Zoe Zulakis Receives Gov's Award for Civic Engagement, here is the nomination

“…in my pocket, a small pearl - a reminder that even if plastic cannot keep out the cold, maybe compassion and humanity still can.” (from Zoe Zulakis’ essay, “Pearls of Wisdom”)

For Zoe Zulakis, the small gift of a single pearl offered from the bony hand of a cancer-ravaged man living in a dilapidated trailer in Northwest Montana, served as a reminder that the simplest acts of service have the power to transform the world.

Installing window kits in ramshackle trailers in Northwest Montana was the last place Zoe imagined finding herself in October 2008. Just weeks before, she’d been building trails amid the spectacular peaks of Glacier National Park. But even that seemed an odd place for a young woman from Michigan who’d never hiked or camped or laid her eyes on a chainsaw before her arrival in Montana in May 2008.

Zoe started with the Montana Conservation Corps with “no expectations, a faint romanticized view of the Wild West, and perhaps a little bit of foolish wanderlust in me.” In her first weeks, she found the camping, weather, and heavy work with hand tools mighty challenging. During her crew’s first assignment planting 78,000 trees along Silver Bow Creek near Butte, it snowed and rained nearly the whole week. The crew was thigh deep in cold mud every day. Had she bitten off too much? But Zoe persisted, buoyed by her own positive attitude and willingness to try new things and the support of crew leaders and fellow corps members. Soon she earned the respect of her peers for her work ethic and resiliency. When conflicts disrupted the dynamic within the crew, Zoe was a good listener who could help her fellow team members resolve their issues and find a stronger commitment to each other. Her supervisor wrote of her: “Great team player and hard working – not the type to drop a tool in the middle of a task, just because the whistle is about to blow on the end of the day.”

At the end of her term of service, Zoe drafted the essay, “Pearls of Wisdom,” about her experience weatherizing a home in Northwest Montana. Her essay reflected her realization after five months of service with a small crew, that “compassion and humanity” and the commitment to others is the best way to “keep out the cold” and create a better world. Originally published on the MCC blog, her essay has been featured on blogs for The Corps Network and ServeMontana.

Zoe also submitted a photo of her MCC experience for the 2009 AmeriCorps photo contest and her photo received the second place award. Her picture taken during a project digging out feet of snow from the Iceberg Lake trail in Glacier National Park captured the spirit of teamwork under the grandeur of Montana’s mountains.

After completing her AmeriCorps term of service with MCC, Zoe enlisted as a VISTA with the Montana Justice Foundation. Her project focused on enhancing communications among justice organizations in Montana. In addition to her project duties, Zoe stepped forward as the chair of the AmeriCorps Member Advisory Council (ACMAC) ambassador committee to improve communications and networking among AmeriCorps members serving in Montana. She facilitated the development of a member list-serv, developed resources to assist AmeriCorps members in finding affordable housing and applying for public benefits. Zoe also coordinated service projects during Global Youth Service Day, Make a Difference Day, and Martin Luther King Day. In writing about her commitment to service, Zoe reflects: “I volunteer because it makes me feel active and engaged, it makes me feel aware of the needs of my community, and requires some creativity in addressing how that need can be met.”

Zoe recently committed to a third AmeriCorps term of service, returning to the Montana Conservation Corps as a crew leader. In her application, she reflects: “I can’t think of a single experience that has shaped me more profoundly than my year as a crew member in the MCC.” As a crew leader, Zoe hopes to facilitate the same kind of learning for our 2010 crew members, “to allow them to explore new avenues of development.”

The Montana Conservation Corps proudly nominates Zoe Zulakis for a Governors Award for National Service in recognition of her demonstrated commitment to engage others in the transformational journey of service, for her support of fellow AmeriCorps members serving in Montana, and in recognition of the courage she demonstrated in climbing her mountains while bringing a little more warmth into the world through “compassion and humanity.”