This overview provides information about the Students of Service (SOS) AmeriCorps program, which offers scholarships to college students who serve as mentors to K-12 students. To qualify, applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents aged 17 or older with a high school diploma and attend a participating Maryland-DC Campus Compact institution. As an SOS member, students complete 300 hours of service over one year mentoring K-12 students, for which they receive a $1,175 education award. The overview ensures applicants understand eligibility requirements and are committed to full program completion in order to receive the scholarship.

1. Pre-Service Overview
This overview will:
•Provide general information: overview of national service and Students of
Service (SOS) program basics.
•Determine eligibility: determine if you’re eligible to participate and the types
of service activities that qualify
•Ensure commitment: with a limited number of scholarships available we want
to ensure you can commit and complete your service successfully. Once you
enroll, we cannot offer that same scholarship to anyone else whether or not you
complete the program.

2. What is Students of Service (SOS)?
SOS is a part-time AmeriCorps program that offers
scholarships (education vouchers) to college students who
serve as mentors to K-12 students in their community.
SOS aims to connect colleges and universities with local
communities to increase K-12 academic engagement through
mentoring, as well as empower students in higher education
to serve by sharing resources, skills, knowledge, and time.
SOS challenges YOU to think about what it means to be a
civically engaged citizen and why it is important now and in
the future.

3. What is AmeriCorps?
AmeriCorps is a program funded by federal tax dollars
through the Corporation for National and Community
Service (CNCS), a federal organization in Washington,
D.C.
AmeriCorps engages people to serve their communities.
AmeriCorps offers several different programs designed to
meet critical needs. For Students of Service, the focus is
around K-12 student engagement.

4. Why Should I Join?
SERVE your community and make a difference;
LEARN about your community and yourself;
EARN a scholarship of $1,175 to use for your education
expenses such as loans and/or tuition;
PREPARE for a job/career after college through real-life
experience and responsibility in the community

5. Am I Eligible?
To serve as an SOS member, you must:
Be a United States citizen or permanent resident
Be at least 17 years old
Have a GED or high school diploma
Be a student at a Maryland-DC Campus Compact
member institution

6. What are Allowable Service Activities?
You must spend at least 80% of your time directly
mentoring K-12 students to improve their
“engagement.”
SOS members may simultaneously also:
 Be work-study students doing community service
 Take service-learning courses for credit
 Take service-related internships for credit
(i.e. social work, counseling, etc.)

7. What Service Does Not Qualify?
CNCS has defined activities which are not allowed while
accruing service hours at your AmeriCorps site. Please
review the List of Prohibited Activities in the SOS
Member Enrollment Packet.
You may engage in these activities in your personal time,
but not as part of your term of service.

8. Your Term of Service
Throughout your lifetime you can serve up to four AmeriCorps
terms of service, not to exceed the equivalent of 2.0 full-time
years of service (e.g. Member Service Year or MSY)
The Students of Service is broken down as follows:
 300 hours (.21 MSY) in 1 calendar year = $1,175
Once you make a commitment to a Term of Service, you must
serve your entire term in order to earn your Education Award.

9. What Else Can I Do?
 Since AmeriCorps and Maryland-DC Campus Compact value your professional
growth, you may spend up to 20% of your term of service on Member
Development.
 Member Development is the opportunity to pursue service-related and
professional goals. It’s about you, using your service to develop as a person
and sharing your new found skills/knowledge with your community!
 Member development hours can include:
 Reflection on your service experience
 Elective course work/class time related to your direct service
 Professional conferences or workshops
 Faculty meetings or agency staff meetings

10. Using Your Education Award
You receive your education award when you have officially completed your
term of service and exit the SOS program.
Past  You may repay qualified student loans such as the Stafford,
Perkins, Federal Direct/Indirect (call your lending institution to verify)
Present  You may apply the award to the cost of attendance at your
college or university.
Future  You have access to the award for up to seven years to use for
graduate programs, individual classes, specialty and trade schools, and study
abroad.
For more information on the Education Award, please visit
http://edaward.org/

11. Take the AmeriCorps Pledge
 I will get things done for America – to make our people safer,
smarter, and healthier.
 I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
 Faced with apathy, I will take action.
 Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
 I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
 I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

12. Are you Committed to Becoming an SOS Member?
If yes, contact your SOS Campus Partner and ask about
availability of positions on your campus (position
availability is not guaranteed). If there is space available,
then schedule an In-Person Orientation!
Service hours will not count until an In-Person
Orientation has been completed, your enrollment
paperwork is passed in, and your SOS Campus Partner
has officially enrolled you in the system.