P55...in the Nation's service

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 degree and the ease of establishing a career. While graduating during a recession is certainly less than ideal, I’m happy that my generation is thinking more critically about what we should value and what our obligations are to society. I’m really thankful for the inspiration that Project 55 – and the other outlets that connect Princetonians with civic engagement opportunities – brings to recent grads who are confused about the directions that their lives should take.

“Princeton in the nation’s service, and in the service of all nations.” It’s a cute motto, but what does it mean once you leave Fitz-Randolph Gate? It means that there isn’t necessarily a conflict between making a living and making a difference in one’s community. It means that receiving a Princeton education is a privilege that goes hand in hand with certain social responsibilities. At this point last year, I was searching for a career that resonated with my personal interests and my ethical convictions. Now, several months into my fellowship, I have a much better idea of my professional strengths and a great deal of faith in the potential of positive social change. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been similarly inspired by the challenging but rewarding work that we’ve all been doing since graduation, and it’s great to see so many other recent Princeton grads that are doing great work in the world. I’m excited to see what changes 2012 will bring for the Alumnicorps and the future of civic engagement!

Looking beyond my fellowship

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?  Anthropology?  Food studies?  And when is the best time to go back to school?
• I could look for another job.  I would like to get another year of experience in another field/focus area before making any big decisions.  But, what kind of job do I want most?  Should I stay in the non-profit world, or would I like government work or the commercial sector better?  Where is the best place to find a job?  When's the best time to start the job search?
• I could take a risk.  Maybe I should pursue my dream of starting my own vegan bakery by moving out of office work altogether.  But, do I have all of the skills and tools necessary to start my own business?  Is this the right time to do so?  What would I do if I failed...or succeeded?  

You get the idea.  I know that these are the types of questions that everyone asks, and I know that I have plenty of time to figure things out.  Nonetheless, I'd like to make some progress while I have some time to think/plan during "winter break."

I know that I'd like to try something different than what I did this year during my Project 55 fellowship; still, I do know that the fellowship year has helped me take steps in the right direction.  Working at CEP has given me a really solid idea of what it's like to work at a small non-profit, and I've been really lucky to develop relationships with my coworkers to learn from them.  We've also had/will have some useful Project 55 fellow seminars about working environments and jobs.  Just talking with other fellows, my mentor, and the extensive network of AlumniCorps Princeton alumni about what it's like to work in their field--whether that's at a clinic or a school--has also given me insight into other working environments.  I have a lot to think about, but I know that this fellowship has really been valuable as a first-year-out-of-college learning experience. 

Philadelphia’s Students Explore Careers in Law

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 a work site based program that allows young people ages 14 to 20 an opportunity to experience their career choices first hand. The legal profession ranked number four out of the top 20 career choices of Philadelphia students. As part of the program, students complete a public service project with a message that they take back to their schools. Last year’s student projects were a huge success. One of the highlights was this anti-bullying video created by Central High School students.

Students also attend lectures on the criminal justice system and gain mock trial experience. Our most recent session taught students about preliminary hearings and how prosecutors deal with uncooperative witnesses. This is my first year helping out with the program and I am excited to be working with such an impressive and ambitious group of students.

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 schedule and sleeping in multiple days in a row can be!

Now that I have a little bit more down time to reflect on my time at CEP, I wanted to write briefly about what exactly character education is. When I tell friends from home or people I meet in DC that I work for an organization that advocates for character education in K-12 schools, I oftentimes get confused, skeptical looks. I completely understand this reaction. It's a reflection of the very limited, narrow approach to character education that represents many individuals' (myself included) only experience with the field. It’s characterized by inspirational posters on the wall, times set aside throughout the school year to didactically teach students about a particular character trait, and outdated videos that oversimplify the nuances and challenges facing young people developing a personal code of ethics. Yes, the core values highlighted on the posters and in the designated “character times” are concepts we can all agree upon—surely, no parent would not object to his or her child learning about respect, responsibility, integrity, and perseverance. Yet this rather half-hearted attempt to promote the values essential to a student’s (and society’s) optimal development is not particularly effective, and it has created a widespread misconception of character education as the “soft” part of education that is difficult to dispel. As a national advocate for character education, CEP fights an uphill battle against this stereotype on a daily basis.

However, as I have learned over the past few months, the case for character education is certainly there, and it is strong. Numerous studies I have come across in my quest to understand that case (Angela Duckworth’s grit scale and Joseph Durlak’s meta-analysis of SEL programs come to mind) have shown that particular character traits—such as being able to persevere in the face of failure, make responsible decisions and goals, recognize and manage emotions, establish positive relationships, and constructively handle interpersonal situations, among others—predict success above and beyond IQ. Given that schools were created to equip young people with the skills necessary to succeed in and eventually lead our society, it seems irrefutable that they should not only help their students to attain certain test scores, but also intentionally work to develop these personal qualities in students that enable them to succeed beyond the classroom as well.

The framework for developing a comprehensive, successful character education program is also in place. A growing number of schools across the country have used the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education—the core tenets upon which everything we do here at CEP is based—in order to bring staff, parents, and, most importantly, students, together to create a more caring and productive learning environment. Those schools we have worked with that received the highest marks according to the 11 Principles assessment tool saw numerous concrete indicators of whole school improvement. For example, students were treating others with more respect. Violence and bullying decreased. Substance abused declined. Teacher morale and retention improved. Parental involvement increased. And, of course, that linchpin of all good schools, academic achievement, also significantly improved.

The question remains, then, how to take these success stories to the masses and publicize what effective character education really looks like. If teachers knew that effective character education is the cultivation of a nurturing classroom culture rather than an additional item to fit into the busy school day, they wouldn’t feel as though their agenda were too jam-packed for character. If parents knew that their children would be encouraged to reach their fullest potential in a more respectful environment, they wouldn’t view character education as an attempt to undermine their role as primary moral educators. And if students were involved in creating their own character development initiatives, they wouldn’t dismiss them as an outdated waste of time.

During my brief time at CEP, I have come to the realization that this question is central to all that we do here. It’s not just a matter of how to improve schools, or how to graduate students who are both caring and successful. We have seen that character education can be the agent of these changes. Instead, it is a matter of educating others that effective character education is in fact this transforming agent. It’s a matter of communicating what effective character education is and what it is not. As the primary author of many of the grants proposals we write, I have taken a number of different approaches to making the case for character education, and I know that my approach will continue to develop, and hopefully improve, as I continue to do so in 2012.

The Holidays Are Everywhere!

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 children! I could barely make it to my seat and once I got there I saw that a giant stuffed horse was occupying my desk. As it turns out all of ABC was in the same condition-presents filled every bit of spare space. We actually almost ran out of places to put them, but that's not a problem you worry about too much when you work at a school for needy children.

What makes the outrageous number of gifts currently crowding our school even more amazing is that they are all the products of the generosity that arises during the holiday season. Every gift was donated by a generous organization or individual. Keeping track of the myriad of donors and wish lists reminded me of my own experiences on the donation side of holiday gift drives. I'm sure that most of us have donated gifts to the needy during the holidays. In many ways it's as much a part of the season as the lights and the music. At Princeton all of the varsity sports teams would sponsor needy children through Teams for Toys. We would buy presents and then have a big wrapping party in the basement of Frist. It was tons of fun and really got you in the holiday spirit. One strange thing though is that we never got to meet the children for whom we bought gifts. In fact I never really thought in too much detail about "who" was getting the gift.

Now that I work for ABC, however, I have had the opportunity to see a child's reaction when they receive a donated gift. To the children these donated gifts really are from Santa and they almost have a magical quality in their eyes. I also know just how much the children and families on the receiving end of these donations are in need. We have to practically beg donor groups to get the most basic things on the families' wish lists. The donors naturally want to get the kids fun toys, which is great, but we have to explain that these kids also really want things like socks, blankets, and winter coats too. These families are the ones that struggle to provide their children with some of the most basic things. When the children receive their gifts, they are so happy and grateful that it just about breaks your heart. It's a beautiful thing.

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

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 develop new therapeutic agents for breast cancer. (It’s been recently featured, albeit somewhat inaccurately, on NBC Nightly News.) Being introduced to the world of clinical research has been an experience in itself—something very different altogether from my basic research endeavors as an undergrad. Clinical research is saddled with plenty of regulatory red tape and approvals upon approvals—necessary measures, no doubt, when your fellow humans are also your test subjects. But this regulatory burden is uplifted by a true sense of urgency, the unmatched experience of being on the front lines in the battle against our most pressing medical problems. I’ve found myself attracted to clinical research in a way that I never truly was to basic science, and this has made my time at the Breast Care Center all the more rewarding thus far.

So, what do I actually do here at the BCC? One of I-SPY 2’s many innovations is its novel informatics system, TRANSCEND. TRANSCEND not only was custom-designed for the trial, but is also envisioned as a proof-of-concept for how clinical trial systems can integrate with medical record systems to greatly facilitate medical research in the future. That’s a mouthful, but essentially I help to design and specify new features for TRANSCEND as it undergoes a major update/revision, with the collaboration of the National Cancer Institute and other organizations. In contrast to my previous experiences—viewing software from a programmer’s perspective, as a computer science major—this job has placed me in a high-level, “project development”-type role, where I get to see how projects such as these are negotiated, orchestrated, and eventually implemented. Especially in the context of national healthcare reform, the HITECH Act, and the current rollout of electronic medical records right here at UCSF, this is a fascinating time to be involved in health information technology.

The Decision Services component of our jobs (described in detail by Alyse in a previous post) arguably ties the whole experience together for all of us. Meeting with a patient each week to discuss her concerns and summarize her appointment provides a refreshing context to what we all do on a daily basis. It’s also wonderful to see how such simple interventions and changes in the care process can make such a meaningful difference to the nervous, confused, frustrated, and often afraid patient. Attending appointments with a wide variety of patients, who are in turn seeing a variety of different medical and surgical oncologists, has also allowed us to witness the spectrum of treatment approaches for all types and stages of breast cancer. It’s more medical exposure than I’ve ever had before, and I’ve valued every minute of it.

There’s been some room for fun in our jobs, of course: We recently all participated in a local event called Taste for the Cure (organized by one of our fellow interns), featuring tons of great food, where we got to showcase each of our respective projects at the BCC to interested attendees. As a group, we easily beat out the competition in our hospital Halloween costume contest. And, per BCC intern tradition, we just recently performed our humorous holiday skit—where we poke fun at the doctors and administrators that we work with every day—to resounding applause!

Admittedly, at times, things have been crazy, hectic, unclear, and uncoordinated—but so is the world of medicine at large, and true satisfaction comes from breaking through those obstacles to make and see meaningful change happen every day in our clinic, on our trials, and in the initiatives that our center supports. I’m certainly looking forward to what I’ll be doing in the next six months—and I’ll be sure to provide more updates during that time!

Preparing for the New Year at Heads Up

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 thinking about preparing for the next fellow. Although I have spoken to some interested applicants, I want to take this opportunity to make a pitch to others who might be considering Heads Up!.

I have grown a tremendous amount in just the last six months in this position. As the program coordinator, I have had complete responsibility for the entire literacy program. This has provided an incredible opportunity to develop my leadership and interpersonal skills. I have worked with a wide range of stakeholders, from kids in the clinics to volunteer retirees . There is a great deal of autonomy in position and this means I largely get to choose how to spend my time. Lately I have been focusing on expanding the volunteer program at one of our hospitals in the Bronx. I also intend to start shadowing an adult primary care physician to add some diversity to my experience in pediatric clinics.

In reflecting on my time at Heads Up!, I have begun to realize how important this sense of responsibility and autonomy is to having an enjoyable work experience. Tack on to this the chance to interact with patients and providers while doing a valuable public service, and you have the ingredients for a wonderful fellowship year. I have truly enjoyed my time at Heads Up! and look forward to meeting this year's applicants.

Holidays at ABC

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 are constantly looking for funding to support the work that they do. But last Sunday's skating party was different from your typical benefit, which I think generally calls to mind a dinner or auction of some sort. It was wonderful to watch families and children, including some of ABC's own toddlers, skating around on the ice under the iconic Christmas tree-- frequently losing their balance but laughing in spite of the 40 degree temperatures. As someone who works behind the scenes, writing grant proposals and coordinating program operations, I have to admit that sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the end goal. But I think it's sights like these-- little orange pinnies with the ABC logo emblazoned on the back, wobbling around on the ice-- that remind us of what we're working for!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

A Day in the Life

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 nonprofit.

9am- Grabbed a coffee at my local bakery in Mt. Pleasant before hopping in a Zipcar. I usually rely on public transportation, so driving was a rare treat!

10am- Met with a reporter at one of our campuses in Southeast DC. My boss couldn't attend, so the Principal and I took turns answering his questions. I was excited to realize that after five months on the job, I could comfortably answer most of his questions without stumbling or questioning my responses.

11am- Joined one of the preschool classes while they read The Doorbell Rang. It was amazing to watch the teacher lead the discussion of the book with the 3-year-olds, as she emphasized new vocabulary words (e.g. "plenty," "doorbell," and "enormous"), basic math skills (counting the number of neighbors in the house), and a new letter ("V" as in the character's name "Veronica"). Afterwards, I sat on the carpet with a few of the students for Journaling as they practiced drawing the letter "D".

12pm- Sadly returned the Zipcar to Mt. Pleasant, deciding I should create excuses to borrow a car more regularly.

12:30pm- Joined a conference call with our communications consultant, who has helped us develop and implement a communications plan for the past few months. We made a lot of great progress this fall in improving our messages and communications decisions, but there's still plenty of work to be done!

1:30pm- Replied to emails I had received over the weekend. A less glorious but necessary portion of each day.

2:30pm- Printed and reviewed the proof sets for a redesign of the organization's logo. This is one of my favorite projects that I've worked on recently.

3:30pm- Revised my application to attend a full-day blogging workshop. My organization actively encourages staff to seek out professional development opportunities.

5pm- Caught up with the day's education news by perusing through my organization's Twitter feed.

6:30pm- Attended a Young Education Professionals-DC networking event. It was great to discuss early childhood education with a couple of attendees, and I always love hearing about the work of other organizations.

9pm- Quick trip to the gym, and bed soon after!

Holidays in NY

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 very important because most of our patrons and advisory board members volunteer their time and it's the only opportunity we have to really honor them and their commitment to St. Mark's. That being said, holiday gifts are extremely time consuming. Kids under 12 seem to take a lot of time to do just about anything. So the plethora of pictures that needed to be colored and thank you notes that needed to be written took a surprising amount of time of effort. But I think the scrapbooks I made with the students were well-received and really did feature the students' talents because that's what we're all about. Looking ahead I'm completely shifting gears as our next task is Registration for the next school year. As always, day to day life in the school is very exciting especially as the kids get anxious for Christmas break. Although holiday shopping in NY actually sounds like a nightmare to me with the extraordinary amount of people browsing, I did get a bit of holiday cheer when I chaperoned the 5th grade field trip to see the Rockettes: A Christmas Spectacular. I'm looking forward to the Christmas Pageant that our second graders put on every year and the upcoming winter concerts next week!

Holiday Updates

Recently, I have been reading others' blog posts about new-found flexibility and the ability to actually go home for Thanksgiving. I am one of this bunch -- I was unable go ever go home during that short four day break in college because it always seemed that I had a Wednesday night class and could just not make the trip back home in such short time.

Well, it is quite wonderful to now have "vacation days." I was able to spend quality time with my family (including my entire extended family) and not have to worry about any homework. In this sense, I think that I am starting to get the feel of a work-life balance. I even went up to my Grandpa's farm in Minnesota and spent time picking eggs and driving a tractor!

That being said, I had a quite enjoyable work week when I returned to New York City. Every month, I co-author an education litigation newsletter that is a huge undertaking. I enjoy researching and writing these articles and learning about state-specific law cases. We also had an advisory council meeting this past week--this includes individuals from all facets of education -- higher education professors, principals, education non-profit individuals, NYC education dept. representatives, parents, and others. I really value listening in on their often differing viewpoints; having everyone together is such a great resource for our organization and my general growth in the field. I finished the week off helping our executive director update a handful of historical backgrounds on state public school funding.

I must say that I cannot believe it is the winter holidays in 3 weeks. How time has flown! I saw the tree at Rockefeller Center. I must say that I showed up expecting something incredible--like the Christmas tree of a lifetime. Though it is very pretty, I was much more impressed by the giant snowflake at 57^th and 5^th avenue. Hoisted above beautiful corner stores (many covered in a kaleidoscopic array of holiday decorations), this is the site to see!

Broker Nightmares

After a brief flirtation with homelessness and the loss of a few hundred dollars, I successfully greeted December from a new home… one block away from the previous one. The apartment is a nice and spacious two-bedroom, whose only shortcoming is my weirdly shaped closet, but I lost my right to complain about that the moment I seriously contemplated living in a subway station. If anyone else is on the brink of homelessness, get in touch with me and I give you links to some great guides on surviving homelessness. They include useful and encouraging advice such as, "It won't be easy at first, but you'll get used to it.”

My initiation into the realty industry of New York City was rough. I thought finding a new apartment was easy, and I was in for an unpleasant surprise. Realtors can be vague, unreliable, pushy, rude and deceitful all at once! They can casually forget to mention their fee is, in fact, one and a half months’ worth of rent, rather than the standard one month in Astoria. They can waste hours of your time only to fail to show you any apartments because when they finally arrive at the location… they realize they’ve forgotten the key. They can also try to convince you that getting a railroad-style apartment at a ridiculously high price is a steal. Basically, they don’t have your interest at heart. It’s important to understand that before starting to deal with them.

I’m now on a first name basis with almost all brokers in Astoria and have the phone numbers of 18 of them in my phone. The various applications for apartments yielded three different credit reports with scores diverging by up to 60 points. I still get calls from brokers daily offering to show me “a great, renovated two-bedroom,” although my roommate and I made it clear we would be homeless if we didn’t find a place by the first of the month. But all of that is over now and we even cooked our first communal dinner in the apartment – French fries.

There is also exciting news from work. While I do have to write my self-appraisal, which I have been avoiding for about a week now, I feel like I have finally become a fully integrated member of the Foundation’s staff. At first, it was challenging to coordinate competing assignments from the three supervisors I effectively work for, but as I got a better grasp of my responsibilities and their expectations, things became a lot easier. Besides, all three of them (and all my other colleagues) were always happy to answer my questions and give me feedback on my performance, so I never felt a lack of support.

More recently, I participated in an internal innovation competition for the research associates and the associate directors at the Foundation, and ended up winning one of the three awards! Well, technically the generous award went to the grantee organization, on whose behalf I was competing, but I still really enjoyed preparing the application and the presentation for the contest. Not to mention, the award will contribute to the future success of an organization I deeply respect, which is a sufficient reward for me.

Toy Drive!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at Angelwish. December means crunch time as we work to organize, publicize, and manage our holiday toy drive programs. Without the generosity of our Angelwish donors, many of the chronically ill children we serve would not receive any presents this holiday season as their parents continue to struggle to pay for their medical bills and make ends meet in this difficult economy. We are therefore working as hard as we can to reach out to as many potential donors as possible.

On that note, I am very excited to announce that the Class of 2011 officers have decided to partner with Angelwish for a holiday service opportunity. All '11ers will be receiving an email in the next day or so detailing the program, but if you want to get a head start looking through the Wishlists of our partner care centers (or aren't a member of our class) you can visit our personalized page at princeton11.angelwish.org Even if you can't donate at this time, scrolling through the toy lists is actually a great mini-break from work...

These online donation pages are a modern twist on the traditional toy drive, and we work closely with hospital social workers nationwide to make sure the items on each Wishlist fit the needs of their patient populations. Best of all, 100% of your donation will go directly toward purchasing the gift - the little bit of overhead there is has been taken care of by corporate contributions.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Dread Knots and Shifting Desire

This fellowship year has provided me the unique privilege reflect on the types of change I'd like to see in the world. Whether through attending the PolicyLink Equity Summit in Detroit in early November or exclusive Princeton sponsored networking events, I've met a vast array of people who are offering interesting solutions to very real challenges.

I've struggled, however, with the question of whether these privileges and opportunities actually work to eradicate the types of structural inequalities I'm working against, or simply reify them.

One of my job responsibilities is to help teach people of color from Chicago's West Side how to navigate corporate - and often white - work environments. While I'm offering a real service to people who otherwise might be passed over, I often feel as if I'm normalizing the clients to the white supremacist patriarchy. For example, many clients come to class with hair styles which are quite common in North Lawndale such as dreads, afro's or braids on men. All of those hairstyles, however, prove to be barriers to employment. So we typically advise people to cut their hair in a way that white people will find less threatening.

But I feel my time would be better spent educating prejudiced employers that every black man with dreads is not Lil Wayne. Instead, when I meet people of power and privilege I have to perform an exaggerated congeniality to ensure that they don't find me (a lilliputian, Princeton educated man of color) threatening.

Oscillating between the militarized ghetto's of Chicago's West Side and garden parties in Lakeview is such a thoroughly disorienting experience that I struggle to imagine what a meaningful engagement between the two worlds might look like.

Ten Commandments of the Bronx County Hall of Justice

1. Thou must pull up, and keep up, thy Trousers.
2. If a Youth, thou art Advised to bring thy Mother.
3. If thou seeketh thy Attorney, thou must approach every individual dressed in business attire.
4. Thou must place thy cell phone on "vibrate", lest thy Lil' Wayne Ringtone disturb the Sanctum Legis.
5. Speaking of the Sanctum Legis, thou must leave the crying Baby outside. 
6. Thou must refrain from wearing the shirt commonly known as a "Wife Beater". Put another way, thou must not show thy Biceps.
7. Thou must not curse off thy judge, lest thou be Remanded.
8. If thou art asked to Allocute, thusly admitting thy commission of a Crime, it is advised for thou to remember the specifics of thy Crime, and not resort to Vagueries.
9. Thou must Show Up.
10. Thou must Wait.

Networking Made Easy

I have always been a little wary of the concept of "networking." To me, the line between this so-called "networking" and the much less euphemistic "sucking up in order to move further along in your career" seemed to be dangerously blurry and perhaps non-existent. I told myself that I would very much prefer to advance on my own personal merit rather than on my ability to schmooze. Today, however, I learned that the dreaded and slightly disdained world of networking is not actually as tainted as I initially believed it to be. In fact, in the Project 55 world, networking is as simple as showing up to social events planned for you and talking with twenty+ successful Princeton alums who are there for the sole purpose of meeting you and helping you on your way.

That pretty much sums up my experience with networking through Project 55. Earlier this month, AlumniCorps held a special Project 55 gathering for current and past fellows, volunteers, and Board members. I was able to meet and talk with many of the people there and happened to take the metro back to Maryland with one past fellow (Princeton '08) who now works at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (a premier center for kids with developmental disabilities/neurological disorders). She was thrilled to hear that I was interested in child health and development and immediately gave me her card and encouraged me to get in touch with her if I had any questions. I just had dinner with her tonight, and I learned so much about how she got to where she is and the different paths I can pursue. I was so impressed by how quickly she has advanced in just a couple years since graduation, and by her willingness to help me--she even told me to send her my resume so she could forward it on to various people in the field, should Project 55 not work out for me next year! All of this from a quick 15 minute conversation on the way home from a cocktail party--it seems like networking can actually be a pretty painless experience, with minimal schmoozing required!

As for my work at CEP, it looks like big changes are in store for me over the next couple of months. Both my supervisors with whom I have been working closely since the beginning of my fellowship will be retiring/leaving for a new position by the end of the calendar year. It will definitely be interesting to see how the lack of supervision will affect my position--I'm sure I'll have more to report on that in my next blog post!

Importance of the "Unimportant"

Last Tuesday we held our “International Feast,” NYCCD’s version of Thanksgiving. The event took a lot of preparation and to be honest, as I microwaved 300 chicken nuggets, I wondered if it was worth our while. But as everyone arrived for the feast I became sure that it was. Many parents at our school live in rough conditions, work two jobs, and have young babies. It is often difficult, therefore, to get in touch with them and even harder to get them to come to the school. Yet in spite of all this, more than half of the parents filed in that day. Most proudly carried a contribution, a tray of food from their culture ranging from Moroccan couscous to Chinese chicken dumplings. As the children sang festive songs and everyone feasted on the International assortment, I thought about how important the seemingly unimportant is. We spend a lot of time here organizing parties, toy drives, etc., but I now believe this is almost as important as the time we spend orchestrating speech and physical therapy. Making the families feel some allegiance to NYCCD and excitement about their children’s progress is incredibly valuable.

Homecoming x 2

While I did not make it back to Princeton for Homecoming weekend, I was fortunate enough to be home for Thanksgiving last week. During college, it was often difficult for me to travel all the way to California (and back again) over such a short break. This year, I was so grateful to take off for a few days and spend time with my family whom I have not seen in 6(!) months. Vacation time is definitely one of the perks of “life after Princeton.”

Despite battling the busy airports, nearly missing one of my flights, and spending two hours wondering if my checked bag had made it onto the plane, it dawned on me that my return to New York City really was also a second homecoming. Over the past half-year, I truly have settled into my new city. (A former dance professor of mine noted how much more “at ease” I seemed in my body; I certainly trust her reading of body language.)

The first day back to work was a busy day at the Education Through Music office. This time of year is the beginning of the holiday giving season and, as such, we are preparing to send out over 1,000 appeal letters seeking support for our music programs. This is quite a task in organization (and patience) but I know the fruits of our labor will be worth it. From the ETM program staff and music teachers, I have been hearing about the repertoire that each school is preparing for the upcoming holiday concerts. From the handbells to hand-choreography, each one sounds like it is going to be so much fun, not only for the students, but for all the teachers and parents in attendance. I can’t wait to attend and see these kids perform in the first big concert of the year!

Complete Creative Control!

I am endlessly amazed at the variety of different tasks that fall onto my plate here at Achievement Prep.  I will admit that not all of them are intellectually challenging, but those that aren’t still require creative thought and approaching problems from several different angles.  And I most certainly get to be way more creative at this job than I would at a different office job.

Case in point, my most recent “baby,” our High School Placement Bulletin Board.  The task:  create a board that showcases our eighth graders, what high schools they are applying to and what their favorite schools are.  Creative control: complete.  (These sorts of tasks are great for me because I love being totally in control of the execution of my own artistic vision.)  And wow, did I have to be resourceful and make letters out of other letters for the banner because we didn't have enough.  Darn straight those h's are made out of m's and l's.

My list of other tasks in recent days have included:

• Behavioral data tracking for the whole school
• Organizing game bins for use during indoor recess (I LOVE ORGANIZING)
• Online research for potential APA merchandise
• Data entry for updated DC Health and Oral Exams for our scholars
• Data entry to our online disciplinary database
• Updating the school library with loads of new books
• Assisting our Office Coordinator who broke her foot!
• Teaching Art Club
• Helping my supervisor plan, prepare, and execute last week’s Family Night

Today, the teachers are upstairs working with data from our most recent Achievement Network assessment.  I’m down at my desk brainstorming ways to increase attendance at our Family Night Events (last week we had Family Health and Wellness Night, which was awesome!) and trying to decide upon best practices to get the staff and scholars involved at future events.  But as you can see from my list above, I am the go-to person for getting random stuff done that needs to be done.  It’s great to feel that my coworkers know that I am dependable and responsible and always ready to lend a hand!

p.s.  Shout out to Schuyler, fellow DC P55 Fellow working in Education, for telling me about Young Education Professionals DC (YEP-DC) which is a group that organizes events and has a great list serv with lots of event announcements and job postings, all having to do with education in DC.  Anyone who is interested can check out their website here: http://www.yepdc.org/  and join their Google or LinkedIn Group here:  http://www.yepdc.org/join.html

p.p.s.  Related:  for any prospective P55 applications who want to work in education – DC is the place to be!