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

Coming from the Peace Corps, my girlfriend and I really wanted to live in a neighborhood where community interaction was encouraged. Past experiences taught us that it can be hard to get to know your neighbors in an apartment complex. We looked into a few different neighborhoods, but we were ultimately drawn to Southwest Detroit for its unique culture as well as its close-ish biking distance to both my host company offices in Dearborn and downtown. A friend of mine, who had been living downtown, warned me that living in Southwest was a bad decision for all the same reasons that everyone gives about living in Detroit – crime, blight, and the like. Instead, I took my advice from Challenge Detroit alumnus and future Edw. C. Levy Co. coworker, Sam Brennan, who I had only spoken to via email.

It has turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made since returning to the States. The walkability of Hubbard Farms and Southwest Detroit is one perk we’re both enjoying a lot – there are dozens of incredible restaurants and retailers only a few minutes away and the community interaction has been exactly what we wanted.

My girlfriend, Briana, is starting to get involved in the Unity in Our Community Timebank, which is a community organization where people help each other by offering their time and expertise instead of money. For example, if she wants to learn French, she can use the Timebank to find someone to tutor her in French for an hour. However, in order to redeem that hour of tutoring, she would have to give an hour of her time and skills to someone else.

I, on the other hand, have found my solace in volunteering with the Clark Park Coalition. Right now, I am on the organizing committee for the Winter Carnival & Hockey Classic which is on Saturday, February 27th. I also help with the Park’s learn-to-skate program – teaching youth how to skate and play hockey. I’ve played hockey my entire life, but I never thought I might have to learn some Spanish to teach a Canadian game while living on the south side of Detroit. It’s an incredible experience and there’s nothing quite like it!

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?

The volume of people who want to give back to this city is incredible. From the Challenge Detroit interview trip up until now I have met some really unique, motivated people (affiliated with both Challenge Detroit and other organizations) who really want to see this city succeed. In a previous fellow spotlight, in regards to Detroit’s comeback, Nadir Ali said, “It’s not a matter of if anymore. It’s a matter of when.” After meeting dozens of the people, businesses, and organizations who are dedicating endless hours of their time for this city’s benefit, I couldn’t agree more.

I think one of the learning curves I am still struggling with is our transition time from project to project. After five full Fridays/weeks in a group setting, countless individual hours spent perfecting ideas, and dozens of conversations with people who are counting on you for help, it’s difficult to let go and move on to the next Challenge. However, one of things I’ve noticed in the groups I’ve been part of is that we’re all doing whatever we can to maximize our time on a particular project. I’ve found that this group of fellows is ready and willing to go above and beyond any project parameters to make sure that our work is the best we can offer in the amount of time we have. It really is a pleasure to be working in an environment where people are so passionate about what they’re doing.

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

I work for a company called Edw. C. Levy Co. which provides a variety of products and services all over the country and the world. The company’s headquarters, however, are based just outside Detroit’s city limits in Dearborn. Edw. C. Levy Co. has been around for nearly 100 years perfecting its craft in land mining, steel mill services, and the production and sale of slag for road construction and landscaping. The company is constantly expanding and adapting. Only a few years ago, Levy created a new agricultural division called PlantTuff, which extracts silicon from slag and then sells it to farmers to be used as fertilizer. Mike Kurfess, another fellow placed at Levy this year, works in the PlantTuff division and it has been really nice to go through this experience with him.

I work in Levy’s Information Technology Training Team, which creates step-by-step guides and training videos, and offers web-based support for all of our employees. I am lucky enough to work alongside three great people, two (Alyssa Williams and Courtney McCarty) of whom were Challenge Detroit fellows last year. Since starting at Levy in September, I have had the opportunity to travel to Indiana and Mississippi, attend a week-long leadership conference, and create a promotional video about an innovative design within the company. I’ve also been given the creative freedom to start a bi-weekly newsletter of events happening in Detroit, and work alongside Mike Kurfess to find a volunteer project for our company to partner with.

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

Since I spent the past three years outside of the country, I’ve had to play catch up on the things that have happened in Detroit. In doing so, I’ve realized that the stigma attached to this city applies to more than just the national media. It has been pretty eye-opening to hear the stubbornness of friends or acquaintances who refuse to venture into the city because of its reputation in news outlets – so many seem to have accepted most news stories as irrefutable fact without their own, first-hand knowledge. It’s incredibly frustrating to listen to, but it has also provided a great opportunity for us, as fellows, to right a few wrongs.

Of course, I want to be a well-rounded Levy employee that co-workers can rely on to do great, timely work. However, I also want to expose other Levy employees to some of the great things happening just down the road. Luckily, Levy has given me the opportunity to create a newsletter of all the goings-on in Detroit and distribute it twice per month. I’ve even started carrying an extra edition or two and giving them out to people on the streets. About a month ago I went to get a haircut in Royal Oak. The barber and I started talking about Detroit and she joked that she needed to find some new friends who would be willing to go into the city with her because her current friends won’t. I told her about Slow Roll – a safe, easy, adventurous way to see so many different parts of the city either with friends or on your own. I was surprised she had never heard of it, but she seemed genuinely interested in Detroit, so I gave her a copy of the Levy newsletter. I think these day-to-day, personal interactions can go a long way. I guess my goal for this year is just to be the best ambassador for the city that I can be – both at work and in my personal time.

Can you describe your fondest “Detroit Moment” since becoming a fellow?

About three weeks ago, Clark Park flooded their ice rink for the winter. Flooding an ice rink is a long process that requires a lot of help, so we recruited a bunch of volunteers and planned for three full days of work on the rink.

The first night we worked until about 9pm, but that was just the beginning. The Clark Park staff had a long day two planned – arriving at the park at 6:30am and working until 1am the next morning. Volunteers would come and go throughout the day, but two staff members, including Ryan, the hockey director, were going to be there the entire time. Towards the end of the first night, I made a comment to Ryan about the incredibly long day he had ahead of him. His response was, “yeah, but it’s so worth it.” He talked about a group of local firefighters who look forward to their ice time every week. He mentioned the kids in the learn-to-skate group whose parents don’t have the means to buy expensive equipment or pay for their kids to play on travel teams like a lot of the volunteers did. For them, this outdoor rink is the only opportunity they get to play hockey every year and we would get to be part of that. “And to top it all off,” he said, “you can’t beat skating at night under those lights,” pointing to the red and white lights of the Ambassador Bridge in the distance.

I guess everyone will interpret what it means to have a truly unique “Detroit moment” differently. This was just one more reminder of all the hard work people are putting in to better this city and its surrounding communities.

Why might someone serving in the Peace Corps consider applying to Challenge Detroit?

One of the things I loved about Peace Corps was the opportunity to create something from nothing on a daily basis. In Madagascar, each volunteer was given free creative reign over his/her service. With a little self-determination, a volunteer’s impact was bound by nothing. As a Challenge Detroit fellow, I have had the opportunity to make creative decisions in each project I have worked on – to create something from nothing. Only half way through the fellowship, our cohort has made creative decisions for major institutions such as the Mayor’s office, Detroit Public Schools, Goodwill, and the Coalition on Temporary Shelters. Our work could literally shape the future of a few struggling small business owners, some DPS students we’ve never met, the clienteles of a non-profit organization, and Detroiters alike. Before Challenge Detroit, the only other time I felt a similar sense of self-gratification and difference-making was during my service in Madagascar.

In Malagasy: Mirary soa aminareo mpanao fangatahana taona faha-dimy!

In English: Good luck to all the fifth year applicants!

To learn more about Rory’s experience in Detroit check out his spotlight video!