AmeriCorps VISTA Highlight
Mia Hernandez is the AmeriCorps Program Development Coordinator VISTA for Alliance For Greater Works (Alliance). Mia was born and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas. The first person in her immediate family to graduate college, she earned a BS in Exercise Sports Science at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
Prior to the 2020 pandemic, Mia worked in the health and fitness industry. However, even with her love for sports health, she quickly became dissatisfied. During the initial pandemic shut-down, Mia began to reevaluate her career choices. Through much prayer and intentional thought, she realized she wanted to do more than just work; her desire was to serve the community at large. Unsure of her next steps, she knew one thing for sure, she loved to help people and wanted to spend her time making a difference in the lives of others. This led Mia to Alliance, and from there, she decided to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Working for Alliance has taught Mia to take the time to thoughtfully consider everything she does. Her upbringing and life experiences are what drives her desire to help others. Mia is most inspired when working with teams and she enjoys finding the value each person brings into her path. “Serving with Alliance is awesome,” says Mia and she is excited to see where God takes her as she continues to learn, grow, and reflect.
AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency’s mission is “to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.” While a government agency, AmeriCorps acts much like a foundation and is the nation’s largest annual grant maker supporting service and volunteering. It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. In September 2020, the agency rebranded itself as AmeriCorps, although its official name is unchanged.