Connecticut!

hello! :)

I've been working at the Housing Development Fund here in Stamford, CT for exactly a month now and, though I have to say I never imagined myself living in CT, it has been really awesome so far! Here are just a few of the things that I love:

- The offices of the Housing Development Fund's Stamford branch are located on the ground floor of a luxury apartment complex. The wonderful people at HDF set me up in a beautiful one-bedroom apartment that's in the same building that I work in - which means my commute is just one elevator ride! (Plus, being that HDF champions affordable housing, my rent is less than half of what it should be!) And you should see the rooftop gym and resident lounge...

- Speaking of HDF, my coworkers are all friendly, down-to-earth, admirable people who do such good work, helping low- and moderate- income families work towards purchasing their first homes (or avoid foreclosure) in one of the most expensive housing markets in the U.S. Not only do we provide free one-on-one counseling to these families, we also provide them with loan products and invest in developers who build affordable housing units. So, in a way, HDF is like a nonprofit bank, which is so unique (and makes it a sustainable nonprofit).

As part of the Development and Communications department, I (so far) write press releases, do research for grants and grant reports, design any promotional material, write/design newsletters, help plan events, and my current big project - redesign our website! Compared to being an architecture major at Princeton, my job is definitely low on stress and also 9 to 5 which is just what I need!

- Downtown Stamford is a great place to live - it's a lot livelier than I ever expected, with a ton of people at night populating Restaurant Row (which is just a block from my apartment). I'm also at a walkable distance from a grocery store (on my street), a really fabulous mall, the library, a Target, and even the train station (though I often take a bus there). The Stamford train station can lead you anywhere, but most notably, it is just a 45-50 min train ride to New York City - and I go almost every weekend! Living the relatively quiet suburban life during the weekdays and the busy city life (and nightlife) on the weekends is the perfect balance for me. :)

^There are quirky artist sculptures everywhere in Stamford. This dog lives in front of the town library.

I hope everyone's having a fantastic summer! More details about my organization to come...

KSS 2011

So although I've been at the KIPP Foundation for almost two months now(!!!!), most of my time has been spent preparing for and executing our annual KIPP School Summit, this year held in Nashville.

I never realized that putting on a conference was so intense. It was 3/4 professional development conference 1/4 pep rally for 2200 teachers and school leaders. We also had 170 potential/current investors and partners who attended (this is kind of my jam, as I'm on the Development team), each of whom needed a registration packet, complete with personalized itinerary. Which is fine, but because they're such big deals, their plans change a lot :/ Kept us on our toes, for sure.

Best parts about KSS in Nashville:

- Seeing the impact we're having on real students. We had a bunch of co-curricular groups come in, and I got to meet a lot of the KIPPsters. I also got a chance to meet some graduated KIPPsters who had made it through college. Seeing the growth that happens between the two stages was incredible. I was definitely proud to be part of the movement.

- Nashville is awesome. Maybe it's because I'm pretty country myself, but I LOVED the city. Live music everywhere, tons of people who dress like me (who I never really managed to find in Princeton), perfect nighttime weather (remember, I live in SF now), and a great opportunity to get to know my coworkers better

- I got to run with Former Mayor Adrian Fenty. yup. we're tight now. He was down to go as far as I wanted and only kind of kicked my butt. In my defense, it was 5 am on the day after the hottest day in Nashville since 1956 and my 6th day of training @ 5 that week, but I'll give him the win on that one anyway :) There were all sorts of rock stars like him who attended (Meg Whitman, Reed Hastings, Pam Flaherty, John Fisher, Doris Fisher, Mark Nunnelly, etc) and while I tried to be as professional and levelheaded as possible, inside I was leaping up and down like a three year old.

What I didn't like about Nashville:

***crickets chirping***

...but in all seriousness, it was a LOT of work. I only had time to go out and see the city a couple of times throughout the 7 days I was there and the days were ridiculously LONG. Guess I know what it would feel like to be in banking, now ;) And they don't get to change lives every day. Oh yeah. I went there. Sappy, but true.

In short, I'm loving it here. I drank the KIPP Koolaid. I'll save my thoughts on what I love/ don't love about SF for next time.

Jobs

Today marks my first Thursday at NYCCD. So far I have loved it here. One thing that has really amazed me is how different a real job--or at least my job--is from school:

1. Pick your assignments- I'm given a lot of freedom to decide what to work on and how to approach it. I am currently designing the Parent Teacher Association meeting calendar for the upcoming year and I get to decide what to put on it. My ideas so far are a discussion about how to manage your child's Individual Education Plan as a parent and a talk on keeping kids active (perhaps including a bicycling trip). Having so much freedom is fantastic because even when my supervisor gives me a project that doesn't seem too interesting I can shape it into something I'm excited about. I wish I could have changed assignments I didn't feel like doing at Princeton in this way!

2. Not competitive- every person in my office has a different job and at the same time we're all working toward the same ultimate goal-- to help the kids this organization serves. As a result, there is no sense of competition. My computer wasn't set up to print for the first few days so I had to keep bugging my office mate Rosa to print stuff for me. I kept thinking she would get annoyed but she always seemed happy to help. Try repeatedly asking grumpy Firestoners to print things and I doubt you'll have the same success...

3. All kinds of people- My office mates range from twenty-year-old teachers to sixty-year-old nurses to forty year olds whose English is worse than my Spanish. I have really enjoyed getting to know such a variety of people.

4. When you're done you're done. When I walk out of here each evening I bring only my empty lunchbox. Papers and work are left at my desk and I have the whole night ahead. At school I certainly did take chunks of hours off of work but usually with a tinge of guilt. Now I run the Hudson River Park guilt free. Tonight I am planning a picnic.

All this aside, I really miss Princeton... Does anyone else dream about getting ready to go out on a Saturday night or Frist candy?

There is No Way that it's August Already

Ok so I KNOW everyone has written about time flying and I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here but seriously....I can't believe it's Aug. I feel like yesterday I started working (June) and there is just no way that months have passed and I didn't notice.
So I started to reflect and wonder why might these months have sped past? Am i having such an exhilarating work experience that time simply flew past me? Or maybe they're keeping me so busy that I barely notice time passing? I thought really hard and realized I couldn't come up with one single thing, but rather like a gazillion answers. I had a different reason for why each week had blown by so quickly.
Whether it was laundry, dishes, or crunch time at work, visiting family, meeting up with friends, running errands, keeping up w/personal emails, traveling to NY to visit Princeton peeps, cleaning the apartment, making it to that friends b-day party, grocery shopping, balancing the monthly budget/bills, getting in your weekly jog, yoga, gym, or aerobics class, and MAYBE breathing if you get a chance. After this reflection I called about 2 other fellows who simply laughed at the fact that they knew EXACTLY what i was talking about. I mean it's not like Pton is easy or anything but this real life thing certainly isn't a walk in the park if you know what I'm saying. I know everyone's experience is slightly different but I feel like pretty much you all can relate...or maybe not and it's just me..making this yet another awkward moment for my novice blogging career. lol but it's all good.
So how do we manage this crazy-ness aka "the real world?"
My answer: I have no idea...just as new to it as you all. :-) But I Googled it and thought that some of you might find these tips helpful.

1. "Stop and relax. When someone has so many things to accomplish, pressure will only lead to stress. Once you are into this dreary state, getting out of it might take days, weeks, or even months - depending on your level of motivation. Organize your thoughts in order to better organize that tight schedule."

2. If relaxing, and planning properly and all that good stuff doesn't work for you then you should at least talk to someone about it. This month I finally met up with my mentor and she ROCKS!! Like honestly i was so surprised by how well we clicked even though we didn't have that much in common but the best part is everything that I was explaining to her...she had experienced and had great tips for me. And they're SO eager to help. And even when she was stumped I was happy to just be able to vent. You know...vent about the stuff that goes on that you CAN'T blog about. lol ;-) But seriously even if it's not your mentor...talk to someone. It can't hurt.

So those are my two tips...a bunch of other stuff happened in Aug/July but those were the two most imp thing i learned that I'll def carry with me through the rest of the year. ps those of you in the D dot C we should hang out!! I know a bunch of great places so shoot me an email and let's make something happen

Happy fellowing,
Kahina

That Happened...

... And it will keep happening.

I wore flip-flops on my way to work and changed into my heels only in front of the office. Flip-flops are apparently the number one thing you are NOT supposed to wear at work, but there's no penalty for wearing them before and after! I know this is no revelation, but I just highly encourage everyone to do it and not feel ashamed of changing shoes on the sidewalk. Those corporate suits giving you a seemingly contemptuous look are really just jealous of your blister-free feet.

Disclaimer: The author of the blog displaying the above picture argues that flip-flops are actually dangerous to wear in New York. He might have a point there, but even so, you can always wear sneakers or rain boots to the office and back, depending on the weather.

The Real Citizens of New York

I’m rarely shocked by poverty and destitution, because I’ve seen a fair amount of both throughout my life. Yet, this city has managed to surprise me.

I’ve seen the ragged beggars sleeping on the steps of churches at night. I recently even saw a policeman tasering a homeless man who was asleep under the roof of Newark Penn Station. As a dutiful new New Yorker, I’ve almost learned to look away or pretend those people don’t exist, although this saddens me and makes me feel ashamed.

But the other day, in the fashionable shopping stretch of Fifth Avenue, I couldn’t pretend to be blind. A young white woman was sitting on the pavement close to the giant Cole Haan store, holding a sign:

PREGNANT
IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
NEED MONEY FOR FOOD

And indeed, she was visibly pregnant, sitting there quietly in her fairly clean but worn clothes. I’m not sure what the moral of this story is. Perhaps, it’s that vulnerability is not just a quality of urban minorities. Perhaps, it’s that in this city of beautiful facades, even the beggars on Fifth Avenue are attractive young women.

Philadelphia's Prison Population Drop

At its peak in January 2009, the inmate population hit nearly 10,000. Since then, it has fallen to 8,200 - and dropped below 7,700 in the spring. The inmate population drop has largely been attributed to policy changes by District Attorney Seth Williams. These policies include a greater emphasis on pre-trial diversion programs (such as the Small Amounts of Marijuana program, and the Accelerated Misdemeanor Program which I am involved in), as well as changes in the way that prosecutors charge crimes.

Here are a few links to the newspaper coverage of the recent Pew Report documenting Philadelphia's prison population drop, as well as a link to the report.

"Pew: changes are reducing Philly's prison population"--Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20110720_Pew__Changes_are_reducing_Phillys_prison_population.html

"Prison population down; new programs cited"--Daily News

http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-21/news/29797937_1_community-court-prison-population-court-administrator

"Philadelphia's Less Crowded, Less Costly Jails"--Pew Charitable Trusts

http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Philadelphia_Research_Initiative/Philadelphia-Jail-Population.pdf