In July, Maryland Corps and the Maryland Service Year Option graduated its first class of around 235 people.
The state-run programs have allowed people to gain experience and crucial contacts for their next step in their careers and learn the invaluable lesson about giving back to their communities, graduates said.
One of these graduates, Brad Krantz of St. Michaels, described the program as life changing.
“I was hired by Talisman Therapeutic Riding up in Grasonville. I am working on my certification to be a therapeutic riding instructor,” Krantz said.
He worked with recreational riders and with special needs people under a senior mentor at Talisman. He teaches two to seven classes a day. Noel Douglas, who is the executive director at Talisman, told him about Maryland Corps. Three days later, he was enrolled.
“I really found my calling helping other people selflessly. It has been a transformative experience interacting with the Maryland Corps and the Service Year Option,” Krantz said.
He said that it set him up for success and helped get him across the finish line even when the program got hard.
Krantz has been offered a full-time position at Talisman.
“Just this last week, we had an incredible veterans retreat of active Special Forces operators. What an experience talking with these true American heroes and seeing the healing that was taking place immediately as soon as they met the horses. I feel so blessed and grateful that I get to do this every day. It is awesome to get to see all the smiles,” Krantz said.
Kranz is a graduate of the Maryland Corps, a service opportunity launched by the state last year for people of all ages.
Members earn a minimum of $15 dollars an hour working in organizations that provide job training and professional development. Program partnerships with both Maryland’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities and community colleges provide an additional level of collaboration and support for members, in addition to alignment with skilled trades and apprenticeship programs to facilitate transition into continued education or the workforce.
The program was rolled out alongside the Service Year Option, a similar program targeted at recent high school graduates.
Emma Bush, a Service Year Option graduate from Salisbury, said her participation in the program helped her build skills that will help her in her future career.
“There was time management, resume building, how different personalities in the workplace can play into different scenarios. I loved the financial trainings,” Bush said.
She ended up as a school liaison for the third through fifth grade classroom leader at the Epoch Dream Center is Salisbury. This is a free after-school and summer program that serves under-resourced children.
She had been volunteering with them when the director reached out to her and told her about the opportunity through the state. Her boss told her she would love to bring Bush on staff as a Service Year Option member.
“I have always had a passion for kids,” Bush said. “I love being able to work with them academically, but also work with them on character. Building the best person that they can be. I am doing year two with the Dream Center as a Maryland Corps leader.”
To learn more about the Maryland Corps and Service Year option, visit www.serve.maryland.gov.
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