{"id":15193,"date":"2016-03-14T13:45:45","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T13:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?p=15193"},"modified":"2016-03-14T13:45:45","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14T13:45:45","slug":"fellow-spotlight-grace-demeulenaere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/fellow-spotlight-grace-demeulenaere\/","title":{"rendered":"Fellow Spotlight: Grace DeMeulenaere"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it unique and\u00a0exciting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"EasternI live in the Lafayette Park neighborhood, right across the street from Eastern Market. When it\u00a0came time to deciding where to live downtown, I explored all different areas before I decided on\u00a0Lafayette Park. The thing that drew me in most about the neighborhood was how quiet it felt. It\u2019s like\u00a0this little cul-de-sac with unique and interesting people inhabiting it. There are two churches within\u00a0walking distance of my building that have bells ringing on the hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour. You\u00a0would think that might get annoying, but I really enjoy it, especially in summer when I have the windows\u00a0open and the breeze just sweeps the sound right into my living room. Being across from Eastern Market\u00a0is extremely convenient. I had never been to Eastern Market before I moved down here, but it has\u00a0become such an amazing resource to have. Waking up on a Saturday morning, walking around the\u00a0sheds, picking up some fresh fruits and vegetables: there\u2019s nothing better. I\u2019m a stone\u2019s throw away\u00a0from Greektown and the rest of downtown, so whenever I\u2019m feeling like adventuring into the\u00a0congestion, I have that option. I\u2019m also really excited to take full advantage of the Dequindre Cut this\u00a0summer and riding my bike to the river walk.<\/p>\n

What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wow, how do I even answer this in a concise way? The learning experience that Challenge\u00a0Detroit has provided so far has been endless. Every challenge we take on, every Leadership Friday we\u00a0experience, every reflection circle we sit in, we are constantly learning more about each other,\u00a0ourselves, and the city. I\u2019ve learned more about people than I ever thought possible. I\u2019ve learned more\u00a0about this city than a textbook could ever show me. Most importantly, I\u2019ve learned that there is WAY\u00a0more to Detroit than the headlines say. I\u2019ve always believed that but was so happy to realize it in my\u00a0own experience through living and working and playing down here. I\u2019m so proud to be a part of this\u00a0program because it feels like the opinions of young professionals actually matter and belong here.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My host company is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and I work in the Tower at the\u00a0Headquarters in Auburn Hills. I\u2019ve heard there are certain perceptions of those that work in the Tower\u00a0as opposed to the rest of the facility and also heard it referred to as the \u201cGlass Palace\u201d. To that, I just\u00a0laugh. Come on up and see how \u201cpalace-like\u201d it is, and you\u2019ll laugh too. At FCA, I work in External Affairs,\u00a0the Office of Civic Engagement and Community Relations. \"IMG_1281\"Within the department, we are focused on\u00a0charitable giving through grants and donations, as well as employee volunteerism and community\u00a0involvement. Before working at FCA, I really had no involvement with nonprofits besides volunteering\u00a0occasionally and working with my family\u2019s foundation intermittently throughout my college years.\u00a0Coming into a department that focused on grant-making at a large scale and volunteerism, I felt a little\u00a0lost. However, my colleagues and supervisors got me all caught up and off I went into the world of\u00a0charitable giving. I assist the department in anyway I can. I help facilitate the grant process for\u00a0organizations receiving money, I help organize and promote volunteer events for our employees to\u00a0attend, and sit in on a lot of conference calls to learn as much as I can from experienced professionals.\u00a0Through all of this, I soon realized how awesome of a job it is to give large amounts of money and\u00a0donations to deserving organizations and that I wish I could have this job for the rest of my life. Does\u00a0that not sound like the most rewarding job ever?<\/p>\n

What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within my host company, I\u2019m working to increase their internal and external communications,\u00a0specifically on the volunteerism side of the department. Our employees do such amazing work on a\u00a0weekly basis with organizations throughout the state and beyond that we should be sharing and\u00a0bragging about. I\u2019ve come up with a few initiatives and communications plans to implement throughout\u00a0the rest of my time at FCA and further. The great thing about my host company is they truly want to\u00a0make this the best experience for me and have catered many projects for me to work on with my\u00a0communications lens.<\/p>\n

My impact within the city can\u2019t be done without the help of my current Fellows. However, I do\u00a0want to make an impact through conversations with people in the city and outside to hopefully bring\u00a0these groups together and help them understand we are all one and we are all going to bring this city\u00a0back, together. I want to use my communications background to bring the people of the Metro Detroit\u00a0area together and encourage us to all work as one unit, because when people work together that\u2019s\u00a0when the best work gets done.<\/p>\n

What little known piece of Detroit\u2019s history would you share with others and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMG_1209\"Another tough question to answer. I honestly can\u2019t pinpoint one piece of Detroit\u2019s history that\u2019s\u00a0more prominent than others. But I will say that people believing in themselves and the city they reside\u00a0in created each piece of history. That\u2019s the best piece of history that Detroit has going for it, the fact that\u00a0anyone can come here and make their mark if they work hard for it. Detroit isn\u2019t Detroit because of the\u00a0automotive industry. It is Detroit because of the automotive industry, the music scene, the food culture,\u00a0and the people who make it up. Detroit gives everyone the opportunity to make his or her mark. That\u2019s\u00a0the best part of the history.<\/p>\n

What would you tell someone who is considering applying to Challenge Detroit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do it. Apply. Bring your experiences and expertise to the table with other brilliant individuals\u00a0and share it with the city that needs it most right now. We aren\u2019t going to make a change in one year\u00a0and be done. We need the momentum to continue for decades to come so that Detroit can be thought\u00a0of as a great city, not just a great city that once was. Things aren\u2019t going to progress if more young minds\u00a0aren\u2019t part of it. Where we lack in experience, we make up in creativity, ingenuity, and positivity.<\/p>\n

Check out Grace’s spotlight video to learn more
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