Day 1

By Chisom Uzosike

Just over a month ago, my Challenge Detroit journey officially began.

Before we started, I spent hours researching the fellowship that I would be spending the next year with. I was excited to be working with a well-known advertising agency in Detroit. As my first gig out of college, it felt good to be partnered with a creative agency and even better that it was in Detroit.

The program kicked off with a weeklong orientation and I knew I had to be prepared to tackle whatever came my way. The night before, I carefully read the orientation agenda, preparing myself for the first day expectations. I thought to myself, Ford Field? Maybe I will get to meet Megatron.

As I walked into Ford Field’s Hall of Legends to begin my orientation week, I felt confident. But, there was just one thing that shook my comfort, I was the minority.

During our interview trip in April, everyone was friendly, open and extremely excited about the program and I was too. However, I couldn’t help but notice I was one of only two African-American male fellows in the entire program.

I grew up in a very multicultural setting. Even though people kept to their respective cultures, very rarely did I feel like the minority as Maryland is very, very diverse. After high school, I went on to attend the historically black college, Howard University in Washington, D.C. I was comfortable there. It felt just like home.

As I walked into Ford Field, I was not completely sure how comfortable I would feel around my fellow Challenge Detroiters.

I’ve never been one of those people who doesn’t like people. In fact, I’m usually more inclined to like people than dislike them. I was a little apprehensive about meeting people I couldn’t connect with. My first day of orientation was an informational session with not much interaction among the fellows. The second day, however, gave me a glimmer of optimism.

It was our “Team Building” day. We went out to a ropes course in Walled Lake, a city in Metro Detroit. We performed all activities in groups or in pairs. My favorite activity could be best described as a climbing wall made of large, horizontal logs. The course is meant to be tackled in pairs – one partner boosts the other up, then gets pulled up himself. The boosting and pulling continues until both have reached the top log.

I was paired up with a guy named Mike. He was a white American of Jewish heritage. I didn’t know Mike at all. I couldn’t even remember his last name. But, we worked extremely well as a team on the log-climbing course. I pushed him up, then he pulled me up, and we flew through the course in record time. We high-fived once we reached the top. It felt good. We made conversation throughout the rest of the day. We talked about our hometowns and sports teams.

At the end of the day, I was comfortable. I had no reason to feel any different. I was extremely happy that Mike and I connected along with many other fellows in the program. My fear wasn’t a fear after all.