Jonesville, VA - home sweet home

Finals are here and the end is in sight. Graduation will be here before I know it, then it's off to ASP for Center Director training. I'll be heading to Jonesville, VA, one of our year-round centers, for 2 weeks of training. AND I will be spending my entire summer there. It will be slightly more "luxurious" than my past accomodations, but it will also have it's challenges. Both of which I'm excited about. I went from a center where I couldn't drink the water, to one where we had 4 showers total in a green house, to a center with a staff apartment (which includes a small kitchen, 4 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms!).

In order to avoid studying, I've been doing some research on the area. Jonesville is located in Lee County and has a population of 995 people. Other towns in the county include Dryden, Ewing, Keokee, Pennington Gap, Rose Hill, and St. Charles (along with an unincorporated town called Ben Hur, my personal favorite). "Lee County's poverty rate is 150% higher than the poverty rate in Virginia and the per capita income for Lee Countians is only 57% of the per capita income of Virginians." The county population in 2005 was 23,686 (1% urban, 99% rural). The county is 98.1% white, non-hispanic. "Lee County ranks highest on Elderly poverty rate of any county in Virginia. It ranks 4th highest on poverty rate. It has the lowest Average Adjusted Gross Income and the 3rd lowest Average family income. It ranks 7th highest on Child poverty rate."

It's going to be an interesting and very different summer, but one I'm excited about. I, of course, am nervous about being a Center Director, but I know that my past 2 summers have prepared me for this experience. And fortunately, I don't have to do it alone. I will have a staff of 4 other people and a supervisor to work with for the summer. And one of my good friends is the Center Director in the neighboring county, which is wonderful! It feels like there's a lot to do between now and May 16th, but I know it will all get done and come together. And when I leave for training, I'll be heading to my "final destination" for the summer. When I have my address and other information, I'll pass it along!

I also was offered a position with ASP's year-round program last week. I accepted it Friday, so I'll get a few weeks off in August and then head back to ASP in September. That also will be a very different experience, but one I'm excited about. So for the next 12 months (at least), I'll be working in the mountains doing something that I truly love to do!