Amery Phillips

I had a great time volunteering at Mempho Fest this year! I made great connections while serving the greater Memphis community by working with a team to create a memorable festival experience. The city of Memphis is defined by a deep connection to the musical world, and festivals such as Mempho help to preserve and amplify the culture and history of Memphis.

How did this experience challenge your problem-solving abilities?

I volunteered as a production assistant for the "School of Rock Adult Band" Concert at the Hi-Tone music venue in Memphis. The venue had limited sound equipment in the room we were in, and so it was a struggle to find ways to get all of the instruments to make sound through the speakers. The solution involved working with my peers to create creative solutions.

Did this experience change your perspective on your role within the community or environment?

This experience was a music fundraising event for a member of the Memphis music community who recently passed unexpectedly, and being able to participate in creating awareness for his family was a very fulfilling experience. Working to ensure that community members are able to feel secure in all other aspects of life when dealing with tragedy is a key part of a thriving community.

What new connections or relationships did you form during your service?

I met other Memphis musicians and was able to speak with them about music in general, as well as upcoming shows. Live events are always a great way to meet fellow musicians and discuss the role of the arts in our city.

How did your service contribute to the mission or goals of the organization?

The event was able to raise a substantial amount of money for the family to cover living and funeral expenses. While School of Rock is a private company, its mission is still to enrich and provide for the local Memphis community.

What unexpected challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

An unexpected challenge was getting all of the musicians in the room to begin their sets, as they were all doing separate tasks at the start time. I was able to gather everyone by coordinating with my fellow volunteers and assigning one volunteer to each person to find.

What skills did you develop or improve through this service experience?

I learned quite a bit about live event production, and what goes into handling the logistics of art shows involving vendors. Traffic direction was a large part of my role, and I learned how to effectively navigate directing cars.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

Art in the Loop is an event I had never heard of before, but I learned just how important it is to local art vendors and musicians across the city. Many of the vendors I spoke with told me this was the biggest day of the year for them and their sales.

What new connections or relationships did you form during your service?

I met Greg Belz, the director of the event. I also learned he helps coordinate a Songwriter event in downtown Memphis, so it was great to be able to form a connection that is related to my career goals as a music industry major.

How did the organization support or guide you during your service?

Greg was always close enough to me to where I could go to him with questions. The most common issue I ran into was not knowing where to help next, and he was great at detailing my next objective.

What unexpected challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

A challenge I often faced was patrons of the event entering early and utilizing services before the event began. I had to work past my fear of confrontation and explain to patrons that the event had not yet begun, to which many were incredibly understanding.

What skills did you develop or improve through this service experience?

I improved my ability to effectively receive direction and execute tasks. I was given the role of directing traffic, and after getting my role properly explained, I was able to work on making sure the task was met.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

I learned through this experience just how important our parks are in the city of Memphis. Oftentimes, parks are overlooked or considered an unneeded city expense. Events like these, however, show how parks can bring communities together for a fun and exciting experience.

Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your
experience?

I worked individually during this experience. While it was nice to be able to have control of the work, I think if I did the experience again, I would have chosen one of the roles that involved working in a group. When traffic slowed down, it became easy to feel alone for the rest of my shift.

How did the organization support or guide you during your service?

The organization made sure I felt incredibly ready for my role, more than any other volunteer experience prior. I was given all of the proper equipment, a radio, a light wand, a vest, and even hand-warmers. The radio was often used to make sure I was ok and comfortable, and staff members routinely checked up on me.

What would you change about your approach to this service opportunity in the future

I would absolutely dress warmer! This experience was done completely outside in temperatures of 40 degrees and below. While I did add extra layers, I now know to add even more clothing to make sure I can do my job effectively without the worry of dealing with the weather.

I volunteered for a "Turkey Trot" 5k when I was home for Thanksgiving.

How did this experience challenge your problem-solving abilities?

During this experience, I had to learn how to effectively communicate goals to my fellow volunteers. Moving and setting up tables, discussing which station volunteers will be put in, as well as how to fit tables and chairs into trucks. Overall, being able to communicate where certain people and items were meant to be was a problem I found myself having to solve.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

I met so many community members during this experience, and I was able to learn how important a sense of community was to the neighborhood that hosted the event. To them, the run was never as important as getting together as a community for a common goal and achieving it.

Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your
experience?

I worked as a team setting up for the event, but I worked alone, handing out water at my station. Overall, working as a team was much more exciting and effective. Working alone, while efficient, made me feel isolated and less involved in the event.

How did the organization support or guide you during your service?

The organization was very clear on my 3 large tasks for the event: set-up, water, and tear-down. While there was no official guidebook or reference, community members have done the event long enough that every element was planned out.

What unexpected challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them

An unexpected challenge I faced was running out of water cups during the event. I was able to solve this by quickly filling more cups in before I completely ran out of water. I was able to be proactive enough so that there was enough for everyone who walked or ran by.

How did this experience challenge your problem-solving abilities?

For this event, I played music for free during the open mic section of the REACH Memphis fundraising event. Finding a place to plug in my keyboard and amplification system was tricky, but I was able to problem-solve by asking the staff for extension cords, which they provided.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

I learned about what REACH does, and how they are working to combat children in the Memphis community from being undereducated. I learned, through speaker testimonies, how important REACH and its programs were from recent high school graduates.

Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your experience?

I worked individually, but was able to connect with those whom I played music for, and had some great conversations with REACH members.

Do you plan to continue volunteering with this organization? Why or why not?

Absolutely! The person who invited me to volunteer at the event is a friend of mine, and I have been able to form a relationship with REACH members through him. Volunteering for their events means contributing to a great community.

What would you change about your approach to this service opportunity in the future?

I would definitely research the venue before the event, and learn where I will be set up. I was ill-prepared to set up my equipment, as I had done no prior research, which resulted in a lack of power for my instruments until I was able to find a solution.

What skills did you develop or improve through this service experience?

I improved my ability to communicate effectively and establish a correspondence with event leaders.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

I did not know how far reaching Best Buddies effect was! I learned how many chapters of the organization there was and I was astounded!

Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your
experience?

I was able to run the registration table with my partner, but I also helped set up tables with a group of people.

Do you plan to continue volunteering with this organization? Why or why not?

Absolutely! I plan on joining the Best Buddies organization next semester. After learning how important the work done is, I will be happy to help!

Did your service align with your personal values and beliefs? If not, how did you handle
any conflicts?

It absolutely did!

How did this experience challenge your problem-solving abilities?

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to be the live music for Concord Academy's annual Blue Jean Ball, a fundraising event for the school. The event was at an event center, and the only thing provided to me was electricity. It was a unique experience getting the microphone, speakers, stands, and piano all se up on my own.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

I had never heard of Concord prior to the event, and since I played through all of the night I was able to learn more about what they do during speeches from staff and students. It was great getting to learn about how they inspire children that were not able to thrive at other schools and give them a chance to grow into their own there.

What new connections or relationships did you form during your service?

I met many staff and board members of the school! It was a great opportunity to learn more about the school, and keep in contact for future events that they may hold.

How did the organization support or guide you during your service?

One of the coordinators of the event was very helpful in telling me where to play, and giving me a detailed schedule so I know when I needed to take breaks for speeches as well as the auction.

Did your service align with your personal values and beliefs? If not, how did you handle
any conflicts?

It did! I have a brother who was not able to properly reach his potential in high school due to the fact that many public education systems are built around neurotypical children. Seeing a place that is specifically made for students who may be neurodivergent or simply not benefit from conventional high school made me hopeful for students like my brother.

How has this experience influenced your future career or educational goals?

It was great meeting board members from REACH Memphis, who told me more about what it means to work for a nonprofit and how rewarding it can feel to help your direct community. This gave me more to think about when it comes to what sector of work I choose to pursue after college.

What did you learn about the community or environment you served?

According to some of the speakers, they most likely would not have gone on to pursue higher education if it were not for their peers and mentors at REACH. I did not realize how high the barrier of entry truly was for some less privileged.

Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your
experience?

I played music for the charity event, so I played with other musicians. It was great being able to play for the crowd and playing with a band always makes the experience more enjoyable!

Do you plan to continue volunteering with this organization? Why or why not?

If I get asked to play again I absolutely would! It was great to meet members of my community and contribute to the goal of uplifting younger generations in Memphis.

What unexpected challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

The microphones continued to give feedback due to how small the venue was. After conversations with the sound engineer, we were able to configure a way that both the audience and myself could hear the music and it went great after that!