Ep. 50 - Director of Home Repair - Kristina Rowles, Appalachia Service Project

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast!  This episode features a conversation with Kristina Rowles, a 2008 Van Buren High School graduate who is now the Director of Home Repair for Appalachia Service Project (ASP) in Tennessee.  Kristina shares about what she does as the Director of Home Repair, how her experiences with ASP during the summer while in high school and college helped lead her to this career, how she started her career journey as a music therapist, internship opportunities with ASP for young adults, and much more.  Anyone interested in a career with a service organization or in music therapy will find information related to getting started down those paths in this episode.  Enjoy the show!   1:42 - A typical day as Director of Home Repair at Appalachia Service Project (ASP)  2:19 - Home repair is mostly done by volunteers at no cost to the homeowners.  3:08 - 8,000 volunteers in the summer of 2022  5:05 - Kristina did volunteer with ASP while in HS but didn’t anticipate someday working for ASP full-time.  5:46 - Kristina’s focus was on becoming a music therapist. 6:51 - Experience often leads to opportunity, which is true for Kristina.  8:07 - Activities in college gave her good practice juggling many different projects/events, which help Kristina in her current job.  9:15 - Music therapy led Kristina to where she is today.  9:42 - Music therapy as a career  10:00 - Proficiency in guitar, piano, and voice helpful as a music therapist  10:57 - Music therapy internship required; Kristina did hers in Maine.  11:15 - Music therapy certification lasts five years before re-certification.  11:42 - Music therapists can own their own businesses, private practices, school systems, etc.  12:24 - Winter in Bar Harbor, ME - an interesting experience  13:48 - After thinking she was done with ASP after her college experience, a new door opened.  15:00 - Headed to the University of Tennessee to earn a master’s degree in social work, and that coincided with moving into a new position with ASP  17:00 - There are internship opportunities for young adults who have been out of high school for at least one year and are 18  17:30 - The internship is a great way for young adults to take on real responsibilities that will help them develop both personally and professionally.  18:00 - Interns meet and lead people from all over the country.  18:41 - Project management - a big part of the internship and a great learning experience  19:20 - Kristina was in charge of a $40,000 budget as a college student with ASP.  20:25 - There is usually a stereotype with Appalachia, but there are some really cool people doing some really cool things there.  22:03 - High school students don’t have to have life all figured out before they graduate.   Questions?    Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).   Connect with Kristina on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-rowles-mssw-mt-bc-6a90bb88/) or e-mail ([email protected]).