To kick off my week, I headed to the ASPIRE program, where we went out for a day full of fun. To begin, we went to a nearby library so that we could discuss launching a section of the Next Chapter Book Club with ASPIRE and gauge interest from participants. However, once we got to the library, some of our participants preferred to walk around and see if there was anything they wanted to rent. One participant decided to get two movies that she could watch with her nieces at home. This experience was really fun for me to see in particular because I was with her when she got her first library card, and now I got to see her putting it to use! While we were there, one of our participants found an old friend who was working at the library, and they both convinced me to get a library card of my own. Personally, I haven’t been to a public library in a long time, as I usually just utilize the ones at my university. However, I can now say that I am a proud owner of a Columbus library card. If you have not been to any of the Columbus library locations, I highly recommend stopping by, as it is a wonderful place that I overlooked in my three years in Columbus so far.

After the library, we visited a small market that was set up like a grocery store, however all of the food inside was free! I had never seen a food pantry set up like this one, so it was a new opportunity for me as well as the participants. I walked through the store with a participant and helped him gather groceries such as vegetables, fruits, eggs, and even meat that he would be able to take home. After these activities, we didn’t have much time in the day left. Yet, we made time to stop by an Ohio Thrift store and walk around looking at clothes and trinkets.

Later in the week, I was in the main office where I was mainly focused on giving out information for Next Chapter Book Club to those interested. There is at least one staff member at each of ARC’s locations that expressed interest in launching a section. Therefore, I was in communication with them sending training and answering any questions. Now that this project is moving further along, I’m getting more and more excited to have our first session and see the feedback from participants and staff.

Finally, I finished up my second publication of “Through Our Lens”, which is a blog that ARC sends out biweekly to staff, participants, and families to showcase all of the activities happening at different sites. This was my first edition that I constructed from scratch. While I was a little nervous, I was met with lots of support from ARC employees that oversaw this project for me.

I really enjoyed watching this edition come together. First of all, the events that were showcased were amazing– from visiting an alpaca farm to a day trip at the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame! Secondly, it was interesting to see the entire process from selecting photos to adding design elements to make it fun to read. Additionally, it was great to receive such positive feedback over the final draft from my supervisors. Going forward, I am excited to continue with my projects and see them go from ideas to reality.