Adult volunteers who work as experiential educators in Public Achievement (PA) told us about their experiences, and we contrasted these with the stated aims of Public Achievement, young peoples' experiences, and what it is like to be an adult volunteer. PA coaches reflected that there was a significant disjuncture between the official aims of PA and their lived experiences working with youth. Even though this was a source of frustration, PA coaches did come to have personally meaningful experiences working with youth, and this provoked reflection on their own understanding of citizenship, democracy, and public work. (Contains 1 table.)