In this week’s Fellow Spotlight, we are checking in with Kenneth Andejeski. He fills us in on what he enjoys most about Detroit, his host company, DTE Energy, and what he enjoys most about being a Challenge Detroit Fellow.

Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it unique and exciting?

A walk-able, bike-able and live-able neighborhood is essential for me. The majority of Detroit arguably lacks all three of those attributes. Moving from Boston, I was lucky enough to land in Midtown (Cass Corridor for all of you historians). From my apartment on Woodward, I can walk to countless bars, coffee shops and restaurants. I can bike to work, Eastern Market and most evening programming in the city.

Next year, I hope to live outside of the 7.2 Square Mile footprint, but Midtown was the perfect introduction to Detroit.

What do you enjoy most about living, working, playing, giving and leading in Detroit?

I feel like there are five questions here, but I’ll do my best to synthesize my response-

Above all, I enjoy that I have access to all five of our pillars in the city. Despite Southeast Michigan’s distinction as a highly segregated and socially stratified region, there aren’t many barriers once you are on the ground in Detroit. There is a consensus. Those who live and work here do so intentionally. The community as a whole is eager to play and give. Whenever a new business opens up or event is planned, there is buzz that all but consumes the community with excitement.   Even though I have lived here less than a year, I have already become a part of and represented Detroit as a voice at community gatherings and international summits.

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

As the regional gas & electric utility serving over 3 million people in the state, DTE Energy has a seat at almost every table in the city of Detroit. On top of the clout that Challenge Detroit’s name carries in itself, this has granted me access to some pretty exclusive experiences and introduced me to some pretty influential people.

For anyone not familiar with economic development, you’re exactly where I was a year ago. Simply put, economic development is about building and maintaining relationships; relationships with individuals, communities, the public and private sectors, alike. I have spent the last year working to improve internal business processes and create tools that will help DTE in its economic development efforts going forward.

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit in your year as a fellow? 

Prior to Challenge Detroit, I pursued a professional career in education and nonprofit settings in, arguably, the liberal core of our country, Boston, Massachusetts. This was a direct result of attending one of the 20 Most Liberal Colleges according to The Princeton Review, Beloit College. As much as I still value it to this day, I had fostered a pretty narrow perspective of the world up until moving here. Developing cross-sector partnership after cross-sector partnership this past year helped me realize two things: social change is messy and perspective is everything.

I already knew the first fact going into this experience, but I failed to realize that it stands true regardless of the environment. Whether it is pursing social justice through activism or aiming to achieve a shift in corporate culture, there is no method to the madness of creating change. It takes grit, focus and collaboration to achieve anything; the external circumstances are all window dressing.

Likewise, perspective is everything. Conservative or liberal, black or white, man or woman; each of those dichotomies actively exist and pervasively divide Detroit on a number of levels (i.e. metro vs. city, income inequality, quality of education, glass ceilings, etc.). As a result a lot of blame is placed and fingers are pointed while nothing is done to provide solutions for the problems at hand.  Regionalism is the agenda that is being pushed by many of the leaders in Detroit’s resurgence. The first step in becoming one of them has been acknowledging the validity in each stakeholder’s perspective. Challenge Detroit has helped me realize that.

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

I’ve made no guise about it, Michigan will never be my home. I won’t settle down here and start a family, but I will be here as long as there is fulfilling, meaningful work for me to do. I recently heard the phrase “some people move to great cities, other people make cities great.” I consider myself to be a member of the latter group.  I’m here to make transformative impact that will improve the opportunities and outcomes for City of Detroit residents. That means finding ways to collaboratively address the endless list of overlying issues, from transportation to education, that impede the progress of this city. I have been given an opportunity to do that through Challenge Detroit and, realizing that opportunity, have spent the last year laying a foundation of connections and resources to make systemic change going forward.

Reflect on your time as a fellow. What are some of your best memories and how do you hope to finish your year? 

It’s somewhat ironic that I’m responding to this question a couple weeks removed from serving as project coordination lead on our final challenge. The presentations were how I hoped to finish this year. They were a culmination of our development as design thinkers, consultants and presenters. They proved how thirty-three people from diverse professional and personal backgrounds could come together to create something bigger than themselves. Challenge Detroit is a representation of the potential young professionals have to come together and comprehensively affect a city.

Rather than ‘finish,’ I look to begin. I look to begin my time after the fellowship by becoming an engaged alumni and exemplary leader for those who will follow in my footsteps.

Also, be sure to check out Kenny’s video to learn more about his time in Detroit, so far. You can also read Kenny’s most recently blog post which inspired his spotlight video.