I am now 3/4 of the way through my year in Challenge Detroit, which is a little sad to think about. But I feel I am now in a good position to give advice to prospective fellows on steps they can take to have a successful experience. Below are my top 10 tips on how YOU can have a successful fellowship experience with Challenge Detroit:

1. If you are moving to the city for the program, when apartment or house hunting, listen to you gut. If something doesn’t feel quite right, whether it be the neighborhood, the other people who live in the apartment building or the person showing it, just look elsewhere. This is the place you will be living for at least a year of your life. The work we do in Challenge Detroit can sometimes be draining and you really want a comfortable place to go home and recharge at the end of the day. If the only apartments you can afford on your own feels sketchy, get a roommate and find a spot you feel more comfortable with. We also have a Challenge Detroit Facebook page dedicated to helping fellows find housing/roommates.

2. On that same note, look for housing early. I would recommend you start calling around and expressing interest as soon as you find out that you have been accepted into the program (early June). The best places fill up fast. Try to lock something in asap, so that housing will be one less thing you will have to worry about when moving to Detroit.

3. Even if you aren’t besties with all of the other fellows, at least try to have a relationship with each and every one of them. Don’t close yourself off to those dissimilar to yourself because that really gets in the way of the overall sense of team comradery. And there will be a time when you all will need one another. Aim to have a relationship with the other fellows where, at the least, it wont be awkward to reach out to them if necessary.

4. Always be on the lookout for ways you can use your knowledge to build capacity and help your host company to grow. If you hear them talk about how their website needs work, and you have website building experience, create a project based on improving it.

5. At work, ask people outside of your team if you can shadow them and learn more about what they do. At the end of the fellowship, there may be opportunities for you to stay at your host company, even if it’s on a different team. Really try to have a clear idea of the different projects people are working on throughout the company. Your dream project may be happening two office doors down.

6. The challenges fly by very fast! It can be frustrating working on a project that you are really passionate about, but feel you don’t have enough time to make your desired level of impact. But remember that getting feedback from those who live in the community you are trying to serve is a crucial part of the process. Reaching out to community members and gathering their thoughts/opinions on the issue at hand is a necessity!

7. As a Challenge Fellow, we are required to volunteer in the community for at least 4 hours a month. At the beginning of my time in the program, I was always frantically searching at the end of the month for ways to complete my hours. Now, I am a tutor and mentor at an awesome program called The Center for Success, and I volunteer weekly. It makes my life easier because I no longer have to worry about searching for volunteer opportunities, and it fits easily into my weekly schedule.

8. Take a Challenge Friday off at your own risk! Since we only have 4 working Fridays per project, missing one of them will really put you behind. If you must miss a Friday, do whatever you can to still make an impact, even if it means doing challenge work the Thursday before. Also, make sure to ask your team leader for a detailed summary of what you missed so that you can easily get back on track.

9. Try not to “do the most” when working on a challenge project. We only have 5 weeks. It’s better to recommend simple solutions and provide clear instructions to the non-profits on how the solutions can be reached than to create super complex final deliverables and dropping the ball half way through after realizing your goals are unattainable with the timeframe you’re working with.

(Preparing for the Marche Du Nain Rouge Fest!)

10. Be open to attending different events around the city, even if they don’t exactly align with your interests. You really don’t know what you will enjoy until you step out of your comfort zone and give it a shot. This past weekend, I went to a uniquely Detroit festival called Marche Du Nain Rouge. At first I was going to pass on it because it seemed “weird”. I mean, it actually was weird but also a lot of fun and I look forward to going again next year.

I hope these tips will provide assistance to prospective Challenge Detroit fellows! Wishing you success on your journey, wherever it may take you.

Gabrial Taylor

Year 5 Challenge Detroit Fellow