Week 2 was quieter than last week now that classes have ended, but this week has been no less impactful. As I sat at Cristo Rey graduation this Saturday and watched the class of 2019 proudly walk across the stage, I couldn’t help but think back to my high school graduation. I remember a common notion from both friends and family was “graduating high school isn’t that big of an accomplishment, college is really what is hard.” Growing up as a white woman with college-educated parents in a quality school district, graduating high school and moving onto college was the expectation for me and most of my peers. Yet, this is not the case for all students, including many here in Columbus. Not realizing the luxury of a quality K12 education creates a dangerous mindset for people from middle-class communities like mine, as you can choose to ignore the reality that some students might not even make it to high school graduation due to their zip code, socioeconomic class, and other factors.

The thoughts that surfaced during Cristo Rey graduation came up again Wednesday morning during our Fellows Learning Session. We spent some time discussing how bias and privilege might affect our work this summer. For me, one bias I possess relates to the ease of college access in my community; I grew up knowing that college was attainable and always part of my life plans. By recognizing this one area of bias, I hope I can work this summer with greater awareness of the current state of education for Columbus students. Entering the non-profit sector with the recognition of my biases can elevate the work I do to build the capacity of the students I serve to succeed in their education.

I’m grateful to be working at Cristo Rey and witnessing one approach the Columbus community is taking to transform educational outcomes for students. The experiences this week at Cristo Rey and during our Fellows Learning Session have broadened my ideas of how to approach leadership and bias in the non-profit sector while pushing for social profit within the Columbus community. I’m looking forward to seeing how I can build upon these ideas this summer, especially next week when I have the chance to meet more students and work directly in the classroom during Cristo Rey summer school. See you soon!