I took my first job out of college as a project manager at a software company in Wisconsin. Basically, it was my job to analyze the systems and practices that were currently in place at our new customer sites and translate those current practices into the software my company produced. The job included great compensation, the opportunity to interact with our customers regularly and the chance to work alongside several college friends who ended up taking jobs with the same company. The job also involved long hours and lots of travel. There were months where I lived in my apartment only on the weekends, spending the vast majority of my time at a Springhill Suites in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where my customer was located. It took me a little over a year to realize the job wasn’t the right fit for me. I found myself dealing with feelings of depression and loneliness on an almost daily basis, not to mention the anxiety of long work hours and seemingly constant deadlines. I quit my job as a project manager with no new job prospects lined up and not much of a sense of what was to come next.
Fast forward 5 months of unemployment later, and an interesting email from my Mom arrived in my Inbox. It described an opportunity to be part of the rebirth of one of the world’s most significant cities as a fellow with Challenge Detroit. And just my luck, the application deadline was in about 8 hours. I rushed to put an application in, because if there was one thing I had determined over the past five months it was that I really wanted to return to Michigan. Over the next several months I continued to receive feedback from Challenge Detroit indicating they were interested in having me move on to the next steps of the application process. Finally, a couple of essays, a spotlight video and 5 “speed-dating” style job interviews later I received an email inviting me to become a year 2 Challenge Detroit fellow. I had no way of knowing at that point just how significant and impactful this new adventure would be. But at the very least, I knew I was coming home.
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These past 12 months as a Challenge Detroit fellow have been nothing short of fantastic. This experience has been everything I hoped it would, and so, so much more. First and foremost, I have had the honor of befriending and working with some of the most passionate, creative, kind and, most importantly, fun people that I have ever met. Challenge Detroit fellows run the gamut. We are students, we are architects, we are designers, we are entrepreneurs, we are musicians, we are teachers, we are volunteers, we are native Detroiters, we are outsiders, we are visionaries and we are difference makers. The perspective, knowledge and understanding I have gained from working with and getting to know these 30 individuals has been nothing short of invaluable.
Second, I have had the pleasure to collaborate with inspiring organizations that work every day to improve the lives of Detroit’s citizens. People love to talk about Detroit’s problems. They don’t seem to love talking about the people and organizations working to solve those problems quite as much. But I can assure you, thanks to a year’s worth of firsthand experience, that for every one issue Detroit is facing there are at least five organizations devoted to remedying it. Meaningful, on-the-ground work is being done each and every day by groups fighting blight, homelessness, unsafe biking infrastructure, unequal access to education and so much more. Challenge Detroit has provided me the platform to understand just how impactful the work being done is and how I, as a new Detroiter, can help further these missions.
Third, I have had the opportunity to live in and explore a city overflowing with history and culture and filled with inspiring citizens. Every day in Detroit is unique. I’ve lived here for a year and have not even begun to scratch the surface of what this city has to offer. Seemingly endless restaurants, concerts, shows, art exhibits, operas, symphonies, museums, and numerous outdoor events have highlighted my short time in Detroit. It’s clear to me now why so many spend their entire lives in this city…..because you can live a lifetime in Detroit and never for a single moment get bored of what it and its people have to offer.
Fourth, Challenge Detroit has helped me through the single most difficult period of my entire life
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On Sunday, June 8th 2014 at 3:52pm my life changed forever. I answered a phone call from my mom, surprised that she was calling in the afternoon when she usually waited until later. Her voice was monotone in a way I had never heard before. It was then that she told me my sister, an absolutely beautiful girl of 23, had died. There was an accident. She had fallen. She was dead.
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I said it once already, but it’s worth repeating: my sister, Sophia Louise, was beautiful. A 4.0 student who graduated college Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude, Sophie was finishing up her professional contract as a dancer with the Ballet Theater of Maryland and was preparing the realize her next goal of entering med school and becoming a doctor. She had asked me to read the personal statement for her med school application and give her my feedback. That was the last time I ever spoke to her. My Challenge Detroit experience was interrupted by the worst thing imaginable. I packed a bag and, mid-challenge, traveled to my parent’s new home state of Texas to be with my family and grieve the loss of a truly incredible young woman. I returned to Detroit two weeks later, alone and with an uncontrollable amount of grief inside of me. And it wasn’t until that grueling return that I was able to fully realize the importance Challenge Detroit played in my life.
As anyone who has experienced loss can attest, when we lose a loved one it inflicts a crater-sized hole inside of us that is both eternal and, at least at first, seems impossible to fill. For 9 months I enjoyed my Challenge Detroit experience as a whole, complete person. Suddenly, though, here I was…back in Detroit, but now so very, very empty. Regardless of how I felt, there were still the remaining three months of the program staring me in the face. It has been in these past three months that Challenge Detroit’s true value to me personally has been revealed. The talented fellows and inspiring challenge partners remained constant following my return. What changed, though, was what I was now receiving from being involved in the program. Previously unable to realize them without the void I now held, the full benefits of the program became so much clearer and more apparent. For the past 3 months Challenge Detroit has been for me more than a job, more than a chance to give back and more than a way to socialize and enjoy the city. It has been something to invest my time, energy and emotional capacity in. For the past 3 months Challenge Detroit has provided the platform to channel the pain and grief I feel daily into productive, meaningful and emotionally fulfilling work. My fellow fellows, the work we’ve done and the organizations we have collaborated with have kept me going; they have kept me motivated; and they have kept me focused on my mission of living just a little bit better every day for my sister. Challenge Detroit has helped make me whole again.
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The phrase ‘incredibly supportive’ does not even come close to describing my fellow fellows and the Challenge Detroit leadership over the past three months. And there is no amount of thanks or gratitude that could ever convey just how grateful I am to each and every one of them. I realize that this is incredibly long for a blog post and if you’ve made is this far you definitely deserve a prize or a card or a hug at least! But at the same time, each and every fellow’s Challenge Detroit experience is different and I wanted to be able to convey to you just how important Challenge Detroit has been to me, even beyond the challenges and the social events and the service events. Had I still been living out of state and working for the software company, I seriously doubt whether I would have been able to survive the difficulties that the past 3 months have presented. That’s why I chose to include the first two paragraphs of this post, to illustrate just how much Challenge Detroit provides its fellows. It is true that Challenge Detroit is live, work, give, play and lead…….but it is also embrace, support, lift up, love, and care. This program is not a one way street, the giving goes both ways, and my last three months in the program have been the realest and truest example of this that one could possibly experience.
To Deirdre and Shelley: Thank you for leading me through one of the greatest experiences of my life. Thank you for your guidance, wisdom, advice and, most importantly, your support. I will remember it forever.
To my fellow fellows: Thank you for sharing your passion and perspective. I have learned more from each and every one of you than I ever expected. Most importantly, thank you all for being a friend, a resource or a shoulder to cry on. I’ve needed all three at different points and you guys have never let me down. I love you all.
To Sophie: Thank you for being my sister. Thank you for urging me out of bed every morning and thank you for always being with me. Above all else, thank you for inspiring me to be a better man. Every day I live, I live for you.
To Detroit: Thank you. For Everything.
Onward and upward!
Until next time,
Max
“Detroit is full of talent” – Martha Reeves