Hi everyone! 

This was a very busy week at the fair office, as we get closer and closer to fair week. The first half of the week I was able to independently sell tickets, process payments and donations, navigate through google drive and excel sheet and alphabetize files, both digitally and on paper. Aside from the computer work, I was also able to meet various members of the board, sponsors and individuals seeking to rent portions of the grounds. It was so cool to see the various participants and contributors all come together to help with pre-fair needs and preparations. 

Wednesday morning all the fellows gathered at the Columbus Foundation for our first learning session. It was so good to hear about everyone’s first week and what roles they played at their individual organizations. We then dove into a presentation about the Columbus Foundation and learned more about how it partners with donors to support and financially assist local non-profits in the city of Columbus. Dr. Lomax shared just how important it is to support the local community through non-profit work and how the donations of generous individuals and the hard work of those at the Columbus Foundation are what make it all happen. 

The second half of the morning was spent watching a Ted-Talk about the importance of the “Why” behind everything. The speaker talked about how from a business perspective, leading with the “why” is extremely important. People naturally make decisions based on emotion  therefore offering something people could potentially connect with is extremely important to selling a product/service. Dr. Lomax then talked about the power each of us inherently have within us, and how important it is to tap into that and understand the value and benefits that come with that power. One specific thing Dr. Lomax said that really stuck out to me was the phrase, “What you do serves as proof of what you believe”. I think this phrase is extremely impactful because it serves as an important reminder that knowing or unknowingly, we each have an impact on the world and people around us. What kind of impact we have is fully up to us, and our personal beliefs. As young adults, still figuring out how to navigate the world, understanding the idea that our actions speak volumes of our character is key to becoming good and kind human beings. 

For the rest of the week at the fairgrounds I was able to step out of the office and do some hands-on work outside moving flowers for a flower show the fair is putting on and prepping wooden boards that a local college student will use to paint a mural that will go up on a building next to the main road. I was also able to help with some yard work for the areas surrounding the fair. I am so excited to see what the rest of summer will look like! See you next week!

~Elena