Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it unique and exciting? <\/b><\/p>\n
I live in the New Center area. My favorite part of living here is its location. It\u2019s just far enough from the bustle of Downtown and Midtown to adopt a more leisurely pace, but also close enough to still take advantage of all the eateries, shops, and events that are going on there. What excites me most are the closeness of the existing restaurants along Grand Boulevard as well as the reinvestment in this former edge city\u2019s downtown at the corner of Woodward and Grand. I love that New Center serves as a gathering place for the surrounding neighborhoods as much as for itself.<\/span><\/p>\n What have you learned from Challenge Detroit so far? <\/b><\/p>\n As a fellow, I have had the opportunity to hear from and speak with a variety of different people in all areas of the city. From staff at City Hall to volunteers at a community kitchen to teenagers in high school, I\u2019ve deepened my appreciation for engaging multiple viewpoints. In a place like Detroit, where residents feel disconnected from city resources and neighborhood efforts are decentralized, regular communication between groups and with individual residents is incredibly important. More than ever, I am learning that there are many sides to any story and that listening and acknowledging all sides is key to supporting and enabling community success. <\/span><\/p>\n Tell us about your host company and your role in the organization. <\/b><\/p>\n In September, I joined Mango Languages, a provider of online language-learning services. As an Academic Account Manager, most of my work is in partnership with faculty and staff at educational institutions ranging from elementary schools to community colleges to research universities. It\u2019s a great fit for my linguistic background and administrative experience in higher education. <\/span><\/p>\n One of the best things about my role is how it serves not just academic communities, but also the global one. I get to spend my day thinking up new ways to get people excited about learning languages and exploring cultures. How great is that? Expressing yourself in an acquired language is not easy; it requires a lot of spontaneous creativity. When you no longer have all of the words at your disposal, you have to find a way with the ones you have. There\u2019s not always time to look up a word, so sometimes the best way to ask about dinner will be to ask about \u201cnight breakfast.\u201d This sort of negotiation is the kind of thing that opens up your mind to uncommon possibilities and provides greater perspective on topics as routine as dinner to ones as complex as best health practices. It also allows for richer conversation between peoples, bringing new ideas to our own community while also strengthening bonds within our global one.<\/span><\/p>\n What kind of impact do you hope to have with your host company and within the city?<\/b><\/p>\n As a host company with Challenge Detroit since the fellowship\u2019s inception, Mango Languages has a growing connection with the city. This year, I had the opportunity to work with a non-profit organization that was both a Challenge partner and a Mango client. This match proved to be highly beneficial to our non-profit host since we were able to incorporate Mango\u2019s language-learning program into our proposal strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n What are you looking forward to this spring in Detroit? <\/b><\/p>\n I cannot wait for Spring! I am really excited to begin working in not just my own garden, but also lending a hand at the many urban gardens throughout the city. I love bonding with people over growing produce. There\u2019s something kind of amazing about working together with first-time strangers to grow and share in delightfully sweet shell peas, flash boiled, salted, dusted with shaved parmesan, and served with oiled bread and savory prosciutto.<\/span><\/p>\n Check out Geraldine’s spotlight video to learn more about her experiences in Detroit so far.<\/p>\n