Hello again! My second week at the Ohio History Connection has been filled with helping out on several of our History to Go programs that had been in place before this fellowship. However, on Monday the History to Go programs that are occurring because of the fellowship are starting. I think the main thing I learned from this week is to prepare for the unexpected, which sometimes just means one must be flexible and find the best way to adapt to the situation at hand.

Normally, our programming will ask for the site (often a school or recreation center) to help provide volunteers to be able to run our stations. However, this isn’t always the case. Today was a great example of what can happen when a site doesn’t provide the necessary volunteers. Part of preparing for the unexpected means recognizing your limitations. One must be  creative. The problems that can occur with effectively running our program can vary greatly, I think that’s why it’s so great to be prepared to adapt within your limitations.

I’m really looking forward to continuing on with the programming and helping make History to Go sustainable for future endeavors. While there may be obstacles in our way, like lack of volunteers, there are solutions.

This week we brought Pioneer Life and Inventors and Innovators to the sites. It is really rewarding seeing children enjoy and interact with our programs. Not to mention, it can also be hilarious– like, the faces of the kids when they found out that the object they thought was a mixing bowl or a cup, was actually a chamber pot.

As you may have already learned from some of the other fellows, we also spent some time this week at the Columbus Foundation. It’s nice to hear about everyone’s experience. This week we also had a handful of special guests who work in the non-profit world. From their experiences, one can see the diversity of career opportunities available from non-profits. Hearing about different career trajectories gets me thinking about what type of work I would find the most rewarding. I feel fortunate to be able to have this incredible experience.