It was just under a year ago today that I packed all of my belongings in a trailer and drove an hour north on I-75 to my first apartment in Detroit. I’ll never forget how I felt when I shut the door on my parents and friends and went into my apartment alone: I was […]
For the month of July, the fellows were given an opportunity to design their own Challenge in the form of an individual impact project. Fellows were encouraged to reach out to a local nonprofit and use their particular skills and interests to impact the organization and their community.
Inspired by the work we did earlier in […]
There’s something magical about seeing a city on foot. I remember many of my favorite vacations were really just extended walking tours of cities- looking into shops, grabbing bites to eat at a dozen different cafés (and the occasional gas station), eavesdropping on locals’ conversations and taking in the somewhat crafted pedestrian experience of each […]
I get a pretty common response when I tell people what I’m doing in Detroit. It usually starts with something they’ve heard about the City; sometimes it’s good, but more often than not, it’s something negative. Then they talk about how great it is that I’m giving up my time and talents and how Detroit […]
Happy Earth month, everyone!
There are many reasons why April is the best month of the year (the weather, my birthday, April Fool’s, my birthday) but one of the greatest parts of April is celebrating our home, planet Earth, and all of the wonderful people working to protect it. Looking back on my last 5 blog […]
It’s no surprise to anyone living in Detroit (or likely to anyone living in a Midwestern state), but this has been a particularly rough winter. In fact, to the dismay of many Michigan elementary students, this winter’s total accumulated snowfall was just shy of shattering the State’s all-time record of 93.6 inches: a record that […]
Three mornings a week I roll out of bed just before seven. I shuffle past the coffee maker in my kitchen and skip the bowl of cereal because I have a hunch I won’t need either. I throw a warm sweater over my work clothes and pack slippers in my briefcase. Then I get in […]
The city of Detroit is a lot of things. At first glance, Detroit is geographically big and diverse. It is also old, iconic, industrial and French. For many, the city of Detroit is a challenge, but if it is anything, Detroit is always more than meets the eye.
I experienced this most recently when I volunteered […]
It’s that time of year again: A time for grand promises about what the New Year will hold for us in our personal lives, our careers and our relationships with each other. I often find myself inadvertently making lists about what I could work on to make my life more fulfilling and productive throughout the […]
Dear Grand Circus,
I really like you – so much, in fact, that I wrote you this poem. Hope you like it.
—–
Way up there on Woodward, by Grand Circus park
Lives a jolly old building that grows lighter past dark.
It’s a regular building, with windows and doors
It has dips in the ceiling and cracks in the floors.
But […]