Meet the Team Leaders: NightSnow Vogt

NightSnow Vogt, AmeriCorps Team Leader at Meadow View Elementary

Originating from the horse capital of the world, Lexington, Kentucky native NightSnow Vogt is the Team Leader at Meadow View Elementary School. With a degree in International Studies from Humboldt State University, a long history of volunteering, and a passion for working with kids, this is NightSnow’s first year in the CalSERVES program.


During his time at CalSERVES, NightSnow hopes to learn how to be an effective leader and mentor to both his students and team members and wants to use his own story to inspire the children he works with. He also wants to bring more creativity and fun to the learning process and help his students cultivate a passion for learning and school.

 As a team leader, NightSnow enjoys the multi-faceted nature of his position; he gets to manage the AmeriCorps Service Scholars, tutor students himself, and has a first-hand look and a helping hand into how the entire CalSERVES program is ran and operated. But he says that the best thing about his position as a team leader is witnessing that moment when the “light bulb turns on” in a child’s mind when they are learning something new or when they suddenly understand a lesson with which they were struggling.

Another aspect of AmeriCorps service that NightSnow appreciates is the team and school administration staff that he works with at Meadow View Elementary. Parents, the school administration, classroom leaders, AmeriCorps members, and the Site Supervisor are all putting in hard work and trying to make this year fantastic for the students in the program. NightSnow says he is looking forward to seeing how the chemistry and dynamics of the entire team evolve and strengthen as the year progresses.

Having just very recently passed the CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test), after his time is up at CalSERVES, NightSnow wants to continue onto a career in classroom education. He will first start out as substitute teacher and then eventually, after completing a Teaching Credential program, a full time teacher. As for advice for future Team Leaders or Service Scholars, NightSnow says that you should be ready to take initiative and lead by example. The best leaders are the ones who can both identify the strengths of a group and find areas for improvement; and as a leader, your function is to be the vehicle for the collective improvement and growth of your group.

By Jacquelene Bennett, AmeriCorps Content Leader
and NightSnow Vogt, AmeriCorps Team Leader, Meadow View Elementary