2011-12 Princeton AlumniCorps Project 55 Fellows

Loan Advisory Committee Meeting

2012-01-27T16:53:00.004-05:00

Today we had a Loan Advisory Committee meeting, where the LAC approved a new loan for a health center in New Orleans. New Orleans is an exciting place for investment; in Louisiana there remains a market ready for new projects but folks are still recovering from Katrina all these years later. Remarkable. Friday capped a busy week of sending funds to borrowers, revising some closing documents for

Life at CEP with a New Boss!

2012-01-26T22:02:00.003-05:00

Here we are, midway through our fellowship years, and I feel like I can finally say that I have fully adjusted to working a 9-5:30 schedule. However, my routine at the Character Education Partnership has been shaken up quite a bit over the past month with the arrival of our new President & CEO, Mark Hyatt! It has been quite interesting to have the opportunity to directly compare the two very

January update

2012-01-26T12:37:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,It is approaching the middle of winter (although the 50-degree weather makes it hard to tell) and I can't believe how quickly this year is going! I guess part of living in New York is being CONSTANTLY overwhelmed with things to do--and since I have very intense FOMO (fear of missing out) I tend to overbook myself rather than risk missing anything. But I love it and would much rather

City Life

2012-01-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

Having lived in suburbs all of my life, I've never been especially familiar with public transportation. Yes, I've taken public buses before, and yes, I've taken trains to NYC and Philly, but I've always had to look up schedules and prepare a detailed itinerary before embarking on any trip of any distance. I've always been impressed when my friends and family in New York City, for instance, were

January Update

2012-01-23T20:31:00.002-05:00

I think that many fellows would agree (at least the friends in the program that I have spoken with have agreed), I seriously cannot believe that it is January. At Princeton, everything was on a schedule. I counted everything. This many days until this midterm. This many hours left to post a response. This many paragraphs required. This many hours to sleep . . . You get the picture. And I always

Summer Service

2012-01-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

I am planning to have a month off between ending my fellowship and starting medical school. I would love to participate in some kind of service that would be rewarding and fun during that time. I have considered everything from volunteering in NYC to returning to Ghana, where I did my thesis research. I have thought about projects that are health-related or entirely health-unrelated (Farming

We Have Several Dreams

2012-01-13T22:16:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted. The holidays are always a hectic (and sometimes stressful) time for the staff at the Carole Robertson Center, but we pushed through and now that we're back to our regularly scheduled programming I am regaining my sense of excitement. Today I walked around the Center with a couple of the girls in the youth program asking kids, teens, and staff, "What's your

Glimpse of the UCSF Breast Care Center

2012-01-10T23:36:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!!! It’s been roughly 6 months since I started my project 55 fellowship at the UCSF Breast Care Center and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my gap year between college and medical school. Matt and Alyse have done a great job of describing components of our job that we all share at the BCC, such as Decision Services, so I’ll talk a little more about some

Mad about MADNESS

2012-01-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year from the New Heights office! This month has been incredibly busy for me and the rest of the New Heights team, as we figure out our strategies for growing and changing in the year ahead. Our biggest fundraiser, MADNESS, is coming up in a few months, and the entire team is already busy making plans for the venue and event. It’s amazing how much time and effort goes into the

New Year, New Projects, Same Old Stereotypes

2012-01-06T13:22:00.001-05:00

The new year has gotten off to a great start here in Southeast DC at Achievement Preparatory Academy. Our brand new online application went live on January 2nd and we’ve already got 10 applications for the 2012-2013 school year. My old supervisor decided to leave the school, but my new boss is actually someone that worked here before and has just come back. We’re already forming a great

Highs and Lows of the Day

2012-01-06T00:38:00.005-05:00

High point of the day: watching a foster baby I haven't worked with in several months walk confidently towards me! The last time I saw him a few months ago he could barely sit up.Low point of the day: assisting birth parents in taking the right steps towards avoiding eviction. Just recently these parents received a notice stating that they must produce nearly eleven thousand dollars within the

Resolutions

2012-01-05T20:49:00.012-05:00

Courtesy of http://moninavelarde.com/newyears/. Have fun generating your own resolutions - and happy new year! :)

P55...in the Nation's service

2011-12-28T10:04:00.001-05:00

I can’t believe 2011 is almost over…between graduating from college, beginning my Project 55 fellowship and making my home in a new city, I’ve barely had time to sit back and reflect on what the year has meant for my life and for society as a whole. This year has been pretty tumultuous for everyone. The tough job market and overall economic instability has caused many to question the value of a

Looking beyond my fellowship

2011-12-26T18:11:00.001-05:00

I'll be home with my family for the next week, and one of my main goals during this time is to start a job search for post-fellowship employment. I'm considering a LOT of options and I have questions about each of them. I could go to grad school. Hey, I've already taken the GRE, so I'm set. But do I go for a master's or a doctorate? What should I study--Environmental studies/sustainability?

Philadelphia’s Students Explore Careers in Law

2011-12-26T10:34:00.005-05:00

The District Attorney wanted to afford aspiring lawyers and paralegals the chance to learn about careers in law and to gain exposure to how the criminal justice system functions – so in 2010 he established an Explorer Post here at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. For those of you who may not be familiar with “Exploring,” an Explorer Post is

2011-12-25T22:05:00.002-05:00

At times it seemed like this time would never come, but at long last, Christmas and my first real vacation since starting work at the Character Education Partnership are finally here! It has been so wonderful to spend some extended time with my family at home. I know I will appreciate this vacation, short though it may be, more than any I had during college--I forgot how nice having a flexible

The Holidays Are Everywhere!

2011-12-22T08:06:00.003-05:00

Well the holiday season has irrefutably arrived at the Association to Benefit Children. The hallways and classrooms are decorated with Christmas trees, menorahs, Diwali candles (we are learning about all holidays even if they are out of season), gingerbread men, snowmen and snowflakes. To top it all off, when I entered my office yesterday morning it was filled to the brim with presents for the

Great times in SF at the Breast Care Center—where has the time gone?

2011-12-20T15:47:00.004-05:00

It’s been an interesting few months at the Breast Care Center! My fellow “interns” and I have all been busy with our respective projects, and learning tons about both breast cancer care and the world of medicine at the same time.My work centers on the information technology aspects of I-SPY 2, an innovative national clinical trial (spearheaded here at UCSF) that aims to speed the rate at which we

Preparing for the New Year at Heads Up

2011-12-19T12:38:00.004-05:00

Since my last post, a lot has happened at the Heads Up! office. Because of this year's accelerated grant schedule, I had to order 60,000+ books before December 1st. It was hectic designing and submitting all of the orders and following up on checks and invoices. Now that the book ordering is complete, I am excited to find new responsibilities and ways to improve the program. I am also already

Holidays at ABC

2011-12-14T21:37:00.001-05:00

A hallmark of the holidays at the Association to Benefit Children is our annual skating party, held every December at the Rockefeller Center. ABC's supporters pay a substantial admission price for tickets, but they get exclusive use of the ice one Sunday evening for 1.5 hours. Fundraising and benefits are, of course, a significant part of working for nonprofits-- especially for those that

A Day in the Life

2011-12-13T13:23:00.002-05:00

I remember one of the questions I always asked people when I was applying for jobs was what a typical work day looked like. More often than not, the response was, "Well, every day is different." And in fact, my job changes everyday, which I love. Knowing PP55 applications are due tomorrow, I thought it might be helpful to outline a typical day as a Communications Coordinator at a DC education

Holidays in NY

2011-12-12T13:50:00.002-05:00

I can't believe there are only two weeks until the holidays. Working in a school, I get some great vacation including a week and a half for Christmas and New Years. Work has been very busy the past couple weeks as I've been working on the Winter Newsletter that I just sent out last week and holiday gifts for the advisory board and our major patrons. As silly as it sounds the Holiday Gifts are

Holiday Updates

2011-12-08T15:09:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia has a long history of mural artwork and has more murals than any other city in the United States. Murals are often used to convey the distinctive history and culture of Philly’s neighborhoods. One of the goals that District Attorney Seth Williams has pursued since taking office has been to restore and promote artwork in the District Attorney’s Office. The

November

2011-11-23T19:56:00.026-05:00

It may be cheesy, but I decided to stick "I'm Thankful For ______" slips of paper on the office fridge so coworkers could fill in the blanks. When I came back, the slips had multiplied! So in honor of my coworkers and their willingness to participate in a cheesy tradition, I'll reveal a few of my own answers. :) I'm thankful for... the moments when hard work pays off.We finally launched the

An Education Technology Conference

2011-11-22T20:16:00.003-05:00

With the recent departure of Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman amid severe budget cuts and political infighting, Philadelphia's students started school in a district uncertain about its future. Organized in conjunction with the Princeton Club of Philadelphia and Princeton AlumniCorps, Tuesday’s forum brought together educational leaders to discuss

The Windy City in November

2011-11-08T12:48:00.004-05:00

One of the most exciting parts of my job thus far has been getting to handle cases for the Accelerated Misdemeanor Program (AMP). AMP is a citywide diversion program, based on a Brooklyn Community Court model, which was established to handle the less-serious misdemeanor cases clogging up the Philadelphia criminal justice system. The cases diverted into the program are

A Few Insights

2011-10-22T18:20:00.001-04:00

A Few Insights In late September, I had the privilege of attending a lecture by Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, Senior Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Aside from being in awe of the fact that a New York Court of Appeals judge was less than ten feet away from me and that Cyrus Vance, Manhattan District Attorney was twenty feet away (I guess you could say that I was a little star

Chicago ideas?

2011-10-20T12:12:00.003-04:00

Dear Chicago (current and/or former) fellows,I will be visiting Chicago next month and am looking for some "must see" spots. So, I'm reaching out to my network of Chicago "locals" to get some ideas! I would love to see the Art Institute, but other than that, my itinerary is flexible.What shouldn't I miss on my trip to the windy city?

Gotham?

2011-10-20T11:13:00.004-04:00

{What an awesome seminar! The NY fellows were lucky enough to have two truly professional, intelligent attorneys speak about their experience in the NYC criminal justice system. Thanks to everyone who helped coordinate this great event.}::A thought::Dirty NYC cops? Unjust search and seizures? Rampant stop-and-frisks? Police abuse? I don't know--sounds a little "Gotham" to me. This looks like a

After Work

2011-10-14T09:29:00.003-04:00

Getting off work at 5 is a wonderful thing. When at college I was just heading to firestone, I now have about 5 hours of free time ahead of me. Sometimes it is nice just to head home but this time has also enriched my fellowship year. I take a Spanish class at NYU on Tuesdays and volunteer in a pediatric private practice on Wednesdays and Fridays. NYCCD sponsored my spanish class because many of

I Am Really Into Reading

2011-10-13T09:31:00.002-04:00

Since I last posted I’ve added some more “hats” to my repertoire. I’m now the Box Tops Coordinator and the Giant A+ Rewards Czar, not to mention the school librarian. Another teacher and I have put together a mobile library cart that allows us to check out books to scholars using an online library database called Library World. That was fairly easy to put together. We used a program called

Something to Make You Smile

2011-10-12T21:40:00.004-04:00

Hello, all!Cold weather got you down? Here's a video that I hope will put a smile on your face. I know it worked for me!P.S. 76 1st Grade Students SingThanks to former PP55 fellow Dominique Salerno '10 for posting this on Education Through Music's facebook page. I just love how ALL of these ETM partner school students are rapt with excitement.Now, how many Princeton precepts do you remember 100%

More great work, and a move

2011-10-10T19:05:00.004-04:00