Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what makes your neighborhood unique?

I moved to Detroit in the summer of 2015 and have lived in the same apartment in Indian Village. Indian Village is made up of three key streets – Burns, Iroquois and Seminole – and extends from East Jefferson Ave. up to Mack Ave. Indian Village is historic and known for the architecture. Most of the houses were built between 1900 and 1920 and are sometimes open to tours, during events throughout the year and during the Home and Garden Tour during the second week of June.

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit in the past nine months?

Challenge Detroit has truly been a learning experience. One of the biggest pieces of Challenge Detroit has been empathy – connecting with people in Detroit and listening to their thoughts, wishes, and needs, especially during each challenge when we interact with users to ensure that our ideas are coming from the people that will ultimately be affected. Challenge Detroit has also taught me a lot about asking for feedback and being adaptable.

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.

My host company is Wayne County Community College District. After spending the year after graduation serving as a corps member with City Year Detroit, I wanted to continue to work in education, and Challenge Detroit provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so! I work in the Design Center at WCCCD, which works to facilitate, support, and advocate redesign and improvement projects that expedite the achievement of WCCCD’s mission, vision, and strategic goals. I primarily research best practices and trends in higher education and write reports and project proposals based on findings. I have also led workshops around mission statements and design thinking. I am currently working on a project that will help connect students to nonprofits that offer services that might meet their non-academic needs.

What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?

Wayne County Community College District’s mission is to empower individuals, businesses and communities to achieve their goals through excellent and accessible services, culturally diverse experiences and globally competitive higher education and career advancement programs. I hope to embody this mission to it’s fullest and help empower. My current project, working to connect students with nonprofits in the county area, has the potential to have a great impact. Students may be food insecure, homeless, in need of health services or any number of things and our hope as a college if we cannot help meet those ourselves is to connect our students to the organizations that can. I hope that this resource will expand beyond our student population to their families and community members. I hope to make a difference in the lives of students at the college level and beyond through various volunteer work like my experience this year with Read to a Child.

What are you most looking forward to this summer in Detroit?

I am looking forward to many of the summer events that happen in and around Detroit, going to baseball games, and being outside!

What do you envision for Detroit 10 years from now?

In 10 years, I hope that Detroit is a city that supports all of the people within its 143 square miles. I envision a public transportation system that connects each part of the city, and neighborhoods that have all of the necessary amenities for their residents.

To see more of what Annie has been up to as a Challenge Detroit Fellow check out her spotlight video.