Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

This week, I was busy going to sites for History to Go. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, I went to three of the ETSS sites. ETSS may sound familiar to some of you since Anastasia Martinez, another fellow for the Columbus Foundation, is working at ETSS for the summer. On Thursday, I also went to Brentnell Community Recreation Center and had a wonderful time facilitating programs.

I have officially been to all of the ETSS sites now and I have one more program for them on Monday. It’s been a great learning experience to see the diversity and differences among different immigrant communities in Columbus, Ohio. Just at ETSS, I’ve had the opportunity to work with kids from many different places like Myanmar, Nepal, Somalia, Cameroon, and Ethiopia. Even the physical buildings themselves are vastly different from one another.

The quality of buildings is something I notice now more than ever at all the sites I am going to. From going to so many community centers and schools, one can see the disparity in the quality. I would love to see some research on how physical surroundings affect behavior and attention. I found a couple of studies that relate to this idea, but it seems like I have more research to do on this topic and/or that more research should be done. While, the correlation between a physical space and behavior may seem obvious, I think if research is conducted that has concrete data it could help to influence policy decisions.

Anyways, I was not the only one who was able to come out to the ETSS sites this week from the Columbus Foundation. On Wednesday,  Nick George, the photographer from the Columbus Foundation came out and took a few pictures of History to Go. One of the pictures he took is on the Columbus Foundation Instagram. Anastasia Martinez also came out on Wednesday and got to see History to Go in action.

While, I am sure that Nick took significantly better pictures, I thought it would be nice to share some of my own pictures.  So, prepare for some cuteness:

A few weeks ago one of my co-workers mentioned she was in the process of granting a ‘Gift of Kindness‘. Curious, I asked her what a Gift of Kindness specifically was. She explained that a Gift of Kindness is a onetime grant given through the Columbus Foundation to individuals who may experience an unanticipated setback, and are in need of immediate financial assistance. Gifts of Kindness can include money for rent, modes of transportation, utilities or a variety of other needs. In my co-worker Caitlin’s case, the Gift of Kindness was a new washer and dryer for one of her clients.

After doing some research, I learned the Gift of Kindness Fund was established in 2014 when an anonymous donor contributed $500,000 in an effort to encourage the Columbus community to share kindness in any way they could, whether that be through volunteering, donating, or simply a kind act. Usually the gifts are something we take for granted everyday such as the washer and dryer. Such seemingly simple gifts are huge for those most desperate in trying to move forward and stay independent. A Gift of Kindness may enable them to do so!

On Monday, I had the chance to visit Louise’s* home with Caitlin. When we pulled up to her condo, the Lowe’s truck was waiting outside and we knew we were at the right place. As Louise welcomed us into her home, it was easy to grasp the sense of excitement that she felt. She eagerly led us downstairs, ready to show us her brand new whirlpool washer and dryer. Louise was absolutely thrilled, to say the least.

As Louise faces many challenges, receiving a washer and dryer allows her to stay in the comfort of her home and move forward without sacrificing rent, food, or other necessities. Without this Gift of Kindness, it could have created unbearable amounts of obstacles for Louise, ones that could have produced a domino effect, even leading to possible loss of her home. The Gifts of Kindness offered through the Columbus Foundation have a tremendous impact on individuals and families. The goal is to create permanent solutions to what could be permanent problems.

While the fellows did not have a meeting this week at the Columbus Foundation, I found my Columbus Foundation and LifeCare worlds overlapping as I was able to view a Gift of Kindness in action. It was amazing to see the way in which nonprofits interact to benefit those with crucial needs in our community. The collaboration between the Columbus Foundation and other nonprofits around Columbus, especially LifeCare Alliance, is so important to make sure the needs of all people can be met and those most desperate can receive assistance when needed. The way in which people and organizations work together for the benefit of those needing immediate support has encouraged me to spread kindness wherever I am. As I conclude this post, I encourage those reading to share a gift of kindness this weekend. No matter how small it may be, you can make a difference!

Louise*: The client’s name has been changed to respect the privacy of the client.

This week, I was given the task to build a database of dietitians to market the nutrition app to (do you realize how many dietitians in the United States there are?!). This app will be starting internally at the end of 2016 but eventually, it is the Center’s hope that others in the eating disorder field and the larger nutrition field will use it to increase productivity and efficiency. On the other side of the screen, this resource will create convenience and hopefully lessen both confusion and anxiety for clients.

I feel like Eleni in saying that my week has been me + my spreadheet + not much else. At each learning session when the fellows go around the table and share what we have been working on, she tells us all about the awesome data and spreadsheets she works with on a daily basis. I’m assuming that mine is much less complex or number-oriented but yes, it has been fairly awesome.

This is what I have learned from Excel this week:

• It is overwhelming (not excessively but, yes; a big project).
• No matter how much I try, I’m going to make mistakes by missing information
• It is time-consuming
• Looking away from the screen to blink a few times, occasional walks down the hall and ice cold water next to my laptop are helpful
• Nevertheless, it is still hopeful and exciting

These five bullet points of characteristics can practically be applied to any project but also, a glimpse of the place where students entering their final year of their undergraduate college career may be.

This fellowship with all of its networking opportunities, learning sessions and not to mention, incredible experience at a Columbus-area nonprofit couldn’t have come at a better time. My senior year worries and confusion may still be present but with new knowledge, connections and skills I can take onward, I am…

• Overwhelmed? Add confidence to that mix.
• Making mistakes all along the way? You bet! And learning from them.
• Busy with a packed scheduled? A packed schedule that provides me with daily valuable experiences!
• Breaks necessary? Always.
• Hopeful AND exciting. Of course!!

Thank you for refreshing my outlook on the year ahead, Excel. Now back to saving the world (let’s call it that!) one dietitian at a time!

Maybe it’s because I’ve been working in a school, surrounded by things targeted at little kids, but I’ve been reminiscing a lot about my childhood lately. One of my favorite TV shows when I was growing up was “Arthur,” whose theme song is still such a jam and whose lyrics fit really well with what I’ve been contemplating this week:

“Every day when you’re walking down the street,
Everybody that you meet has an original point of view.
And I say – Hey! (Hey!)
What a wonderful kind of day, if we could learn to work and play
And get along with each other”

KIPP works to promote a safe culture for its students and staff, and I think that’s a big part of why I have so many “wonderful kind of days” here. Everyone really works to understand and learn from each other. I’ve got a perfect example of this in action. In the wake of recent events, the KIPP Foundation’s Facebook page posted a series of submissions from KIPP students, alumni, and staff from all over the country on the issues of police brutality and racism (if you’re interested in reading some, go back to July 7th and 8th on the page. Seriously, they’re worth looking through.) I’d seen people sharing some of these posts on Facebook, and was blown away by the eloquence and power of their statements. At work this week, I helped create a poster for the office with quotes from these Facebook posts taped up all over it–it’s now hanging right in the center of the office for all to see. I’ve watched all of my coworkers walk past it and carefully read the statements upon it, informing themselves on the situation and shaking their heads at the upsetting state of our nation.

That sort of thing is what KIPP is all about: working to create a safe place for everyone, and staying informed in order to be able to give voice to those who are in need. One of KIPP’s national mottoes is “Work Hard. Be Nice.” Because at KIPP, working hard is incredibly important, and being nice to others isn’t a suggestion; it’s a guarantee. Treating your fellow humans kindly is not something that you should do, it’s something that you must do. Amazingly, everyone seems to wholeheartedly comply, and it makes the office such a cheerful, comforting place. It just makes you wonder how much brighter the world would be if everyone took the same approach.

During the latter half of my college experience, there was nothing more stressed by my professors and mentors than the importance of learning how to network. From learning the proper communication channels all the way through the infamous elevator pitch and how to carry a conversation, I had spent two years learning how to make valuable connections in the professional world. Up until this week, I was under the *false* impression that my networking skills had been mastered.

There I was on Monday morning, freaking out as I began prepping for three coffee meetings that were set up for later in the week. See, I was used to being the one to initiate the meeting with whomever it was I was hoping to connect. Whether it be one of the very many interesting people in Washington DC where I had spent my time as a congressional intern or a friend of a professor who had a particularly diverse career path, I was used to approaching an older professional after already establishing a reason for me to be speaking with them. This situation was slightly different because Carly, the Development Coordinator here at Cristo Rey, thought I would benefit from conversations from a few incredible Columbus community leaders that she knew from her time at Mortiz School of Law.

I was so appreciative of Carly and her willingness to connect me with a few of her colleagues, but I realized I was out of my comfort zone. They were high profile people in the community with whom I had little in common and I hardly knew anything about. I also came to the realization that I no longer had the cover of “oh, I’m just a college student from your alma mater trying to see what careers are out there.” I felt the pressure to take the conversation up a few notches and ask more significant and probing questions other than, “Can you tell me a bit about what you do as ______?” What in the world am I gonna ask them and how am I going to justify taking up an hour out of their day spent with me???

Well today is Friday and I am convinced this has been the most productive week of my Fellowship since the start. Not only have I gotten the ball completely rolling on my research project, but I had three incredible meetings with very inspirational and successful community leaders. Honestly, I feel leagues ahead of where I was on Monday in terms of my personal professional development. The conversations I had over coffee were thought provoking and more helpful than any meeting I have had in the past year. This seems like a very juvenile conclusion that I should have met years ago, but this week was a testament to the value of pushing yourself outside the areas where you are confident & comfortable. Not just socially, but professionally. The perspectives provided this week really hit home in ways I didn’t anticipate and led me to ask myself some extremely important questions about my future and my personal brand as a worker. I have Carly to thank for this, and its these moments throughout my summer here at CRC that make me feel truly spoiled. They have provided me the opportunity to not only grow within the framework of what I am doing for them, but also grow as an individual as I continue to navigate the immediate post-grad life. I could not be more thankful!

“The greatest resource that any country can have is its children” -Danny Kaye

That quote was stolen off the door an incredible youth manager who is now on her way to Cambodia. It embodies every aspect of my passion for children to succeed, despite their background, culture, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status because they are greater than that.

I always think back on my own journey from East Toledo and how fortunate I was to have supportive parents and  encouraging mentors. I initially had a full ride to the University of Toledo with tuition, books, and on-campus living paid for, for four years. Because of my parents and mentors, a spark ignited in me to do better, hence Ohio State. Though it’s been a struggle to find funds, balance work, school, extra-curricular activities and volunteering, it’s the best decision I made. I want to instill the same spark in youth to push them to aspire for greater and not settle for the norm or take the easy path. I want to show them where they are now does not dictate where they can be and what they can do.

This week I’ve been able to travel to all four sites and truly engage with the youth. It’s so heart-warming hearing, “Hi Miss Ana! I loooooove your hair!” and hear about their summer experiences.It makes me wish August 5th wasn’t around the corner so I could see the progress each youth is making every day. Hearing their hardships and achievements is the greatest aspect of this internship and has fueled my passion for equity in education.

Speaking of hardships and achievements. This Thursday, I was able to attend an emergency community meeting for the Wedgewood Apartment community. I believe I gave some background in my last blog, but it never hurts to repeat. The Wedgewood apartment complex is home to 2,500 residents (2,000 are children) and 90% of these residents are Somali refugees. Crime and violence within this community has escalated to the point that children are too scared to leave their homes and guns are being found daily in the bushes. The emergency meeting was between community leaders, organizations and school principals and teachers to not only educate all on the issues, but to brainstorm solutions. The long-term solution is a community center, which would give the youth a safe, fun environment to play and learn in not only after-school, but throughout the summer. The short-term goal is to pull all resources together and bring them to the apartment complex. I could go on and on about this issue but I’m going to jump ahead to the achievement part…

FREE WATER BOTTLES. After weeks of emails, denied requests, and one or two tears, I finally found an incredible organization, Green Spot, who is not only donation 400 reusable water bottles, but will be leading a “Going Green” workshop for our youngsters at the Youth Summit! Now that is a happy ending to a marvelous week.

P.S. HAPPY FRIDAY! Guess who is going to JazZoo tonight and is super excited? This gal!

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear” -Jack Canfield

To the outsider looking in, it would seem impossible that less than two decades ago, Equitas Health was considering disbandment. Formerly known as AIDS Resource Center Ohio, the community health center was originally founded in 1984 to address an unfamiliar and increasingly prevalent health threat to the nation: HIV/AIDS.  With the mission to provide a welcoming healthcare experience that embodies the values of acceptance, dignity, and respect, the organization served Ohio’s public for several years, navigating the murky waters of the disease in the wake of widespread uncertainty and concern.

However, as society witnessed progressions in medicine and technology, so too did the center’s ability to suppress and treat HIV. Although the center was overjoyed in its ability to achieve what it initially sought to accomplish, it suddenly faced a greater question: now what? How could the center adapt to changing societal trends and remain relevant within its service provision? Was the health center even a resource still needed by the community?

It was in this moment that Equitas faced a choice: 1) let the fear of the unknown consume its operations, causing it to disband entirely or 2) innovate and respond to the needs of a changing community to sustain impact. Organizational leaders choose the latter, opting to rebrand the nonprofit (hence the name change) and drastically expand its services to include medical, social, and behavioral care for the LGBTQ community and beyond.

This week as I visited the center with OANO’s board chair and received a personal tour and history lesson from Michele Gregory, Equitas’ Chief Advancement Officer, I was able to gain insight to Jack Canfield’s incredible musing: the only way to overcome fear is to consciously embrace it. When Equitas was able to utilize its fear and uncertainty to stimulate creativity and expansion, it drastically increased its potential for long-term impact. Similarly, several years ago when OANO faced an abrupt change in leadership, the organization utilized the opportunity to reconsider its mission and completely revamp its services, contributing to its present-day status as an effective and well-respected champion for Ohio nonprofits.

Hearing stories such as these forced me to consider the ways in which I personally interact with fear, especially within work and school environments. Prior to my fellowship, I prided myself on my agreeable and easy-going nature. If a problem or conflict were to arise, I would do my best to avoid it, usually conceding to the more powerful and intimidating party whilst using the awkwardness of confrontation to justify my lackadaisical attitude. Well, let’s just say times have changed. Now, if I witness a problem or see an opportunity for change, I embrace it. Moreover, I fight for it.

Above all else, this summer has taught me you must be your biggest advocate and if you want to achieve greatness, you must be capable of embracing fear. In doing so, one is able to free themselves  of insecurities, approaching any situation with a fresh mind and capable attitude. In my life, I hope to utilize this lesson to face fearful situations with a confident smile, knowing that whatever lies before me is certainly less scary than the paralysis of the fear itself. I have already seen the short-term benefits of my slight change in perception and I cannot wait to see where this takes me years down the line. In fact, now that I am thinking about it, maybe I will look into those skydiving lessons…

In my 45-second elevator pitch about my Columbus Foundation fellowship position with Cristo Rey HS, I often finish by explaining that the school is housed in the old Ohio School for the Deaf building, located right next to the Topiary Park. People’s faces often light up in recognition and comment on its beautiful historic architecture. I can’t help but enthusiastically agree. It’s almost unfair that I was placed with a host site with such an awesome mission and I can feel as if I go to work at Hogwarts every day.

That being said, I’ve taken some time to look up a bit of history for the Ohio Deaf School and the time of its inhabitance of 400 E. Town Street (it has since moved to its 130-acre site on Columbus’ north side). I found a neat description of the buildings historical background on the Topiary Park website (http://www.topiarypark.org/old-deaf-school.html) and the first thing that caught my eye was the very first header: “How Ohio Made Education History.” Huh, that sounds familiar. But I’ll come back to that.

When the Ohio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was established in 1829, it was one of only five such institutions in the United States and it was also the first to be entirely supported by state government as a public institution. As the school thrived, the neighborhood grew and thrived as well until 1943 when a commission recommended the relocation of the campus. After the school left, the neighborhood began its decline, and though it may not be directly correlated to the school’s relocation, it still took several decades for the area to see a renaissance. In the 1970s community groups were formed to preserve and restore the historic Town-Franklin neighborhood but by the early 1980s the buildings were vacant and in disrepair.

Fast-forward 30 years and $18 million in renovations, the old Ohio School for the Deaf building retains its ornate architecture and hardwood floors while being updated with the replacement of more than 300 windows and the addition of a chapel and state-of-the-art teaching tools and science and music labs. All set for the new Cristo Rey students to move in!

This information led to my reflection of Cristo Rey Columbus’ impact, not only on its students, but also within its community. The Ohio School for the Deaf tore down a significant barrier with its presence in Columbus as it redefined “education” by making it accessible for a wider population. Here we are, a century later, and Cristo Rey Columbus has ambitiously set out to do the exact same thing–serve the underprivileged in the Columbus community to increase their access to a valuable education experience. This almost seems too fitting of a symbolic connection between the two institutions, don’t you think?

How lucky am I to be a part of this revolutionary education model and to experience their first few years trying to navigate their place in the Columbus education environment. Further, the community is finally seeing a revitalization of the Olde Towne East area of Columbus. Similar to the heading for a historical background of the Ohio School for the Deaf, I can imagine Cristo Rey Columbus boasting the exact language in years to come with one small change: “How Columbus Made Education History.”

It was the second to last week of June–4 weeks into my fellowship at Cristo Rey Columbus HS. I was loving my position, the people, the networking opportunities, and I was excited about what I was learning and researching. However I couldn’t help but wish that I could see the students running around the school hallways as I had the first week. It was simply an unavoidable aspect of working during the summer months when students are on break, however it was difficult feeling so disconnected from those who benefit from CRCHS’ mission. But then my opportunity came–on June 25th, CRCHS hosted their orientation event for their incoming freshman class and they extended the invitation for me to lend a hand.

Students enrolling in CRCHS originate from a very diverse range of middle schools so it’s extremely unlikely that any student will begin their freshman year with a buddy from the same middle school class. This is why a fun orientation event is so necessary. The students were invited to the school for food, games, some introduction to extracurricular activities and most importantly, an introduction to their fellow classmates.

Aside from being able to meet and engage with some future CRCHS Cougar students, I had the opportunity to hang out with current students acting as “ambassadors” for the event, helping out with the activities and lunch. Within minutes of beginning my time in the cafeteria alongside a few rising junior students, I realized just how much I missed engaging with people younger than me. I had a blast. If I’m completely honest, it was kinda fun being the “old” one because I was still an accessible peer of sorts. Though I was teased for not having enough Instagram followers or for still having a Facebook app on my phone (apparently having a Facebook is no longer cool????) I was also being peppered with questions about college, campus living, and picking a major.

As soon as they had realized that I was a recent college graduate, they were wide-eyed. They crowded around and began to ask the funniest, most obscure questions. It dawned on me that many of these students probably didn’t have a parent or older sibling to introduce what a typical college experience was like. All they heard was what the college counselor would tell them, which was great, but when it comes to actual dorm roommate experiences or advice regarding studying abroad–they never had the opportunity to truly ask whatever they wanted about those 4 years of college.

THEN, I started asking them about what they wanted to do as well as where they wanted to go to college….

“Pre-med!”

“Stanford!”

“Physics!”

“NYU!”

“Pre-Law!”

“Loyola of Chicago!”

I mean, it took a few moments for me to realize my mouth was hanging open.

I wasn’t nearly as driven as these students in my experience as an upcoming junior. I had no idea what I wanted to do, I had no clue where I wanted to go, and I sure hadn’t thought about my opening line for my college admissions essay or picked who I wanted to ask to write my LORs. Talking to these 16-year-old(ish) girls was truly inspiring, despite the fact that I had recently completed the very goals they were so energetically envisioning. There is nothing cooler than to see someone their age so excited about education and so motivated to achieve their goals. It was truly a testament to the faculty and staff’s hard work and the culture that the school has built around encouraging their students to enroll in college. It was this experience, talking to a bunch of teenage girls as we handed out Donato’s pizza and they stopped every 10 seconds to take a SnapChat picture, that truly proved the CRCHS mission as a tangible, attainable vision for Columbus youth. It was evidence that what they are doing here is working, and later as I watched the nervous freshman signing up for Volleyball or Mock Trial, I had a new appreciation for how CRCHS was impacting their future trajectory.