How can it possibly already have been a month? I meant post a blog two weeks ago, after completing my first month on the job, and here we are practically staring August in the face. I know that this is actually a good thing because one of my biggest fears about life post-Princeton was having too much free time. As outrageous as this sounds, my schedule has always been structured due to various commitments between classes, varsity sports, and other extracurricular activities. So much so that I actually get anxious when there's nothing to do.
As my mom warned me after helping me get settled into my sublet before heading back to Ohio, "If you can't be entertained and happy in New York, then you will never be happy and entertained elsewhere." Life is what you make out of it, and in a city like New York there is as much, or as little, to do as you decide. What was most surprising about working 9-5 was how exhausted I felt after coming home from work. The first couple of weekends were actually spent sleeping since I had little energy to do anything else. Nevertheless, I made sure to join my bureau's softball team, which is actually tons of fun, and have tried various meetup group activities (all of which have been equally enjoyable). My body finally adjusted by the third week of work, and was off exploring flea markets and various local coffee shops.
One of the advantages about working for the City at the District Attorney's Office is that we receive discounts on transportation, and as it turns out on fitness (we get a special discount at the New York Sports Club.) Consequently a lot of my free time during the week has been spent doing yoga, pilates, and spinning classes. The apartment hunt, however, has also cut into much of my free time. For current PP55 graduates I highly recommend joining one of the regional listservs via TigerNet since there are constantly ads for individuals looking to sublet their apartments, or even adds from people looking for roommates to renew current apartment leases.
Work has equally been a busy, challenging, and enthralling experience. My ability to multitask has been enhanced tremendously. Normally in college you have set times for everything, such as class from 10-10:50am, grab brunch, practice, and then study History, French, and Politics. In the work world, you can be interrupted while in the midst of one project, and be expected to drop everything to pick up another more pressing project. One of my favorite aspects about working in Appeals is the variety of cases to which I'm exposed. Already, I have proofed briefs ranging in subjects from drug busts to assault, and am currently in the process of writing my own brief in response to a defendant's appeal that his sentence was excessive. There is only so much that books and classes can teach you, so far it has been incredibly rewarding to gain an appreciation for how organizations, in my case a form of bureaucracy, works to ensure structure and stability in the real world. Also, for anyone who has been following the DSK case on the French or national news, or who watches suits on USA, then you've probably seen the entrance to my office and/or scenes from areas that I pass on a daily basis when walking to work!
PP55 fellows share their experience working in the public interest and being a part of the Princeton AlumniCorps community.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Land of Acronyms: Finding NSOC's for CEP in DC
To be entirely honest, I spent the entire summer dreading July 18th, which was the day I started working for Character Education Partnership. Not that I wasn't absolutely thrilled to have a fellowship there—from my initial interview at CEP, which involved meeting the entire staff, I knew that I would love to work in an office that places such a heavy emphasis on practicing what it preaches and treating all coworkers with kindness and respect. It was simply that I was just not looking forward to adjusting to a 9 to 5 schedule and losing the fun and freedom so deeply associated with college life. However, July 18th rolled around despite all my wishes to the contrary and so, half an earlier than necessary, I nervously made my way via metro for the first time to downtown DC to begin my new life as a working girl.
Fortunately, my fears quickly subsided due to a number of factors. The first has been my coworkers. Because CEP is such a small organization (though with very widespread national outreach), I directly interact with every staff member on a daily basis, from the president/CEO to the summer interns. Everyone has played a role in ensuring that I was warmly welcomed and that right off the bat I felt like I was part of the team. Without a doubt, however, my main source of reassurance in the office has been my fellow fellows! CEP has two fellows this year—Carol Dreibelbis and myself—and Leif Johnson, one of the fellows from last year, has overlapped with our fellowship year for the past two weeks to finish up his work here. It has been so wonderful to have someone to ask my stupid questions to and to escape the frigid industrial air conditioning with to soak up the sweltering DC sun during our half-hour lunch break. I love both of them, and I was very sad to say good-bye to Leif on his last day today!
The other major factor has been the work itself. Going into my fellowship, I had only vague answers to the relentless questioning regarding what my plans were for the upcoming year. I knew CEP was dedicated to helping schools develop comprehensive character education initiatives, but I was not entirely clear how they went about doing so, nor how I would contribute to their efforts. Two weeks in, I am much more knowledgeable, slightly overwhelmed, but very excited by the work I will be doing. On my third day, I learned that I would be taking over Leif’s position as the fellow concentrating on fundraising and development. I report directly to the director of resource development, who tells me which foundations and corporate giving programs we should be targeting and how much money we should be asking for; gives me a skeleton for the grant proposal; and leaves most everything else up to my discretion. It is an enormous amount of responsibility: I essentially write or edit everything that leaves the office, from letters of inquiry to grant applications to position papers to donation appeals to thank you notes. Needless to say, I am never bored, and at times I have wondered how I am going to be able to do all of the work I am assigned, especially when told that I would also be expected to find all of the vendors for the Exhibit Hall at CEP’s National Forum on Character (which requires an entirely new post to explain). But I am also excited to be entrusted with such important work in my first year of work and to be developing new, practical skills as an English major! (this was another source of concern for me…) So, despite all of my fears, my second week flew by, and I look forward to learning more and meeting new people in the coming weeks.
From Astoria to Fifth Avenue
The New Home
When you grow up in Eastern Europe with American movies, you are likely to think that living in New York City means living in Manhattan. I had to face the reality of NYC geography - and more importantly NYC apartment rents before moving in. I spent a few months determined to live in Manhattan, even if I had to live on 195th street, until lucky circumstances brought me to Astoria to check out my (now) roommate's apartment. Alejandro and I have an interesting apartment setup."Our bohemian abode," as Ale likes to call it, is far from luxurious and the issue of proper curtains or extra plates is a little touchy, but we make it work and have a good time.
When you grow up in Eastern Europe with American movies, you are likely to think that living in New York City means living in Manhattan. I had to face the reality of NYC geography - and more importantly NYC apartment rents before moving in. I spent a few months determined to live in Manhattan, even if I had to live on 195th street, until lucky circumstances brought me to Astoria to check out my (now) roommate's apartment. Alejandro and I have an interesting apartment setup."Our bohemian abode," as Ale likes to call it, is far from luxurious and the issue of proper curtains or extra plates is a little touchy, but we make it work and have a good time.
Not to mention… There are apparently no Americans in Astoria. There are, however, a whole lot of Greek immigrants. In practical terms for me this means that I can buy Bulgarian food at a nearby supermarket, which I would otherwise have to order online at very high prices. The neighborhood is full of families and feels very safe even late at night – when I make treks to the conveniently located fair trade grocery stores that is open 24/7! Avocados cost $1 here; they cost up to $4 per piece in other areas. Thus, my erratic eating habits provided for, I have nothing to complain about. Except maybe the little child that starts screaming in the backyard under my window at 7am on weekends. Or the train service sometimes, which brings me to my next point:
Subway extravaganzas
The phrase "planned service changes" has become the bane of my existence. On any particular line these three little words are code for unpredictable adventures. Service changes are usually planned only in that they are known to some MTA employee somewhere, but not to ordinary subway users. On the rare occasion that notes about changes are posted at respective subway stations, they are intentionally unintuitive and no less complicated than tax laws. The N subway won't be going to Manhattan from 5:01pm to 12:01am. Great, I can still take the Q! Not so fast... When they say N, they really mean both the N and the Q. And when they give you specific hours, really they mean the whole weekend. And the next one.
Work?
My fellowship only truly started a few days ago due to circumstances that neither I nor The Rockefeller Foundation had the power to influence. Once Immigration Services issued my work permit, I immediately started working… sort of. My first day at the Foundation was in fact the annual picnic held by the various Rockefeller philanthropies. It was a full day at the family’s estate in Tarrytown, with a lot of free food and casual interactions in the sun (which were a bit awkward for me at first, given that I didn’t know a single person present). The picnic also included a free tour of the Kykuit home-turned-museum which houses a collection of antiques and works of art that any small or even medium-sized museum would envy.
At the office the next day, everyone was eager to meet me and talk to me and try to attract me to work on their respective teams. I found a giant bouquet of beautiful flowers on my desk with a cordial note from my supervisor (refer to the low-quality picture taken with my phone). My cubicle itself is the size of my single at Princeton last year. The office overall is splendid and, as I’m located on the 21st floor on Fifth Avenue, the view is a killer. While my colleagues have treated me with a great deal of special attention to help me adapt to the world of the Foundation, everyone has also been addressing me as an equal despite my lack of work experience. They all seem genuinely excited to have me, which in turn makes me genuinely excited to be here. Moreover, as I found out over the past few days, the timing of my joining the Foundation is quite peculiar. Not only is the hundredth anniversary of RF approaching, but there are also a number of brand new programs which I have the opportunity to work on and help shape during my fellowship year. RF’s leadership seems to trust Princeton fellows with complex and responsible tasks that could really educate and enrich a young professional, while preparing her for the dynamic world of public interest work.
I will save writing more about the concrete work I will be doing for later because, frankly, I haven’t done much work so far. Between attending orientation meetings, reading up on the Foundation’s initiatives, and eating free food, I have barely started to understand the intricate relationships among the various projects and programs currently underway. For example, today I was invited to a lunch panel on building up “resilience” in poor and vulnerable communities in the world. The panel took place after the champagne breakfast we had in honor of one of our distinguished colleagues who is leaving to work for USAID. After work, there is a staff gathering at a restaurant nearby. All in all, I’m loving my first days with The Rockefeller Foundation!
Subway extravaganzas
The phrase "planned service changes" has become the bane of my existence. On any particular line these three little words are code for unpredictable adventures. Service changes are usually planned only in that they are known to some MTA employee somewhere, but not to ordinary subway users. On the rare occasion that notes about changes are posted at respective subway stations, they are intentionally unintuitive and no less complicated than tax laws. The N subway won't be going to Manhattan from 5:01pm to 12:01am. Great, I can still take the Q! Not so fast... When they say N, they really mean both the N and the Q. And when they give you specific hours, really they mean the whole weekend. And the next one.
Work?
My fellowship only truly started a few days ago due to circumstances that neither I nor The Rockefeller Foundation had the power to influence. Once Immigration Services issued my work permit, I immediately started working… sort of. My first day at the Foundation was in fact the annual picnic held by the various Rockefeller philanthropies. It was a full day at the family’s estate in Tarrytown, with a lot of free food and casual interactions in the sun (which were a bit awkward for me at first, given that I didn’t know a single person present). The picnic also included a free tour of the Kykuit home-turned-museum which houses a collection of antiques and works of art that any small or even medium-sized museum would envy.
At the office the next day, everyone was eager to meet me and talk to me and try to attract me to work on their respective teams. I found a giant bouquet of beautiful flowers on my desk with a cordial note from my supervisor (refer to the low-quality picture taken with my phone). My cubicle itself is the size of my single at Princeton last year. The office overall is splendid and, as I’m located on the 21st floor on Fifth Avenue, the view is a killer. While my colleagues have treated me with a great deal of special attention to help me adapt to the world of the Foundation, everyone has also been addressing me as an equal despite my lack of work experience. They all seem genuinely excited to have me, which in turn makes me genuinely excited to be here. Moreover, as I found out over the past few days, the timing of my joining the Foundation is quite peculiar. Not only is the hundredth anniversary of RF approaching, but there are also a number of brand new programs which I have the opportunity to work on and help shape during my fellowship year. RF’s leadership seems to trust Princeton fellows with complex and responsible tasks that could really educate and enrich a young professional, while preparing her for the dynamic world of public interest work.
I will save writing more about the concrete work I will be doing for later because, frankly, I haven’t done much work so far. Between attending orientation meetings, reading up on the Foundation’s initiatives, and eating free food, I have barely started to understand the intricate relationships among the various projects and programs currently underway. For example, today I was invited to a lunch panel on building up “resilience” in poor and vulnerable communities in the world. The panel took place after the champagne breakfast we had in honor of one of our distinguished colleagues who is leaving to work for USAID. After work, there is a staff gathering at a restaurant nearby. All in all, I’m loving my first days with The Rockefeller Foundation!
First Mentor/Mentee Meet-up
On Tuesday, I received an email from Social and Alumni Relations Committee Co-Chair Andrew Protain with the subject line: "Your Project 55 Mentor." Finally! How exciting!
I immediately wrote to my newly appointed mentor, Carol Lee '03. Several emails later, we set up a mentor-mentee-meeting for Mexican food down in Murray Hill (alliteration...). We met last night, and I really enjoyed our conversation. I found out that Carol had also been a mentor for ETM's former fellow Julie Rubinger '09 (I love it when my Project 55 connections come full circle like that). We talked about Carol's own experience as a San Francisco fellow and how she found her way back to the East Coast and now works for KIPP NYC. We also talked about my own interests and future career goals, and I am definitely looking forward to the PP55 seminars that might focus on some of these areas.
All in all, it was a great talk. To all of you fellows out there, if you haven't yet met with your mentor, definitely get in touch. Otherwise, you're missing out!
Looking forward to the fellows' happy hour event next week. I hope to see all of you New Yorkers there!
I immediately wrote to my newly appointed mentor, Carol Lee '03. Several emails later, we set up a mentor-mentee-meeting for Mexican food down in Murray Hill (alliteration...). We met last night, and I really enjoyed our conversation. I found out that Carol had also been a mentor for ETM's former fellow Julie Rubinger '09 (I love it when my Project 55 connections come full circle like that). We talked about Carol's own experience as a San Francisco fellow and how she found her way back to the East Coast and now works for KIPP NYC. We also talked about my own interests and future career goals, and I am definitely looking forward to the PP55 seminars that might focus on some of these areas.
All in all, it was a great talk. To all of you fellows out there, if you haven't yet met with your mentor, definitely get in touch. Otherwise, you're missing out!
Looking forward to the fellows' happy hour event next week. I hope to see all of you New Yorkers there!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
A Night at the Ballpark: Baseball, Food, and Princeton
Tonight I joined past and present Princeton AlumniCorps fellows for a Camden Riversharks baseball game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The event was hosted by the Princeton Club of Philadelphia. It was a fun night filled with delicious food and exciting baseball. Besides watching a good baseball game (the Riversharks walked away with a 4-3 victory that went into extra innings), it was also a great opportunity to meet other Princetonians in the Philly area.
One of the things that I have learned since being in Philadelphia is that even though you may leave Princeton, it is never too hard to find Princeton wherever you are. Joining the Princeton Club of Philadelphia has allowed me to stay connected to the University while also meeting new people in the area. I encourage all fellows and recent graduates looking to stay involved to join and participate actively in their regional club.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The things I've learned after my first week:
I arrived in DC one week and two days ago, and I've been working at Character Education Partnership for exactly one week and one day. Here's what I've learned so far:
- People are nice. I have been "homeless" for the duration of my fellowship (since I don't move into my permanent apartment until this coming weekend), but people I didn't even know that well have provided me places to stay. I arranged to stay for a few nights with with my co-fellow Sarah and her roommates Hillary (also a fellow) and Alana, as well as with my boyfriend's brother's ex-Princeton-roommates. It was just so nice of them to let me stay with them--thanks guys! Also, the doorman to my office building is so cheery and always greets Sarah and me quite enthusiastically. And then there's the President and CEO of CEP who gave me a high five the other day.
- Washington, D.C. is a hot place. I know there were record-breaking temperatures all over the region during this past week, but I must say, it has been unbelievably hot in the city. Luckily, my office building is (extremely) air conditioned and the apartments I've been staying in have both been air conditioned. I can only imagine what it would be like to be one of the many truly homeless people I pass on my way to work during a week like last week.
- Walking is nice. I've been doing a fair amount of walking now that I live in a walk-able city and have to get to work, and it's great. I recommend that everyone walk to work or walk during their lunch break if they are able--it's such a calming yet energizing way to start the day. I'll be taking the metro to work once I move into my apartment in Arlington, but I'm going to make it my goal to make the trek to work a few times each month!
- Working for someone is much different than working for myself. When I was at school (remember Princeton?), I was in charge of my work; at CEP, my supervisor is in charge of my work. When I would write a paper for a class, I would follow my own rules and decide on my own what was appropriate or necessary to write; at CEP, I check everything I write or work on with at least two other people. I haven't decided yet if I do or do not like the very collaborative and collective writing/working process at work--I'll keep you posted.
- I'm really glad to live in a city with a core group of people! I had a great time at the DC area welcome gathering the other day--we went to Zorbas to meet up with the other fellows and get acquainted with one another. It was great hearing about everyone else's jobs so far and comparing our 30-second elevator speeches about our jobs. It also reminded me that I have a whole community here already, and that's pretty cool.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
District Attorney’s Office Town Hall Meeting
“When I visit town-hall meetings and school assemblies, I often ask the same question: ‘What is the one thing that most people who get arrested in Philadelphia have in common?’ The answer: They did not graduate from high school.” – District Attorney Seth Williams
On Tuesday I went to a town hall meeting organized by our office for the Fairmount community. Hosted by the Great Exodus Baptist Church, the meeting opened up with introductions by the Rev. Sydney Flores, City Councilmen Bill Greenlee and Darrell Clarke, District Attorney Seth Williams, and all the DA’s Office staff in attendance. The focus of the town hall meeting was crime prevention and safety. One of the recurring themes of the evening was finding ways to improve our school system so that Philadelphia’s youth do not get caught up in the criminal justice system. As District Attorney Seth Williams noted Tuesday night and on several previous occasions (including in the article that he wrote for philly.com on the impact of truancy), there is a correlation between truancy and later criminal behavior. By keeping children in school, we can keep them from going to jail, and in the long run save the money that it costs to incarcerate them.
The District Attorney also highlighted the significant improvements in our office. Whereas a few years ago 59% of cases were getting dismissed by judges at the preliminary hearing stage, now only 4% are being dismissed. This is due to a revamping of the Charging Unit. Before, the Charging Unit was where they sent prosecutors who were underachieving or inexperienced. The Charging Unit is now comprised of the most senior level and accomplished district attorneys who skillfully decide which cases to prosecute. The office is also now exercising much more selectivity in the cases that it chooses to prosecute—they are only going forward with cases that they are certain they can prove. The improved statistics of our office are also largely due to the move to zone prosecution. Inspired by cities that were seeing success through zone prosecution, District Attorney Williams changed the way Philadelphia prosecutes crime. The City now prosecutes crimes based on geographic location—or zone prosecution. The different zones now coincide with the geographic territory of police districts; East, Central, Northwest, Northeast, South, Southwest bureaus handle crime in their respective territories. The goal of community-based prosecution is that prosecutors, police officers, and community residents are better able work together to target repeat offenders versus those who might benefit from a diversion program. Through zone prosecution, cases are handled from start to finish by only a few prosecutors who ensure that it is effectively being prosecuted. Because crime patterns are often geographically based, zone prosecution enables our office to more effectively prosecute violent crimes by being more engaged with the communities we seek to protect.
Also instrumental in saving the City money is the Small Amounts of Marijuana (SAM) program. Whereas before the office and City were spending thousands of dollars prosecuting cases involving possession of small amounts marijuana ($10-$15 worth), now many of these cases are getting diverted at the pre-trial level. Non-violent, minor, and first-time offenders are being offered a summary citation instead of being charged with a misdemeanor. In exchange, offenders agree to attend a one-day, three-hour education course about the effect of drugs on individuals and the community. Fiscally this program makes sense and from a social policy standpoint, it is helping to reverse the incarceration problem that is crippling the City.
The savings that the City has experienced because of these new initiatives amounts to approximately $6 million. District Attorney Williams would like to reinvest these savings in similar initiatives, arguing that “justice reinvestment” will help to improve public safety and reduce corrections costs.
Inspired by the Brooklyn DA, District Attorney Williams opened up two Community Action Centers (CACs). These centers are designed to provide resources for residents who seek guidance on how to make themselves and their communities safer. While stronger gun laws need to be passed in Harrisburg, the overall takeaway from the evening was that Philadelphia residents need to be responsible for working with the police department and the District Attorney’s Office to reduce crime and make our communities safer.
While this was the good news of the night, during the question and answer segment of the evening, several community residents highlighted the struggles Philadelphia is facing with drug-related gun violence. Philadelphia leads the nation in gun-related homicides. These crimes have the overall impact of reducing the quality of life in these communities. A teacher, community activist, and ward leader spoke about the detrimental impact these crimes have on the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Two businessmen also spoke about the real economic impact that these crimes have and the difficulty they present in attracting business to the City.
Overall this meeting was a great opportunity for me to better understand the issues facing Philadelphians. While there has been significant progress, much more work needs to be done to make sure that people feel safe in the communities in which they live, work, and play.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Living the D.R.E.A.M.
Another first post here! I'm about halfway through my second week of living in Virginia and am powering through my 7th day of work here at Achievement Prep in SE DC. And when I say that I'm living the D.R.E.A.M., it's not just that I'm so excited as a history major to be living right next to a city of incredible historical importance with tons of museums to go to, or that as a burgeoning public transportation enthusiast I am able to take advantage of the great DC Metro. I'm talking about the core values of Achievement Prep: Determination, Respect, Enthusiasm, Accountability, and Mastery. Those aren't just values that our 4th through 8th grade scholars come to learn; I feel that as a PP55 Fellow at the highest achieving charter school in Ward 8 (or any kind of school in Ward 8 for that matter) I have an incredible opportunity to learn more about all of the hard behind the scenes work that goes into running a school that's doing it right when 5th graders are being sent to us from DC Public Schools and other charter schools who don't know how to read. My first major project is helping with the enrollment process for our new 4th, 5th, and 6th grade scholars and the struggle to track down paperwork from DC public schools is giving me a pretty good idea of the "shenanigans" as my boss would say, going on in those schools. One particularly egregious problem is the idea of social promotion, where children are promoted to the next grade because teachers find them too difficult to deal with and just want to get rid of them. It's a travesty.
I think it really says something about Achievement Prep that we have new scholars coming in from 30 different schools. We're only a couple of years old but our name is getting out there. People know that we are the place to go for rockin' DC CAS scores. One thing that is especially impressive to me about Achievement Prep is their model of the expanded middle school. Achievement Prep serves grades 4 through 8, a system based around scientific evidence that shows that the likelihood of a child graduating from high school can be predicted with relatively high accuracy based on reading proficiency at the end of the third grade. Achievement Prep works hard every day to defy this, with their program of intervention, remediation and acceleration. They are truly making a difference in a community where 85% of the students receive free or reduced lunch and 100% of the school population is African-American, a community that has been dubbed a "food desert" by First Lady Michelle Obama because of the impossibility to get fresh fruits and vegetables here. Good thing I pack my own lunch!
In the time coming up to my first day of work I have to say I was nervous about the community I'm working in. I'd been to the school once before in March and gotten to and from Union Station via taxi so I'd seen a bit of the neighborhood, which seemed mostly desolate and reminds me very strongly of Trenton. Mostly I felt nervous because every time I mentioned to someone from the DC / VA area that I was working in Anacostia they'd make a surprised face and say something along the lines of "Oh my god be careful!" or "Better buy mace!" I haven't had any problems so far and I feel very safe here at Achievement Prep. I've got to say that the neighborhood looks very different from the other parts of DC I've seen, but I like to think of that as an opportunity to make progress in a struggling community.
At the end of the month I'll be moving out of my dad's cousin's friend's basement in Vienna, VA and into an apartment in Arlington, VA with fellow Carol and another friend of ours. I can't wait to explore Ballston and other parts of Arlington as well as DC on my weekends. And I can't wait for school to start again so I can meet all of the wonderful and dedicated Achievement Prep scholars!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Another First Blog Post
Hello! This, too, is my first blog post, and next week will mark my first month of living in the D.C. area. So far I'm proud to report that I have successfully moved in, have learned my metro + bus route and have begun to settle in at work. However, by successfully moved in, I only mean that all of my belongings are now in my room...
My happiest surprise is how incredibly nice the people at my office are--from taking me out to a welcome lunch at a delicious Greek restaurant to receiving a ride from a co-worker to my mandatory drug testing that was about a mile away, which would have been a little rough in heels and 95 degree weather without a car--everyone I have encountered has been more welcoming and helpful than I ever could have imagined.
I work in Rockville, MD, at Aeras, a nonprofit product development partnership (PDP) that develops new tuberculosis vaccine candidates. The office has a lot of windows, people keep their doors open as an invitation to ask questions AND there is a vending machine that sells everything for 25 cents. I am also very pleased by the opportunities I have had to learn outside of the office. My first week, my supervisor let me accompany him to an afternoon session of a conference on novel technologies used for diagnosing disease. (The talks referred frequently to mass spectrometry, and afterward, I begrudgingly had to admit that organic chemistry may have a purpose aside from causing bite marks in pencils...) The next week, I attended a panel on vaccines hosted by the Global Health Council, Research!America and PATH on Capital Hill, where my supervisor served as a panelist.
Besides work, I am also learning how to be wise with spending. It is especially satisfying to see my grocery store savings add up at the end of a receipt: 5 for $10? Two for one? Cha-ching!
My only pressing complaint is that the McDonald's by my apartment building is not a Wendy's. Frosties >> McFlurries. Also, random fact learned by attending D.C.'s Fourth of July fireworks celebration: Steve Martin is amazing on the banjo.
Thanks for reading my snippets!
(This blog was not sponsored by Wendy's.)
My happiest surprise is how incredibly nice the people at my office are--from taking me out to a welcome lunch at a delicious Greek restaurant to receiving a ride from a co-worker to my mandatory drug testing that was about a mile away, which would have been a little rough in heels and 95 degree weather without a car--everyone I have encountered has been more welcoming and helpful than I ever could have imagined.
I work in Rockville, MD, at Aeras, a nonprofit product development partnership (PDP) that develops new tuberculosis vaccine candidates. The office has a lot of windows, people keep their doors open as an invitation to ask questions AND there is a vending machine that sells everything for 25 cents. I am also very pleased by the opportunities I have had to learn outside of the office. My first week, my supervisor let me accompany him to an afternoon session of a conference on novel technologies used for diagnosing disease. (The talks referred frequently to mass spectrometry, and afterward, I begrudgingly had to admit that organic chemistry may have a purpose aside from causing bite marks in pencils...) The next week, I attended a panel on vaccines hosted by the Global Health Council, Research!America and PATH on Capital Hill, where my supervisor served as a panelist.
Besides work, I am also learning how to be wise with spending. It is especially satisfying to see my grocery store savings add up at the end of a receipt: 5 for $10? Two for one? Cha-ching!
My only pressing complaint is that the McDonald's by my apartment building is not a Wendy's. Frosties >> McFlurries. Also, random fact learned by attending D.C.'s Fourth of July fireworks celebration: Steve Martin is amazing on the banjo.
Thanks for reading my snippets!
(This blog was not sponsored by Wendy's.)
DC Living - one month in!
It has been exactly one month since I moved to DC, and in almost every aspect this city has completely exceeded my expectations.
I'll start with my job at World Faiths Development Dialogue. The WFDD office is in the heart of Georgetown, housed in Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. I have three coworkers in the office, all of whom go out of their way to aid my transition to the office and introduce me to the fields of development and faith. They also treat me as an equal and ask me about my weekend and ongoing apartment search. I am very lucky. I am surrounded by Princeton grads here and have had several conversations about eating clubs, grade deflation, Frist pizza, and all those quintessentially-Princeton peculiarities. My work as Program Assistant so far is mostly centered around communications - composing our 10th Anniversary newsletter, reaching out to WFDD's "Big Players" for commentary (including Bono), etc. I do a lot of reading and editing - for our interview series, research reports, grant proposals, among other WFDD publiations. I am in daily communication with Executive Director Katharine Marshall (another Princeton GS grad), who is travelling now, as well as our two Princeton-in-Asia fellows, who are doing on-the-ground research for us on the role of faith-inspired initiatives in indigenous rights and anti-trafficking efforts in Cambodia. Every day I learn more and more about how faith is and can be used for good in the world, as well as where common ground has yet to be established for future progress. It's exciting to see how our research has opened up dialogue among interfaith and secular groups, and has forged innovative partnerships on crucial development issues, ranging from agriculture, sanitation, and water to HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, and education. Most of all, I am very, very humbled to be surrounded by such intelligent, inspiring, and kind-hearted people all day.
I am learning a lot in the other aspects of my life in DC, too. Novelties like grocery shopping, cooking, and the bus and metro systems are keeping me on my toes. Plus, I've been really pleasantly surprised by all the amazing activities offered in the city, including jazz in the park, salsa dancing at a corner bar, drop-in drawing sessions (with a nude model), and an outdoor film series (the last one I went to was showing E.T. in Dupont Circle).
So far no celebrity sightings (although when the Dalai Lama was in town, and some incoming monks were staying in our Executive Director's home, I thought I was going to get my chance). Every now and then I trick myself into thinking I see President Obama or Joe Biden or some random politician in the tinted-window, black SUV motorcades that occasionally go by. I also once thought I saw Sting in Starbucks, but I think that was more wishful thinking on my part. I'll keep you all posted.
I'll start with my job at World Faiths Development Dialogue. The WFDD office is in the heart of Georgetown, housed in Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. I have three coworkers in the office, all of whom go out of their way to aid my transition to the office and introduce me to the fields of development and faith. They also treat me as an equal and ask me about my weekend and ongoing apartment search. I am very lucky. I am surrounded by Princeton grads here and have had several conversations about eating clubs, grade deflation, Frist pizza, and all those quintessentially-Princeton peculiarities. My work as Program Assistant so far is mostly centered around communications - composing our 10th Anniversary newsletter, reaching out to WFDD's "Big Players" for commentary (including Bono), etc. I do a lot of reading and editing - for our interview series, research reports, grant proposals, among other WFDD publiations. I am in daily communication with Executive Director Katharine Marshall (another Princeton GS grad), who is travelling now, as well as our two Princeton-in-Asia fellows, who are doing on-the-ground research for us on the role of faith-inspired initiatives in indigenous rights and anti-trafficking efforts in Cambodia. Every day I learn more and more about how faith is and can be used for good in the world, as well as where common ground has yet to be established for future progress. It's exciting to see how our research has opened up dialogue among interfaith and secular groups, and has forged innovative partnerships on crucial development issues, ranging from agriculture, sanitation, and water to HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, and education. Most of all, I am very, very humbled to be surrounded by such intelligent, inspiring, and kind-hearted people all day.
I am learning a lot in the other aspects of my life in DC, too. Novelties like grocery shopping, cooking, and the bus and metro systems are keeping me on my toes. Plus, I've been really pleasantly surprised by all the amazing activities offered in the city, including jazz in the park, salsa dancing at a corner bar, drop-in drawing sessions (with a nude model), and an outdoor film series (the last one I went to was showing E.T. in Dupont Circle).
So far no celebrity sightings (although when the Dalai Lama was in town, and some incoming monks were staying in our Executive Director's home, I thought I was going to get my chance). Every now and then I trick myself into thinking I see President Obama or Joe Biden or some random politician in the tinted-window, black SUV motorcades that occasionally go by. I also once thought I saw Sting in Starbucks, but I think that was more wishful thinking on my part. I'll keep you all posted.
Monday, July 11, 2011
“A NEW DAY. A NEW DA.”
This is my first blog post as a Princeton AlumniCorps Project 55 Fellow. I just finished up my first week back in the office from a vacation to California. It was a much needed and long overdue trip home, but I’m glad to be back at work. I am excited to be a fellow for the upcoming year and to be living in the great city of Philadelphia once again.
Following a historic election last year, R. Seth Williams was inaugurated as the first new District Attorney of Philadelphia in nearly two decades. Under the newly implemented system of zone prosecution, I work in the Southwest Bureau, which deals with crimes committed in the southwest part of the City.
My work in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office involves mainly paralegal duties. I assist prosecutors in case preparation, communication with victims/witnesses, compilation of statistics, maintenance of records and files, document review, and production and coordination with outside agencies. I also represent the office in Municipal Court in a pre-trial diversion program called the Accelerated Misdemeanor Program (AMP). I find my job very interesting because I get to deal with a wide variety of criminal cases.
In between my daily duties, I try to get over to court as often as possible to watch our attorneys’ jury trials. This has been a great learning experience for me thus far as I get to witness firsthand our criminal justice system in action.
I look forward to detailing more about my adventures in Philadelphia as well as the great work our office is doing to protect the citizens of Philadelphia.
One Month In...
Hi Everyone,
I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of your jobs (or the rest of your summer vacation). This will be my fifth week in New York working for CASES, an alternative to detention non-profit. For my first two weeks as a court representative I essentially shadowed the girl I would be replacing. She was an amazing mentor and for the first week I basically was her shadow and just watched everything she did (and had her introduce me to everyone she works with). Then, for the second week, she watched while I attempted to do everything she would do on a normal day. As a court representative, my normal day usually consists of getting to the office between 9 and 9:30 and heading up to the courthouse (my office is the floor below the family court) to wait for the cases that involve kids in the CHOICES program (or potential intakes or kids who used to be in Choices but are no longer in our program due to remand, step up to a more intensive program, etc.). Honestly, a large portion of my day is spent standing around, chatting with the officers and lawyers while I wait for my cases to be called. I bring a court report for every case that I go to, which essentially details the participant's record with our program (how many dates they called in for curfew, came to the after-school program and went to school). I usually spend the afternoon making these reports and updating various record keeping spreadsheets in our system.
I really, really like my job so far. I've only been at CHOICES for a month but I already feel like I know SO much more about the legal system (example, I had no idea what remand meant--it means detention!). I can say, however, that one of the drawbacks of the job is the somewhat isolated position I am in. Isolated really is the appropriate word since I socialize with people all day...but since I am a fair bit younger then most of the people I talk to during the day, it seems pretty unlikely that we will be hitting up the bars after work. Nevertheless, I am really enjoying my job and everyone has been super nice so far.
Living in New York has been great. While it is definitely different from Princeton (harder to figure out where to go on a night out and definitely more difficult to do laundry) it seems like a great place to live as a 20-something. I just moved into my own place on the Upper East Side (I was living with a family friend in Harlem until my lease started) and I LOVE my apartment and roommates. My main worry right now is being able to keep up with all of my expenses!
I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer as much as I am! Have a happy July!
Best,
Stephanie
I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of your jobs (or the rest of your summer vacation). This will be my fifth week in New York working for CASES, an alternative to detention non-profit. For my first two weeks as a court representative I essentially shadowed the girl I would be replacing. She was an amazing mentor and for the first week I basically was her shadow and just watched everything she did (and had her introduce me to everyone she works with). Then, for the second week, she watched while I attempted to do everything she would do on a normal day. As a court representative, my normal day usually consists of getting to the office between 9 and 9:30 and heading up to the courthouse (my office is the floor below the family court) to wait for the cases that involve kids in the CHOICES program (or potential intakes or kids who used to be in Choices but are no longer in our program due to remand, step up to a more intensive program, etc.). Honestly, a large portion of my day is spent standing around, chatting with the officers and lawyers while I wait for my cases to be called. I bring a court report for every case that I go to, which essentially details the participant's record with our program (how many dates they called in for curfew, came to the after-school program and went to school). I usually spend the afternoon making these reports and updating various record keeping spreadsheets in our system.
I really, really like my job so far. I've only been at CHOICES for a month but I already feel like I know SO much more about the legal system (example, I had no idea what remand meant--it means detention!). I can say, however, that one of the drawbacks of the job is the somewhat isolated position I am in. Isolated really is the appropriate word since I socialize with people all day...but since I am a fair bit younger then most of the people I talk to during the day, it seems pretty unlikely that we will be hitting up the bars after work. Nevertheless, I am really enjoying my job and everyone has been super nice so far.
Living in New York has been great. While it is definitely different from Princeton (harder to figure out where to go on a night out and definitely more difficult to do laundry) it seems like a great place to live as a 20-something. I just moved into my own place on the Upper East Side (I was living with a family friend in Harlem until my lease started) and I LOVE my apartment and roommates. My main worry right now is being able to keep up with all of my expenses!
I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer as much as I am! Have a happy July!
Best,
Stephanie
Saturday, July 9, 2011
2 Weeks of Wonderful Craziness . . .
Hi Everyone,
Sorry about my last 1 sentence post. I actually wrote 4 paragraphs and then my internet timed out and I lost everything . . . I have been in my new apartment for one week and don't yet have my own internet connection. An internet provider is actually coming in one hour, so, this should be the only technical difficulty that I encounter with the blog. Hopefully.
Speaking of technical difficulties, I have experienced some similar experiences at my new organization, the Campaign for Educational Equity. In fact, yesterday was the close of my first two weeks working at the Campaign for Educational Equity -- affiliated with Columbia Teachers College and Columbia Law School, we are a non-profit committed to promoting equity and excellence in public education and overcoming the gap in educational access and achievement between disadvantaged American students and their more advantaged peers. To me, this sounds like common sense education reform: of course, lower income and minority students should be provided the same level of education as their more affluent and white peers. Except, I have found that this is not the case in the real world; in fact, it is VERY difficult to implement this reform in school systems across the country.
It is so refreshing to work with staff who are whole-heartedly dedicated to literally opening doors to NYC students and students in the country at large. There are 3 full-time and 3 part-time employees, excluding me, and I enjoy working with each and every one of them.
As for the first 2 weeks, the first was very different than the second. The first, I spent a lot of time going to help sessions, filling out paperwork, and walking all over Columbia campus getting different ID cards and just figuring out where to go. As unbelievable as it sounds, it is really hard and time consuming to become an actual living, breathing person in the Columbia database. The second week I was able to work on more of my position's responsibilities and tasks. I sent out a daily news page on education litigation, policy, and advocacy to people in the education community across the country, worked on several projects for my directors, became more acquainted with the 2 websites that I will be eventually running, and became very acquainted with the oatmeal raisin cookies in the downstairs cafeteria :).
As for the technical difficulties, I think that this is part of my job. Because I am not a website designer or programmer, I have learned to have a very open and positive mind when something that I try to do on a website does not exactly go as planned. So, I will try to post this post again and see what happens . . .
Sorry about my last 1 sentence post. I actually wrote 4 paragraphs and then my internet timed out and I lost everything . . . I have been in my new apartment for one week and don't yet have my own internet connection. An internet provider is actually coming in one hour, so, this should be the only technical difficulty that I encounter with the blog. Hopefully.
Speaking of technical difficulties, I have experienced some similar experiences at my new organization, the Campaign for Educational Equity. In fact, yesterday was the close of my first two weeks working at the Campaign for Educational Equity -- affiliated with Columbia Teachers College and Columbia Law School, we are a non-profit committed to promoting equity and excellence in public education and overcoming the gap in educational access and achievement between disadvantaged American students and their more advantaged peers. To me, this sounds like common sense education reform: of course, lower income and minority students should be provided the same level of education as their more affluent and white peers. Except, I have found that this is not the case in the real world; in fact, it is VERY difficult to implement this reform in school systems across the country.
It is so refreshing to work with staff who are whole-heartedly dedicated to literally opening doors to NYC students and students in the country at large. There are 3 full-time and 3 part-time employees, excluding me, and I enjoy working with each and every one of them.
As for the first 2 weeks, the first was very different than the second. The first, I spent a lot of time going to help sessions, filling out paperwork, and walking all over Columbia campus getting different ID cards and just figuring out where to go. As unbelievable as it sounds, it is really hard and time consuming to become an actual living, breathing person in the Columbia database. The second week I was able to work on more of my position's responsibilities and tasks. I sent out a daily news page on education litigation, policy, and advocacy to people in the education community across the country, worked on several projects for my directors, became more acquainted with the 2 websites that I will be eventually running, and became very acquainted with the oatmeal raisin cookies in the downstairs cafeteria :).
As for the technical difficulties, I think that this is part of my job. Because I am not a website designer or programmer, I have learned to have a very open and positive mind when something that I try to do on a website does not exactly go as planned. So, I will try to post this post again and see what happens . . .
Friday, July 8, 2011
Some preliminary thoughts on healthcare
Hello! I moved to DC this past weekend and now am done with my first week at the Primary Care Coalition (PCC) of Montgomery County. PCC is a non-profit that aims to provide high-quality, cost-effective, and culturally sensitive care to low-income, uninsured people. It's been crazy because the last fellow, Aditi, is trying to show me the ropes before she leaves next week. Thus far, I've been mostly meeting with the directors and coordinators of the programs under the auspices of PCC.
As soon as I stepped back from the hectic schedule of the first few days, the philosophy major in me began to reflect on some basic questions at the intersection of ethics and health care. Obviously can't speak to the complexity of such questions in a quick, rambling, blog post, but thought I'd mention a few I'm excited to think about and gain real-world perspectives on. I'd be interested in hearing my other fellows or others' opinions on them.
First of all, the ramifications of distinguishing between quality health care and health care interests me. If some sort of obligation to help people who can't afford it get health care in fact exists, is this an obligation to provide the best, or very good, health care? Or is it just to provide health care, unqualified? (Analogously, we may feel as though we should provide phones or laptops to people who cannot afford them. However, we may not feel as though we should provide iPhones to those who already have LG Chocolates. Which, from personal experience, are just terrible.)
Second, if there are clear rational incentives to thinking that strangers shouldn't get health care on our dime, what would justify a responsibility to subsidize their health care? After all, we're taking a financial hit by subsidizing their care via Medicaid/Medicare, or just paying a ton for ER services. We're maybe taking a quality of care hit too due to the increased burden/strain on the health system. There's a fairness issue here: why should we take a hit to help others when they're not doing anything for us? (Conversely, are we being unfair to them by not giving them access to care, or good care?)
And, are the harms we experience marginal enough to be outweighed by a stranger's recovery? What of a 90-year old stranger living another year? What of a stranger living another day in the ICU, which can be exorbitantly pricey? There is an intuitive difference in the value to me of one more day in the life of my mother, versus one more in the life of someone I never have nor never will meet. Is that an intuition I should reject? These questions are hugely controversial - health care rationing is unavoidable and already happening because health care is not an infinite resource, but this term seems to me to have been co-opted by political figures to mean something terrifying and evil.
Maybe the most central issue to me is whether health care is or is not a fundamental human right. This is because I vividly remember writing my application for Princeton Project 55 and terming it as such. Given further thought, I don't know what I meant by this. Or whether I meant quality, equitable health care or health care unqualified. A lot of the arguments for fundamental human rights seem to me to be tautological - I'll have to think hard about this since the "self-evidence" justification makes me uneasy. Maybe there are other reasons to for providing health care to all - for the functioning of a democratic society (unhealthy people have a harder time participating), for a more productive population that is less of a burden on poverty assistance programs, and many more. I'll have to think long and hard about this question in particular this year.
As soon as I stepped back from the hectic schedule of the first few days, the philosophy major in me began to reflect on some basic questions at the intersection of ethics and health care. Obviously can't speak to the complexity of such questions in a quick, rambling, blog post, but thought I'd mention a few I'm excited to think about and gain real-world perspectives on. I'd be interested in hearing my other fellows or others' opinions on them.
First of all, the ramifications of distinguishing between quality health care and health care interests me. If some sort of obligation to help people who can't afford it get health care in fact exists, is this an obligation to provide the best, or very good, health care? Or is it just to provide health care, unqualified? (Analogously, we may feel as though we should provide phones or laptops to people who cannot afford them. However, we may not feel as though we should provide iPhones to those who already have LG Chocolates. Which, from personal experience, are just terrible.)
Second, if there are clear rational incentives to thinking that strangers shouldn't get health care on our dime, what would justify a responsibility to subsidize their health care? After all, we're taking a financial hit by subsidizing their care via Medicaid/Medicare, or just paying a ton for ER services. We're maybe taking a quality of care hit too due to the increased burden/strain on the health system. There's a fairness issue here: why should we take a hit to help others when they're not doing anything for us? (Conversely, are we being unfair to them by not giving them access to care, or good care?)
And, are the harms we experience marginal enough to be outweighed by a stranger's recovery? What of a 90-year old stranger living another year? What of a stranger living another day in the ICU, which can be exorbitantly pricey? There is an intuitive difference in the value to me of one more day in the life of my mother, versus one more in the life of someone I never have nor never will meet. Is that an intuition I should reject? These questions are hugely controversial - health care rationing is unavoidable and already happening because health care is not an infinite resource, but this term seems to me to have been co-opted by political figures to mean something terrifying and evil.
Maybe the most central issue to me is whether health care is or is not a fundamental human right. This is because I vividly remember writing my application for Princeton Project 55 and terming it as such. Given further thought, I don't know what I meant by this. Or whether I meant quality, equitable health care or health care unqualified. A lot of the arguments for fundamental human rights seem to me to be tautological - I'll have to think hard about this since the "self-evidence" justification makes me uneasy. Maybe there are other reasons to for providing health care to all - for the functioning of a democratic society (unhealthy people have a harder time participating), for a more productive population that is less of a burden on poverty assistance programs, and many more. I'll have to think long and hard about this question in particular this year.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Greetings from the City of Brotherly Love!
Well, after a madcap scramble involving dogsitting, touring somewhat questionable apartments discovered via Craigslist, and getting set up in my own cubicle in an excessively air-conditioned office, I am now finally settled in my fellowship position as a research assistant at the Free Library in Philadelphia. As a research assistant in the executive office, I will be helping the Chief of Staff and Director of the Library develop and implement the organization's in-process strategic plan. The plan promises to break new ground in terms of services provided to the citizens of Philadelphia and rethink the sort of roles libraries should play in the city and beyond in the years to come.
As part of the Library's new vision, the organization has unveiled plans to open computer "Hot Spots" around the city. Each "Hot Spot" includes computers, a printer, and broadband equipment and is staffed by computer assistants trained to provide guided instruction and open access to the computers. In a city where 40% of the population does not have access to internet at home, such "Hot Spots" are crucial. Their importance is even more pronounced since the "Hot Spots" themselves are located in neighborhoods without immediate access to a library branch. Consequently, the "Hot Spots" serve as mini-libraries (with a small collection of Free Library materials) in addition to functioning as computer labs in technology-deprived areas of the city.
I was lucky enough to attend the unveiling of the Free Library's latest "Hot Spot" this morning at Mercy Neighborhood Ministries in Northern Philadelphia. The building itself has undergone extensive, LEED-certified renovations over the past three years and recently reopened as a community center serving the youth, adults, and seniors of the surrounding community. Seeing all of the kids in summer camp gather around the door to the computer lab while the ribbon was cut poignantly underscored the importance of technology in today's world and in Philly in particular. These "Hot Spots" have enabled hundreds of people to find jobs and even provided one man with the computer training he needed to propose to his girlfriend via computer. The Free Library's involvement in such a project is exciting (at least to me) and I look forward to seeing it and other programs develop during my fellowship year.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
the beginning
Hi all!
This blog post is a bit tardy because moving in has been hectic! The only internet I had was my iPhone's 3g up until Saturday, so it feels good to be connected to the world again!
Starting at the Center for a Livable Future has been great. The people who work there are so nice, and I've already learned a lot about food systems and how food availability pertains to public health. My job so far has been to read up on the food production issues we deal with, start drafting some "position pieces" that summarize some of the major issues we research, and to help organize some chicken we're going to do a study on. I thought after my thesis I wouldn't want to touch a lab with a 20 foot pole for a few months at least, but I was actually really excited that I would be able to help with the study! It will just be freeze drying samples, but it's cool to do something that is leading to conclusions that will have easy to see, real world implications... and I think I secretly really do love the lab.
I haven't really gotten the hang of Baltimore yet but it seems like a cool place, and I'm sure it will grow on me as I learn more about it!
I think this is going to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to reading about what the other fellows are up to!
This blog post is a bit tardy because moving in has been hectic! The only internet I had was my iPhone's 3g up until Saturday, so it feels good to be connected to the world again!
Starting at the Center for a Livable Future has been great. The people who work there are so nice, and I've already learned a lot about food systems and how food availability pertains to public health. My job so far has been to read up on the food production issues we deal with, start drafting some "position pieces" that summarize some of the major issues we research, and to help organize some chicken we're going to do a study on. I thought after my thesis I wouldn't want to touch a lab with a 20 foot pole for a few months at least, but I was actually really excited that I would be able to help with the study! It will just be freeze drying samples, but it's cool to do something that is leading to conclusions that will have easy to see, real world implications... and I think I secretly really do love the lab.
I haven't really gotten the hang of Baltimore yet but it seems like a cool place, and I'm sure it will grow on me as I learn more about it!
I think this is going to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to reading about what the other fellows are up to!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Happy 4th of July from New York!
First off, I am so excited to be writing my first blog post for the AlumniCorps Project 55 Program community! The staff of PP55 probably remember me referencing posts from former fellows (it's true), so I am definitely looking forward to sharing some of my own experiences with former and future fellows.
Last Monday, I started my fellowship at Education Through Music, and my first week of work was great! The staff (of only 10 others) was extremely welcoming to me. There are several other former fellows on staff, and it is wonderful to know that they have been in my shoes before. More importantly, it's great knowing that they love what they do. I can already tell that I am going to love it too!
My first week has involved several administrative projects, and I have spent much of my time observing how the organization is run, as well as reading more deeply into the history of ETM. My primary responsibilities will involve writing grant proposals, so I have been reading several samples to get a stronger sense of the language that ETM employs to describe its projects and mission. On Thursday, I headed down to the Foundation Center for an all-day seminar on proposal writing. I was surprised to find that I was one of very few people with absolutely no experience. Many of the other individuals who attended the session had been working in the non-profit sector in different capacities, but were adding development work to their duties. Others had been working in business and were switching into non-profit work. Several others were artists themselves looking for new ways to support their work. I enjoyed meeting some of these individuals and learning about the range of projects they are working on throughout (and beyond) New York City.
I have also been sorting through surveys that students at partner schools of ETM completed at the end of the academic year. These are one of the ways that ETM tracks and measures its impact. Although at first this may sound like a tedious project, I actually thought this was one of the best tasks I could do during the first week of my fellowship. Because I will be working from the ETM office, I have wondered if there would be a disconnect between my own development work and the implementation of ETM programs in schools. Reading these surveys, however, immediately brought the ETM mission to life for me. Beyond multiple choice questions about increased confidence and teamwork, the survey also allowed students to complete a free-response section. If there is one thing I learned about this set of elementary school students, they are candid, which makes their responses all the more "real" to me from within the ETM office. I especially loved how one student described how music class helped him improve on reaching vocal high notes so that he is no longer too shy to sing aloud freely. And this was only one great story out of over 400 responses!
Beyond my fellowship, life in the city has been great too! I am still learning about the neighborhoods and best subway routes (like Ben, Google maps has also been a friend of mine). Today, I am looking forward to exploring the city while snacking on a hot-dog for the holiday. Hopefully I can catch some of this evening's firework show as well. Happy Fourth of July!
Last Monday, I started my fellowship at Education Through Music, and my first week of work was great! The staff (of only 10 others) was extremely welcoming to me. There are several other former fellows on staff, and it is wonderful to know that they have been in my shoes before. More importantly, it's great knowing that they love what they do. I can already tell that I am going to love it too!
My first week has involved several administrative projects, and I have spent much of my time observing how the organization is run, as well as reading more deeply into the history of ETM. My primary responsibilities will involve writing grant proposals, so I have been reading several samples to get a stronger sense of the language that ETM employs to describe its projects and mission. On Thursday, I headed down to the Foundation Center for an all-day seminar on proposal writing. I was surprised to find that I was one of very few people with absolutely no experience. Many of the other individuals who attended the session had been working in the non-profit sector in different capacities, but were adding development work to their duties. Others had been working in business and were switching into non-profit work. Several others were artists themselves looking for new ways to support their work. I enjoyed meeting some of these individuals and learning about the range of projects they are working on throughout (and beyond) New York City.
I have also been sorting through surveys that students at partner schools of ETM completed at the end of the academic year. These are one of the ways that ETM tracks and measures its impact. Although at first this may sound like a tedious project, I actually thought this was one of the best tasks I could do during the first week of my fellowship. Because I will be working from the ETM office, I have wondered if there would be a disconnect between my own development work and the implementation of ETM programs in schools. Reading these surveys, however, immediately brought the ETM mission to life for me. Beyond multiple choice questions about increased confidence and teamwork, the survey also allowed students to complete a free-response section. If there is one thing I learned about this set of elementary school students, they are candid, which makes their responses all the more "real" to me from within the ETM office. I especially loved how one student described how music class helped him improve on reaching vocal high notes so that he is no longer too shy to sing aloud freely. And this was only one great story out of over 400 responses!
Beyond my fellowship, life in the city has been great too! I am still learning about the neighborhoods and best subway routes (like Ben, Google maps has also been a friend of mine). Today, I am looking forward to exploring the city while snacking on a hot-dog for the holiday. Hopefully I can catch some of this evening's firework show as well. Happy Fourth of July!
Friday, July 1, 2011
First Weeks at Heads Up
Sorry to start this off with a cliche, but it really is hard to believe that it has already been two and a half weeks since I started work at the Heads Up! Pediatric Literacy Program. I had the great opportunity to shadow last year's fellow, Christine, for a few days at the start but I am still settling in and trying to find a routine.
Part of the difficulty in finding a routine is that I am always on the go, visiting clinics in either the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island City, or on the Upper East Side where my office is located. This has been a great opportunity to become more acquainted with the power of Google Maps. I am also beginning to realize just how much there is to see in the city. I have a lot of family in New York and visited often both in high school and college. It's only now that I'm beginning to understand how narrow my view was of the city before (and how much it still has to grow).
There are many challenging parts to this position, not least physically sorting through the tens of thousands of brand new books that will be given out to children by pediatricians and volunteers this coming year. Last week while I was at one of the clinics in the Bronx, I was feeling a bit beat down by the number of boxes I moved that day. It was all worth it when one of the nurses marveled to me about she had never seen a kid turn down a book . With schools out for the summer, she was especially grateful that I was there, stocking new books so that kids would have something to read while out of class.
I had the privilege, as I imagine most Princeton alumni did, of having access to a great number of books while growing up. Knowing that I am playing even a small part in providing similar opportunities for kids throughout New York has made this position incredibly rewarding. I am looking forward to learning more about the city (and children's literature!) during this fellowship year and finding more fulfilling moments.
Part of the difficulty in finding a routine is that I am always on the go, visiting clinics in either the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island City, or on the Upper East Side where my office is located. This has been a great opportunity to become more acquainted with the power of Google Maps. I am also beginning to realize just how much there is to see in the city. I have a lot of family in New York and visited often both in high school and college. It's only now that I'm beginning to understand how narrow my view was of the city before (and how much it still has to grow).
There are many challenging parts to this position, not least physically sorting through the tens of thousands of brand new books that will be given out to children by pediatricians and volunteers this coming year. Last week while I was at one of the clinics in the Bronx, I was feeling a bit beat down by the number of boxes I moved that day. It was all worth it when one of the nurses marveled to me about she had never seen a kid turn down a book . With schools out for the summer, she was especially grateful that I was there, stocking new books so that kids would have something to read while out of class.
I had the privilege, as I imagine most Princeton alumni did, of having access to a great number of books while growing up. Knowing that I am playing even a small part in providing similar opportunities for kids throughout New York has made this position incredibly rewarding. I am looking forward to learning more about the city (and children's literature!) during this fellowship year and finding more fulfilling moments.
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