As a Rochester, New York native, Morgan Barron thought she knew about everything the city had to offer. But two weeks after graduating from Monroe Community College with her associate’s degree, she was thrust into a new world of opportunities courtesy of AmeriCorps. 

Barron, a now-undergraduate student at Rochester Institute of Technology, was recently recognized by the City of Rochester and Mayor Lovely Warren as an exceptional woman. Her relationship with the municipality began in 2016 when she was hired as an intern with the Communications Bureau. A year later, she returned as an AmeriCorps VISTA supporting the Mayor’s Offices of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives and the Mayor's Office of Constituent Services. 

“The main goal was to focus on how to decrease poverty levels in Rochester but you had to start with admitting that there was a poverty issue, and from there figure out different initiatives that would help,” Barron explained. “We truly worked to meet the needs of the people of Rochester. It went from me focusing strictly on anti-poverty initiatives to all issues that constituents had within the city. To me, honestly, that was the greatest thing I could’ve done because I grew up here in Rochester but I never realized how much happened here on a regular basis.” 

The now-communications major and political science minor said the hands-on experience was also a tremendous help in the classroom. 

“This was my first job as a professional. It was pretty intense because you have to make sure that you meet the needs of the people in a year. Some people think a year is a lot of time but it goes by so fast and you have goals and initiatives that you have to meet monthly and quarterly,” she said. 

Since completing a service year in 2018, Barron returned to the city for another internship— this time with the Department of Environmental Services. Through the opportunity, she was able to work her way up to becoming the department’s executive director of the Keep Rochester Beautiful Council. All the while, Barron praises the City of Rochester and AmeriCorps for introducing young adults to the professional realm.  

“It gives you that opportunity for people to see your work, but also for you to figure out what it is that you want to do and may not want to do,” she continued. “I owe a great debt to the City of Rochester and AmeriCorps because it was just a blessing that I was able to be placed with the City of Rochester.”

As Barron works toward completing her bachelor’s degree, she encourages students to look past modest living allowances when considering a post graduate service opportunity.

“My compensation was being able to excel in all of my classes and still excel to this day,” she wrapped.