A Post-Sandy Reflection on Mission-Driven Work

With a good portion of New York City without power (myself included) and still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon the dedication of my coworkers. Subways are closed. Buses are stopping along their normal routes about fifty percent of the time because they are so packed. Traffic lights aren't functioning downtown, and traffic everywhere is at a standstill.  Despite all this, many employees at the New York Center for Child Development are carrying on, business as usual (or at least, as usual as possible). One of my coworkers had her husband drive her two hours through the city gridlock so she could be here today. Another walked 50 blocks uptown when the overcrowded buses continued to pass her by. Another rode her bicycle in--from Brooklyn. I am amazed by their dedication and committment to their work.  These extreme circumstances affirm how motivating a meaningful mission can be. I realize more and more every day that, for me, finding a career driven by a strong mission is the key to remaining personally fulfilled in my work. Even when my day-to-day tasks become mundane here--compiling the results of a survey on a training given to 55 daycare workers is not the most intellectually stimulating of projects--I still remain eager to work because of my belief in my organization's mission and because of the obvious enthusiasm and passion of the people working around me. And when the work does become more exciting--such as meeting with the Weill Cornell child psychiatry team to discuss how we can better integrate our new early childhood mental heath consulation and treatment program into their practice--that makes the mission that much more tangible and motivating.

To everyone affected by the storm, I hope you are all staying safe, and that life returns to normal as quickly as possible!

Reading for Fun…with a Side of Edification

Here are some coincidences about Hurricane Sandy (which is approaching the D.C. region as I type).  On the work side, Character Education Partnership’s National Forum on Character Education is slated for 1-3 November, and CEP’s founder was Sandy McDonnell ’45.  On the personal side, I was in D.C. during Fall Break last year and there weathered a peculiar Halloween storm as well.

On Tuesday I went to Hooray 4 Books in Alexandria to buy two birthday presents (a book for my former supervisor’s daughter and a plush cat for me since my birthday is on Halloween).  It’s a children’s toy and book store similar to Jazams in Palmer Square but with more books.  One of the major highlights of the post-Princeton life, at least for this liberal arts major, is having the brain space to read for fun.  I can read poetry just because I want to, not because I’m endeavouring to “fill the well,” as Julia Cameron says, in order to get the poetic juices flowing.  I have time to read Health magazine for its exercise tips because I will be studying to become a health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  My fellow fellow, Sweta, and I were discussing reading for pleasure while we assembled name badges at CEP yesterday (Saturday).  It’s a blast to have the freedom to read!

Reading about character education at work has also primed me to see it everywhere; when reading the flyer for new titles coming soon to Hooray 4 Books, most of the picture and chapter books used anthropomorphic animals to teach some sort of moral lesson (including the very-chic lesson of ecofriendly behavior).  This is hardly a novel idea, of course!