorps trip, I want to drive across the country with a mobile kiln and fire on location. Or, I’d like to participate in The 2904™ (a car race where participants must drive the 2904 miles from the Brooklyn bridge to the Golden Gate bridge on a budget of  $2904) with my buddies, or join the Peace Corps, or maybe Teach For America."

Obviously, the world is Lee’s oyster.