I live in Midtown – and I love it! Midtown is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Detroit. I live near lots of restaurants, museums, and other businesses. I enjoy feeling like I live in the city and a smaller community and Midtown gives me both. I work downtown, so my home is only a short drive or bike ride every day. Next year I can even take the rail. Wayne State makes the neighborhood feel very young and you can always expect to find a friend to do something with in Midtown. Popular events like Le Nain Rouge, Dally in the Alley, and other concerts and festivals happen right outside my door. I feel like a hub in my neighborhood for fellows and friends to to gather for events or a night in to hammer out some Challenge Detroit work. PLUS I get to stay in my fabulous palace apartment and welcome in my future roomie – bestie and fellow fellow, Clare Lilek in just a few short months!

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?

Challenge Detroit has taught me many lessons this year, but I think the most important is how to connect my passion for communities with my career. Challenge Detroit gave me the opportunity to explore a number of different organizations working toward a greater good. I have been able to narrow my broad desire for a career in the field of community development to something more tangible for the next step of my career.

I have also learned A LOT about time management. You will always gain from experience the same amount that you put in. This year I gave Challenge Detroit my all and it has provided an insane amount of experience and opportunity in return. Anything worth having is worth working for – Challenge Detroit has been worth both.

And finally, Challenge Detroit has taught me a lot about sacrifice. The difference in lower rent is made up for in the cost of car insurance. The wage gap is evidently present. Failing educational systems and race relations are regular conversation topics at work, at the bar, in my home. Road conditions aren’t so hot.

Anyone that lives in Detroit will tell you that it isn’t easy. But most people will also tell you that this city is worth it.

The amount of work experience I was able to gain has been incredible. My job with my host company would be hardly attainable in New York, DC, or Chicago without much more experience. The friends I’ve gained all really want to be here (you will struggle to find someone in this town that doesn’t or is just here by chance).

Challenge Detroit has taught me a lot, but mostly that Detroit is totally and completely worth it.

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

My host company is Rock Ventures, the umbrella entity for the Dan Gilbert Family of Companies. Most people associate my job with Quicken Loans. My role with RV is on the “Do Good” Team, otherwise known as Corporate Giving. I get to go to work everyday and take part in the revitalization of Detroit on a philanthropic level. My title is “Community Relations Specialist” but I wear a lot of different hats. Part of my day to day duties are managing relationships with our MANY non-profit partners in the City of Detroit as well as our other markets (Cleveland, Scottsdale, and NC). I evaluate requests for sponsorship and funding and carry out those benefits through the conclusion of the program or event. I also oversee our corporate match program, Dollars for Doers, which awards our team members who volunteer over 40 hours with a $250 grant to the non-profit of their choice. There are so many more interesting and impactful projects I work on everyday. It really is enjoyable to wake up and go to work everyday.

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

I began this year hoping to give Challenge Detroit and Rock Ventures 150% of myself for a year. Now that the year is almost over, I can honestly say that desire has not gone anywhere. I want to be able to positively affect change for Detroiters on a large scale at my job, with Challenge, and in my personal life. I quickly learned that to do this, attempts at the greatest amount of impact must be interwoven, targeted, and strategic to reap the most benefit for myself and for my community and I’ve found numerous ways to do that. I spend time 3 days a week my nuggets, also known as the U6 Thunder of Detroit PAL soccer team. And even though they can sometimes drive me insane, they are easily the best part of my day every time I see them. I’ve also been able to attend Detroit PAL events from a sponsor perspective for Rock Ventures and experience the capital campaign for the new headquarters on the old Tigers Stadium. Creating impact is about consistency, commitment, and genuine care.

My director Leslie says, “Your career is personal, your career is your fingerprint – your signature on life… You can always, always work for a check but you really do not make a life on what you do. You make a life on what you give.” So I will keep giving 150%.

First of all, my friends and family stopped asking me “Why are you/did you move to Detroit?” which was a huge relief because I got to stop responding with “Why didn’t YOU move to Detroit?” which actually sounds pretty silly but totally proves my point. I also realized that living in Detroit isn’t really like living in a city. Instead, it is a really large town with a population that is really spread out. My perceptions of Detroit have remained pretty much the same, but my attitude towards them has changed. I believe fervently that Detroit is on the up and up and isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Some would say that my hopes for Detroit might be radical, but I believe that this incredible city has the power and positioning to redevelop in a way never afforded before- one with equity, social responsibility, and boldness that defies the saying “Like in any other American City.”