Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Over the course of this summer, we have had many discussions on what it means to be a leader. I have worked with and under many different types of leaders and I have learned that where every leader has different methods for leading/directing, all of them possess certain traits and skills that allow them to hone their group together to work towards a goal.

One leader at CND that I would like to reflect on is my supervisor, Ms. Susie Shipley-Norwood. Ms. Susie has been put in charge of running the summer day camp this year and this is her first year working at CND as a full-time staff member (she has worked as a collaborator in the past). As I followed Ms. Susie around this summer, I witnessed her style of leading and gained a lot of insights on how one can manage a group of 200 people.

Ms. Susie made it clear from the beginning of the summer that she did not want to “step on any toes” when it comes to running the Summer Day Camp, something CND has put on for many years. She used this summer as a way to observe how things are done at CND so that she may reflect and implement ways for improvement for the coming years. I loved the way she went about her relationships with each child, staying strict and firm to the rules but keeping a warm heart and open arms for any time a child needed it.

On Monday of this week, we were taking a field trip as a camp to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. As I was doing my regular morning tasks at the elementary school, preparing to leave, I noticed Ms. Michelle and Mr. Donovan sitting with a little boy, L, who was crying really hard as Mr. Donovan was bandaging his foot. Turns out, L had seriously cut his foot the previous day while riding his bike with cousins. The cut, located in between this poor boy’s toes, was still open and very irritated. I let L squeeze my hand as Mr. Donovan wrapped his toes with gauze and tape. We were all concerned that he was not able to go to the zoo due to his injury.

After his foot was treated, L put on his shoes and asked to go get a drink. When he was on his way over to the water fountain, he turned around to us and said “look! I can walk! I can go!” Mr. Donovan, Ms. Michelle, and I all wanted him to be able to go but we didn’t want to risk him getting more hurt. We felt terrible for him. So we called Ms. Susie and asked what she thought. Where she felt sorry for him as well, she knew that he would not be able to go because it was too much of a liability for CND. When Mr. Donovan got off the phone with Ms. Susie, he called her “the voice of reason” and I agree with that 100%. All of us cared deeply for this boy and just wanted him to be able to have fun with us at the zoo.

Ms. Susie is a leader because she can keep her cool in tough situations. Her training as a social worker definitely helps her to keep a level head in crisis situations and she does not let her feelings fog her judgement at work. That is why I admire her as a leader and look forward to working under her in the future.

As my summer winds down and I write my penultimate blog post, I have been reflecting on the impact of Cristo Rey Columbus. After speaking to parents and students, it is clear to me how truly awesome the impact of Cristo Rey really is. Cristo Rey students are actually attending college–oftentimes as the first in their family to do so–yet they also are growing holistically as young adults, students, and professionals. The vision of Cristo Rey is not meant to impact students for four years, but for life. Our former principal really summed up the vision to me when she mentioned during her oral history interview, “My dream is that Cristo Rey alumni will never have to send their children here.” 

The first graduating class of Cristo Rey are only juniors in college, so it is too early to start measuring the long-term effects of the school. Despite this, it is clear that Cristo Rey schools are working hard to ensure their students complete college and find success post-graduation. The students I have interacted with at Cristo Rey Columbus are proving this to be true as they all passionately share their dreams of how they want to work to make a difference in their communities. I’ve met students who dream of pursuing non-profit work to students who even tell me they want to come back and teach here after graduating college. Thanks to the supportive teachers and staff at Cristo Rey, our students are empowered to follow their passions in college and beyond. 

It has been so rewarding to join the Cristo Rey community and help foster support for our mission by working for the Development team. Things are starting to wind down as I complete the oral history interviews and finalize my editing work, and it is very bittersweet to know that summer is coming to an end. Next week will still be packed with work (and fun now that our freshmen will start Monday!), so I will take my time next week to savor my last few moments of working at Cristo Rey. 

This week I was finally able to see the BBBS-run camp: Camp Oty-Okwa. The camp is 777 acres of beautiful land in Hocking Hills, OH. The majority of the kids at camp are victims of crime or have overcome an adversity that landed them there. However, word of mouth often lands a variety of children at Camp Oty’Okwa every year which creates a unique environment and experience for the kids. My favorite part of the camp is that the total cost to send a child there is $475. However, on the application, there is a space to discuss how much you can afford to pay to send your child, and what your home/financial situation looks like. The camp director, Rick Perkins, gave the example that last week, a mother arrived with her two children and bravely admitted she only had $50 to send the kids to camp for the week, and they were accepted with open arms.

The trip to camp was actually a “Board and Leadership Retreat”, meaning it was me, The Intern, and all of the BBBS central Ohio board and BBBS leadership staff. At the beginning of the summer this may have been an intimidating endeavor, but I was excited to finally get to see the camp and meet the board members that are instrumental in the impact our organization has on the community.

We ended up hitting an accident on the way up that inhibited us from doing an actual hike at camp, but we still walked around, saw the facilities, and even interacted with some kids that were at camp this week. It was great to see the space with some of our board members for the first time. Many of them asked about me and my experience and expressed genuine interest in my professional journey (I even got a couple business cards!). The retreat concluded with a brainstorming session about the things we are doing as an organization and how we can be doing them better. With “growth mindset” being a core value at BBBS, they are always reflecting and asking themselves and their stakeholders “How can we improve?”

Overall, the retreat was a success and I am feeling sad about the impending end to this experience. With that being said, there have been conversations amongst my supervisor, the President and CEO, and some other colleagues I worked with closely about the possibility of finding a place for me in BBBS to make this home for the fall. I am excited to see what is to come!

Hello again!  

My name is Kelsey Brown, and in case I haven’t mentioned it before, I LOVE arts and crafts. I spent all of yesterday (and part of this morning) working on my favorite project of the summer: reupholstering old benches for one of our classrooms. Several months ago (long before I started at the MAC), we purchased some benches from a closed hotel that was selling their furniture. Since then, they’ve been sitting in a classroom collecting dust.

Before

Fast forward to last week, and my supervisor adds “recovering benches” to my to-do list. The other intern and I made a trip to Jo Ann Fabrics for some swatches, and then another trip back to pick up 4 ½ yards of fabric for the benches. The process of reupholstering the actual benches involved cutting, ripping, and slicing off the old, crusty fabric (see “before pic”), which was big fun. We even made it onto the MAC Instagram story! Then we wrapped the cushions in new fabric and stapled it with a heavy-duty staple gun (which we had to get new staples for halfway through our project), and re-secured the cushions to the bases with a power drill.  

After!

I had so much fun with this project! When I’m spending time at home, I do my best to come up with creative and crafty projects like this to fill my time, so it was fantastic to get to take on this kind of project at work! It also left the building looking better than when I found it, which is something that’s really important to me. I can’t wait to see what my last week has to throw at me! 

I know I say this all the time, but it really feels like I just started this Fellowship! I really cannot believe that in one short week, I’ll be giving and listening to presentations and going home to Cleveland. While it does feel short, I do feel as though I have accomplished a lot of the projects given to me this summer.

This past week was a crazy one; between moving out of my apartment (and sleeping on an air mattress for 4 nights!), moving into an Airbnb, and finally sending in my graduate school application, I have found myself extremely busy! While it is a little stressful, I appreciate getting some real world practice at a busy life while having a full-time job. Even with all of this, I have been able to prioritize fitting in my work responsibilities this week. I have been mostly tying up loose ends, contacting free clinics, researching other health departments to contact, and trying to contact Central Ohio school nurses, all while working on my presentation. I am trying to contact as many organizations/people as I can so that more children can benefit from the mission of KidSMILES.

As always, I am still participating in the Educational Outreach Program and absolutely loving it. I remember feeling a little discouraged in the beginning because I knew these kids were in bad situations, but I have really learned to focus on the good. I know the kid that tells me he doesn’t have his own toothbrush is going home with a new one, and I know I am giving these kids an hour of fun while also giving their parents some options to get their kids the healthcare they need. I only have three outreach visits left, which is a little sad; I am going to miss interacting with the kids so much when this Fellowship ends, but I definitely plan on coming back as a volunteer as much as I can!

It’s week nine here at camp and things are starting to wrap up. Numbers have been low, and so has morale. There are still some little victories that make the days interesting and meaningful, even when we’re all feeling tired and drained.

Throughout the week, our math specialist/in-house emotional supporter/de-stresser/resident de facto grandma meets with kids from each class to talk about a plethora of topics. Sometimes it’s “math connections” from our field trips and daily life, sometimes it’s talking through a relationship, and sometimes she takes them out of class to play in the kinetic sand and unwind. Mrs. BC is a loquacious woman, but I want to hear and process everything she has to say; she is so full of wisdom. I see the kids roll their eyes when she speaks, but I know she’s making an impact.

Before camp started, we all attended a training regarding the importance of social emotional learning (SEL). In fact, Mrs. BC was the first person from the Dowd that I met at that training. I will always remember how welcome she made me feel as a new face amongst the already acquainted staff. I haven’t been in the classroom much this summer, so I can’t speak to what goes on behind closed doors, but Mrs. BC has done a fantastic job of implementing SEL into camp.

For example, each Monday, a few kids from each class meet with Mrs. BC each day to complete and discuss their “encouragement card” which is a document that the students write. They are tasked with finding things they like about themselves and are good at, writing it down, verbalizing it, and presenting it to their families at home.

Then, on Fridays, the selected campers stand up in front of the whole center at breakfast and read a statement they believe to be true about themselves, loud and proud for everyone to hear. The statements range from things like, “I am not alone,” to “I am special,” or “I am changing.” After each statement is read, the center applauds and cheers them on. Almost always, the kids walk back to their seat with a little grin.

The middle schoolers snicker and mock their friends who read their statements that week, but I have a feeling the sentiments are sticking. I am proud to be a part of an organization that promotes SEL and love among the participants and staff.

This week, I have been working on gathering information to write a story about a turkey vulture rescue conducted by our staff. I turned into a reporter, getting quotes from constituents involved in the story, conducting research on laws and regulations regarding wildlife in Ohio and contacting the construction company where the turkey vultures were located.

I also have been making signs and planning on photographing wildlife camp for a grant report that helps fund their daily activities. In addition to taking photographs of camp, I also helped with animal painting. Animal painting is where we set up canvases outside of an Animal Ambassador enclosure, put non-toxic paint on the ground in front of them, and lure them out with treats to walk through the paint. Then they walk all over the canvases creating abstract and very cute art. We made paintings with snakes, opossums, and turtles this week because they will be auctioned off at a fundraiser this weekend called Back to the Wild where we also release animals that have been recovering at our pre-release facility. It was a very fun day to say the least.

Tonight, Thursday, my amazing friends and coworkers have planned a “going away” get together. We are all going to get together at Pins Mechanical Bowling after work to hang out and have fun. It has only been 9 weeks, but when you spend so much time with such great people you form meaningful friendships and I will always cherish them.

This week, I’ve continued to develop a plan to compost at the House, a plan for a vegetable garden, and furthered our partnership with OSU’s College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences.

I’ve connected the House with a Central Ohio composting company, Innovative Organics, to conduct a food waste audit in the coming weeks. Gathering data from how much food waste we collect will help us know what our composting needs are, forecast how much waste we could be diverting from landfills (which is an important statistic for grants) and provide data we can share with the House to encourage folks to be more conscious of food waste.

Additionally, I’ve begun to set up basic planning sessions to create a vegetable garden at RMHC. This week, I’ve been meeting with leadership in each department of the House (family services, volunteer services, marketing, development, facilities, and kitchen) to brainstorm what they’d like to see in the garden, and how their departments would like to be involved. The beauty of this project is that there’s room for it to be relevant to every part of the House. Community partners from OSU Franklin Extension, The Franklin Park Conservatory, and Columbus Public Health have also generously provided their technical expertise.

Lastly, this week also marked the most enjoyable, surprising, and emotional fundraising event I’ve attended this summer: The Inaugural Dean’s Charity Steer Show at The Ohio State Fair. This event started when TelOhio’s CEO and OSU’s CFAES Dean Cathann Kress decided they wanted to put on an event to raise money for the House. In this show, 4-H families from across Ohio paired up with local celebrities, teaching the celebrities how to show a steer, and about the work they do as cattle farmers. In the time leading up to the show, each of the celebrities led fundraising campaigns, drumming up support for themselves and their steer. Then, at the fair, a 4-H youth and the celebrity would show the steer together, complete with judging from the president of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association. Following awards, a mock auction (led by professional farm auctioneers), in which all the money raised was to be donated to the house.

The show was one of the most well executed fundraising events I’ve ever attended: it brought together a few disparate community urban and suburban residents, many of whom had never attended a steer show, farmers from across Ohio, Ohio agriculture organizations, and OSU students. According to fair officials, it was also one of the most well attended steer shows they’ve hosted. Lastly, the show raised a substantial amount of money for the house: just over $134,000.

What struck me most walking away from this event is that there is a large, generous community of agricultural workers in this state, coming from the counties which RMHC serves, that may not know a lot about the House. The Team Cuisine program at RMHC is less than 2 years old, and there’s still plenty of room for it to be shaped by the state’s agricultural community.

This Friday, we are receiving a whole cow from CFAES, donated and processed by under the supervision of Lyda Garcia, Assistant Professor of Meat Science. Along with Dean Kress, Lyda has been a tremendous leader in rallying OSU’s CFAES to support the House. I’m inspired by Lyda’s passion for education and philanthropy, and excited to show her and her students the House.

One reason I wanted to participate in this fellowship was to begin adjusting myself to a regular full-time 9-5 work schedule after graduation and before I begin work professionally in Autumn. As a student, I would always schedule my classes to be early morning to afternoon because I use most of my energy for the day around the times of 10am-2pm. This is why I knew the 9-5 schedule would work best for me.

Where I prefer the 9-5 schedule, I am still adjusting to fitting the rest of my life into my workday. I have struggled with running errands after work because I work within the hours businesses operate throughout the week. If I need to call the doctor’s office, bank, landlord, etc., then I need to call during my lunch break while I am at work.

On some days, I will be busy at work starting at 9am, get off at 5pm, run errands until 7, get home to make dinner and be in bed again by 10. This does not leave me very much time to do anything I like to do outside of work because I am so exhausted by the end of the day. Since CND offered me a full-time position beginning in August, I have been working hard to get my schedule down pat so I have a smooth transition from this fellowship to full-time work.

Even though I have not figured it all out 100%, I still believe this schedule is what works best for me and my personality. I love having a busy life because it is fulfilling to me to keep it all organized. I even planned multiple camping trips for some weekends in July just so I could still have the time to unplug and have my peace.

Today marked the first day of the last week of camp. Looking back, there are many lessons that I’ve learned about myself and about life. If not for the children I met, I would not have learned these lessons. When we, as adults, take on the role of listener, it’s amazing how much wisdom and love children actually have to share. I would like to use this blog as an opportunity to share some of the stories of children I’ve grown close with and what they have taught me.

The first story I would like to share is that of a boy I met last year at camp that showed me the importance of being an advocate for those you care about. When I met G* last summer, he was aggressive and defiant; yet I could tell he was simply showing these behaviors because he didn’t feel like things were fair for him. Although his behavior proved difficult at times, I formed a positive relationship with him because I was able to treat him fairly and give him the benefit of the doubt when he needed it. This summer, G was at camp again. One day in particular really struck me. He was getting in trouble for something I wasn’t aware of and he seemed to have boiled over, eventually crying. It didn’t seem like the camp counselor who was talking to him was able to get through to him so I went to talk to him. By just sitting and listening without judgement or assumptions, he was able to open up to me. Fast forward to the end of camp where he now is always respectful of me and open with me. We have a mutual sense of trust and responsibility that we can hold each other accountable for. Because of this relationship, I am able to advocate for him with other counselors, in turn making things much fairer for him.

Another camper, R* has showed me how much people, children especially, value loyalty. R makes sure I play with her every day and doesn’t let me slack. She points out when I spend time with other children and not with her. Based on our conversations, I know her values of loyalty come from a place of uncertainty and wanting to belong. Like most people, R wants to feel loved. Because of this, I make it a point to spend some portion of my day with R every day. I’ve also made sure to try to make people in my personal life feel more loved by me. R has taught me how I react under stress: I begin to isolate and close off from others and try to recoup. However, I now know that I need to set boundaries so I can still take care of myself and show up for those who need me when they need it most.

I could go on for pages about the different stories of children, but these two stuck out to me the most. Other children have taught me so many lessons; how to never take yourself too seriously, how to respectfully ask about cultures other than my own, and when to admit you’re faults. Children have so much grace and love to give and they truly never get enough credit. Beyond their funny moments and the strange things they say, children are some of life’s best teachers. I hope that during the last week of my fellowship, I can convey the stories of camp in my project.