It’s a Monday night, and I just got off the phone with a prospective Challenge Detroit Year 5 fellow. It has dawned on me that I am officially halfway through my Challenge Detroit experience, and I will be soon introducing the next class of fellows. So, I felt it necessary to reflect on how I got to where I am today, living in the city I was born in.

Almost 22 years ago, my parents emigrated from Slovakia with my brother in hand and about $200 in their pockets (the typical immigrant story, as I have been told). Upon uprooting themselves from what was familiar, my parents and brother quickly planted their feet in the first American city they called home: Detroit, MI. And as if moving several thousands of miles away from your home wasn’t challenging enough, I was born a mere two months after they arrived, making me the first American citizen in my family.

But my life in Detroit, MI was short-lived. After completing his residency at Henry Ford Hospital three years after I was born, my father found another opportunity in North Carolina, where we moved soon after. I lived in North Carolina until the age of 17, when I was eager to move to Washington, DC to experience something new at the George Washington University. My time at GWU was pivotal in my journey to Challenge Detroit because of one specific experience: Alternative Spring Break (ASB) 2014 in Detroit. To be quite frank, I was a little nervous to volunteer in Detroit for spring break. From what my parents described in their experience as impoverished immigrants in Detroit, there were few things pulling me to the city. Regardless, I still felt this tinge of curiosity to see what Detroit was all about. I refused to believe it was as much of a wasteland as my parents (or the media) described it as.

 
Long story short, I ended up loving the city. When I spoke to a Challenge Detroit alum on my ASB trip, I was certain I wanted to apply and spend at least a year in Detroit. That introduction to the program changed my life; I have since made many life-long friends, experiences, and memories as a Challenge Detroit fellow. And, most of all, I have also had the chance to live in the city where I, once again, call home.