Anastasia graduated from Mile High Youth Corps’ YouthBuild Health & Wellness program as a member of the 2017 cohort. Through a partnership with the Community College of Denver, Anastasia earned her Certificate in Nurse Aide and went on to complete her state CNA licensing. Anastasia is currently working on the front lines in response to COVID-19. She works as a Medical Assistant at National Jewish Health in the COVID testing screening site and checking patients’ blood for antibodies to help confirm if someone has been exposed to or recovered from COVID-19.

The 2019 Summer of Service saw its first all-female identifying crew out of the Southern Front Range location. The Quandary crew, a group of 10 strong women, was the only MHYC crew to camp for 9 days at a time. Quandary camped and worked side by side with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) to begin the massive re-routing project of the Devil’s Playground Trail on Pikes Peak. Over the course of three months, Quandary and RMFI successfully constructed approximately 1,500 feet of new trail and removed over 6 tons of rock! Corpsmembers completed major tasks such as clearing corridor with saw work, solidifying the tread bench by digging and building log structures, and moving rocks and spreading debris.