{"id":16167,"date":"2016-06-20T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?post_type=blogpost&p=16167"},"modified":"2016-06-20T08:00:36","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T08:00:36","slug":"fellow-spotlight-mikayla-cutlip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/fellow-spotlight-mikayla-cutlip\/","title":{"rendered":"Fellow Spotlight: Mikayla Cutlip"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tell us about living in Detroit. What neighborhood do you live in and what things make it\u00a0unique and exciting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMG_3962\"I live in Lafayette Park, just east of the Downtown core with my roommate Paulina\u00a0Kriska, also a Challenge fellow. Although proximal to the amenities of downtown and Eastern\u00a0Market, I enjoy the feeling of living in a residential area of historic Mies van der Rohe buildings.\u00a0Before it was Lafayette Park, this area was Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, a thriving,\u00a0predominantly black neighborhood with a buzzing business and entertainment scene. Motown\u00a0greats lived here, and family businesses boomed before an urban renewal project demolished it\u00a0to bring in a highway and \u201cmodel\u201d neighborhoods. I like living in a place with so much history,\u00a0and I look for signs of the past around me. As Detroit evolves, I hope lessons can be learned\u00a0from the past as we move towards ethical redevelopment.<\/p>\n

As an out\u2010of\u2010stater, I have really benefitted from living with a roommate. Paulina and I\u00a0have explored Detroit from Livernois to Osborn through our patronage of local businesses and\u00a0restaurants. We recently bought bikes which we have taken to the Dequindre Cut and\u00a0Riverwalk. I hope many more adventures are in store, especially with the summer months\u00a0ahead.<\/p>\n

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

\"IMG_3903\"Challenge Detroit has truly changed my life. It\u2019s hard to fully describe the totality of the\u00a0experience to one who hasn\u2019t lived it, but the program has affected all aspects of my life. Aside\u00a0from the tangible experience that comes from consulting organizations and practicing\u00a0community development, I think I have learned how to be a better and more engaged citizen.\u00a0I\u2019ve learned that I can trust those around me when navigating ambiguity or having hard\u00a0conversations about race, access, & privilege. I feel more confident as a leader, a public\u00a0speaker, and as a friend. I see the world differently, and I believe that I will be better at what I\u00a0do in the future because of this experience.<\/p>\n

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

\"IMG_4055\"I am a Project Coordinator at Mosher Dolan, a residential construction firm in Royal Oak.\u00a0I spend my time organizing finish selections; negotiating between trades, clients, designers, and\u00a0architects; bidding jobs; and preparing construction timelines and budgets. No two days are\u00a0ever the same in custom building, and I am grateful to be a part of a kind, down\u2010to\u2010earth, and\u00a0responsive team. At Mosher Dolan, you feel like your team has your back in any situation, and\u00a0for someone fairly new to the field, that has meant I have been able to learn a lot about the\u00a0industry in 10 short months.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_3924\"I work with another current fellow, Dave Engle, and share an office with Year 3 fellow,\u00a0Elizabeth Grabowski. It\u2019s great to work with other Challenge Fellows. We\u2019ve been able to\u00a0collaborate on some projects at the office, and it\u2019s nice to have that community outside of\u00a0Challenge. Finally, my most weighty responsibility is as a member of the #MosherDolanStrong\u00a0kickball team where I play a pretty solid shortstop. We haven\u2019t won a game yet, but, you know,\u00a0the season\u2019s almost over.<\/p>\n

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

\"IMG_3129\"It\u2019s pretty simple: I want to contribute meaningfully to both. I believe I have an\u00a0opportunity at my job and as a Detroiter to do more than routine tasks of working and living. I\u00a0hope to positively impact the people and systems around me. My brother recently visited me in\u00a0Detroit, and I was able to reflect on what I have seen and contributed to in a year. My spotlight\u00a0video is a sample of that.<\/p>\n

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As your fellowship year comes to an end how do you hope to continue to engage in the\u00a0Detroit community?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMG_3723\"I moved to Detroit with the intent to stay past the fellowship year, and I\u2019m pleased that\u00a0the Challenge Detroit experience supported that assumption. I will continue to live in the city\u00a0and participate in cultural, political, and social opportunities that I began during my fellowship\u00a0year. To me, that looks like volunteering with nonprofit partnerships we developed this year,\u00a0attending events like Detroit SOUP, and seeking a block club for my new neighborhood. Long\u00a0term, I would like to find creative opportunities to connect the communities of Detroit and\u00a0Phoenix, and continue to collaborate with people who are different than me.<\/p>\n

To catch a glimpse into Mikayla’s time in Detroit so far check out her spotlight video.<\/p>\n