October in Review: Did you say that was due yesterday???

Well, hello, hello family and friends! I know it has been a long while since I have posted, but that should be extremely indicative of the complete 180 I have experienced here in DC. I am now almost fully assimilated: complete with a busy schedule, full workload, and almost zero free time!

I am also in what is considered the "honeymoon" phase. I love everything and everyone, I feel useful in the organization, and I am getting constructive and positive feedback for my work :) As I review the past month, I hope you can forgive my poor memory and enjoy the pictures I have been able to take.

Following my last blogpost, I attended a Latin American Festival celebrating the culture, costumes, and food of various countries only one of which are represented in this photo. It was a gorgeous day!




Work:

Board Public/Private Meetings & Board Engagement
One of the best parts about my job is meeting the Board Members, note-taking in some private meetings, and really understanding what role the board plays in shaping the mission of the agency. It was such a wonderful learning opportunity, and my notes played a role in the creation and implementation workplan and Next Steps following the Board retreat. There is also now a great emphasis on strategic calendaring (meaning making sure speaking engagements and other activities that the CEO/Board engage in are consistently presenting CNCS key messages in a strategic way). I am very lucky to hear how our agency is able to think about these sorts of issues.

MLK Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service has been a huge part of the Corporation’s tasks, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of the federal holiday so we are making it big. President Obama already doubled the number of participants through his call to serve last year, but this year we want to do even more. I will be managing the workplan and timeline of each working group (as there are many pieces to make this event successful), and I will be heading our ambassador program. The ambassador program is one where we reach out to folks who play a large role in their communities or who have many constituents/platforms to reach out to others (such as actor/actresses, comedians, authors, etc.), so this will be quite time-consuming but very interesting.

Service Events on Veteran’s Day
I have also simultaneously picked up tasks surrounding Veteran’s Day. I was tasking to find opportunities to serve, and thanks to ServiceNation, All for Good and other websites, it wasn’t too hard to find. My grandmother was in DC for this holiday so I was excited to show her what we do on the ground. I hope you all had a chance to get out there and serve our veterans and military families!

Strategic Plan: Education + Veterans and Military Families
So, every agency must put together a strategic plan that acts as a guide and informs the work of the agency. CNCS has been working diligently on its strategic plan and even has its very own strategy office with extremely talented people heading the whole process. I am very lucky to be able to work with them. More specifically, I am the strategy office lead for the education focus area and the veterans and military families focus area. This means I am working on a broad strategy that will inform how our programs (AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve) will focus on measurable outcomes within education, and veterans and military families.

Diversity Month + Halloween Party!
This is quite random, but I decided to put this here because I wanted to brag about how awesome CNCS is. Diversity month has been filled with wonderful performances, food events, and other miscellaneous activities (I was dancing salsa, listening to great panels, and just having fun!). The Halloween party was a wonderful ending to the month!




Other fun events I attended:

NATs game
Outside of the work environment, life has been a bit crazy! I went to a NATs baseball game (I know, shame on me…), but I am still proud of the Giants ;)




AIDs Run fundraiser + VA Winery
For a friend’s birthday, we ran approx 3.5 miles in 35 minutes for an AIDs benefit, and we went to a winery in Virginia! This was fabulous and we even got some free wine for singing her happy birthday. The best part was meeting the owner and hearing about his philanthropic efforts with Habitat for Humanity. I am definitely hoping to go back here.




Hiking in Shenandoah
Wow, so basically Shenandoah is awesome! We did a 5 mile hike, took tons of pictures (courtesy of my roomate) and I drove the whole way there and back. I am so ready to make a weekend trip and camp out there. We even saw a REAL black bear!




Mt. Vernon Bike Trip
Meanwhile, I also completed about a 35 mile bike trail with a friend of mine. This was AMAZING! And, to top it all off, we saw George Washington’s estate! It was a perfect day, and we enjoyed Alexandria that evening.





Hair! At the Kennedy Center
As if my month wasn’t already fun-filled, I saw the musical Hair! At the Kennedy Center. It brought be back to the olden days when I used to be in musicals and man was it good. Let the Sun Shine was the best song because the cast invited us on stage and I got a beautiful daisy to take home with me.




The 2010-2011 Gardner Fellows: Happy Bday Kevan! + other outings
The Gardner Fellows have definitely been hanging out whenever we can. From dinners to birthday celebrations to coffee, we have been having a ball when we aren’t working our 8-12 hour days. Yes, you better believe it. In catching up with many of them, it seems like some agencies require a lot more time than others. We often ask ourselves, when do people eat lunch? But, it is really important to keep that work/life balance and we have definitely taken opportunities to make sure we go out and have fun. I love our group!




The White House:

White House Gardens Tour
I was very lucky to go to the WH gardens tour and it was so exciting to see the vegetable and rose gardens! First Lady Obama has really done a great job with their organic vegetables :) The White House is so beautiful- the pictures say enough, no?




WHF Leadership Conference
This section may need a little bit of context. The White House Fellowship was something started by President Lindon B. Johnson and John Gardner (then Secretary) for professionals (normally already into their careers and over 25) to understand and work in government for a year. They go through a rigorous application and interview process and they are basically superstars. Twenty five years later, John Gardner started the John Gardner Fellowship for graduating UC Berkeley and Stanford students (what I have). So, a few years ago, the White House Fellows Association began inviting John Gardner Fellows to the WHF Conference, a 2-3 day event complete with very exciting speakers (this year General Colin Powell and Justice Sotomayor were highlights!). I took both days off work to attend the whole event and it was wonderful! I made some great contacts and hope to learn more from these leaders as time passes. There was also a service day culminating the experience – coincidentally, my agency among others (DOE, DOT) were also represented (see below).

Make a Difference Day with KaBOOM!
On Saturday, Sept 23, it was make a Difference Day. To hear more about what we did and check out the video, see our blog post: http://www.serve.gov/stories_detail.asp?tbl_servestories_id=436

I was literally in the dumpster a good portion of the time (trying to sort out the piles of thorny vines, leaves, trees, etc. It was so fun! And I can’t wait to build a playground again.





In the end and as always, I am continuing to learn during my time here.

Lessons Learned:
- Your work will be rewarded if you take the time and effort to make it your best; don't be afraid to express your ideas.
- Your ideas are worth something; just make sure you present them in a way that makes sense and is not obnoxious.
- When you are sick, bring a lot of tissues ;)
- Congratulate yourself (treat yourself), even if no one else does. AND, when they do thank you or congratulate you for your work, tell them how appreciative you are of that.
- STOP! STEP BACK! Never get so comfortable that you interrupt others; wait for the opportune moment to give your opinion, or just don't give it, or give it offline to a staff member. YOU ARE NOT as qualified as everyone around you- you have to earn it.
- Don't forget to reflect!
- Wow, in the places you thought the least, you can find a really connected/important person (Kaboom Event)
- Respond with thank you’s to all business cards (re: WHF Conference)

AND! This weekend I went home to celebrate my birthday- and it was the best ever! Because my grandmother is visiting me for this week, I will be plenty busy, but stay tuned for the next update!

Thank you for all of your support- I am so grateful for all of you!

First Two Weeks in Review: Special Events and Little Work

“Life isn’t a mountain that has a summit. Nor is it—as some suppose—a riddle that has an answer. Nor a game that has a final score.

Life is an endless unfolding, and if we wish to be, an endless process of self-discovery, an endless and unpredictable dialogue between our own potentialities and the life situations in which we find ourselves. By potentialities I mean not just intellectual gifts but the full range of one’s capacities for learning, sensing, wondering, understanding, loving and aspiring.”

John Gardner
Commencement Address, Sidwell Friends School
Washington, DC
June 13th, 1986

First and foremost, I would like to preface the remaining blog entries with a very important note: My blog does not represent the views of CNCS or any other government agency or the current administration. In order to protect confidentiality rights, I will not mention names or details of my work assignments.

September 11: Day of Service and Rememberance
Before my first day at CNCS began, I decided to participate in the September 11th Day of Service by volunteering with a group of people at a church in Alexandria. It was a bit far, but it was the only service opportunity that wasn’t filled up! We collected food items from church goers and sorted them into boxes. After three hours of this, we took the truck load of boxes to the local food bank and stored them to be given out to the needy later that month.




The First Lady and President Obama, as well as the CNCS CEO were serving as well in Virginia (I think), so it was a great way to prepare me for my first week at work.

The first day
My first day was a little awkward because my supervisor had to be at jury duty (last minute!). So, I had to introduce myself to people and find my way on my own. She of course prepared me very well by giving me detailed instructions and telling me who to see and what to read while I was settling in. I was in a new employee orientation for the first half of my day, and I spent the second half reading, completing online training workshops, getting my name tag, and calling about securing my email address and phone. Highlights included taking an oath (led by the CEO) to protect the United States, and meeting the CEO briefly.

***It really was a good idea to send an email to my supervisor ahead of time because she had so much prepared for me. In the email I told her how excited I was to be there and asked her if there was anything I needed for my first day.




Two weeks later
As I reflect on the past two weeks, I have to say that I am slightly disappointed because I have oftentimes spent the whole day without tasks. I have taken it upon myself to read the Kennedy Act legislation, any and all online resources, and articles about my agency, but my tasks have included only small things like packaging materials to fedex, preparing letters, researching small items.

The reason for this, however, makes sense because everyone in the office is super stressed and preparing for the big Board retreat and public Board meeting fast approaching this Tuesday and Wednesday. By January 2011, the Board and CNCS will have to have a strategic plan completed to be approved by OMB, CNCS Board, and Senate that will ultimately affect at least the next five years if not more. So, each Board call and Board meeting is extremely important. This stress has caused both my mentor and other Office of CEO staff to be pretty busy. I expect and hope that after the Board meeting I will be able to have a sit down meeting with my mentor and supervisor to talk about the activities I would like to be involved in to reach my learning goals for this fellowship.

Positive notes
I do have one larger task which involved creating a monthly memo for the Board with current happenings (“the buzz” so to speak) about service and what CNCS is doing. I have been happy with this assignment but I cannot get into it as much until the beginning of October because I need information from different departments.

I have also had the opportunity to attend various events. In my first week I attended “Service Works” at the Capitol building and heard from various leaders and representatives in congress that support service as a solution, and the expansion of service opportunities for Americans.




I also attended “Big Citizenship” which was a dialogue held with the author of Big Citizenship, founder of City Year, and founder and CEO of Service Nation. I bought his book and I am almost done! He is amazing, and I hope to be a social entrepreneur as successful as he has been.



This past week I have been able to attend two meetings related to the strategic planning process. While I cannot go into detail on this process, imagine if you will, being able to sit at the table where all of the top decision makers sit. There, they discuss, argue, and challenge each other to look at how the agency is structured and how the agency will change to make the greatest impact to our whole country through service. They look at everything from measurable outcomes, to stakeholders and grantees, to disaster services, and education.

It was a moment in this meeting that I was truly connected to policy in a way I thought I never could be. The decisions these people make will affect non profits and volunteers and communities all over the country, and they are taking every precaution to make the strategic plan the best it can possible be with the limited resources they have. AND! I took notes, typed them up and offered them to my supervisor and she was very impressed with this gesture. As a result, I may be able to sit in and take notes during the private Board conversations next week! Yay!

Exploring my surroundings
I have also taken the time to go to events like the Adams Morgan Day festival, biking through rock creek, biking on a full mood ride with a local bike association, and happy hour with coworkers.







A couple of reflection points I want to note:
- Take every opportunity to learn
- Be grateful for the opportunities you have
- Meeting people can be awkward, and may involve moments of silence. Always smile and you can always say how excited you are to learn more about X,Y,Z. Or say how interested you are to hear about what that person does in the agency
- Always say yes to every task, no matter how small it is (at the beginning...)
- When attending special events, do not be afraid to talk to the speakers or event heads. People love to share what they are doing or why they are there.
- Think before doing things, use your intuition, and trust that you are more than capable of figuring things out. If you don’t, others can read that on you.
- Establish yourself as your own person- whatever relationship your supervisor/coworkers have with others does not have to be the relationship you have with others. What kind of a person do you want to be?

Upcoming…

Latino Festival
Board private retreat
Board public meeting
NATs game
2010-2011 Gardner Fellows meet at my place for dinner

Finding Housing in DC: EEK!

You can say that again! EEK! Weeks before I arrived in DC, I went through various methods for finding housing: former Gardner fellows, friends of friends (who were on housing listservs), facebook, and even craigslist. I made a little blurb about myself and sent it out to these networks because I wanted a group house experience (5-6 young professionals living in one house). Part of the reason I wanted this was because of a former fellow whose house I stayed in when I interviewed in DC. I am a huge family person, so it made me really comfortable to live in a place with many people and a family-like community. I also loved the Mt. Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood. But even though I sent out my blurb to over 15 posts, I got one or two responses which led me to a very sad predicament.

Crestwood House:
To my surprise, I received an email about a group who wanted to turn in an application for a house in the Crestwood area (just north of Columbia Heights). That same day, while I was dropping off my sister in San Diego, I faxed an application in along with three other young professionals applying for the house. Two days later, I was flying to DC with my mom, excited for the opportunity to live in a great house. They were still processing our applications when my mother and I arrived, so there was no rush to stay in DC.

Mom and I took a week drive to Atlantic City, Boston, West Haven, Niagara Falls, and a couple of towns in between. During this time, our application was still in progress! There were many more complications than I expected.

LESSON #1: When explaining to your house/apt. that you are paid for by a fellowship (not taxable), you need to provide them with the name and number of the Gardner Fellowship Administrator, and you need to provide an offer letter from your employment (or letter of acceptance into the program). This can be confusing to them so make it clear up front.

Long story short, they took too long to process this application so one of our expected roommates found another living situation which broke up the group application.

Fort Totten Apartments:
At this point (September 2nd), I was more than annoyed with the whole process, and just wanted a place to call home early enough before my start day to settle in. I went on the hunt with my mother and we walked at least ten miles from metro to apartment to find a place. When I finally came across an apartment within my price range, all was good. We (a friend and I) filled out and turned in an application in hopes that it would go through by September 7th and so it did!

Our apartment is pretty awesome, ~$1650 + $?? utilities (1 bedroom, 1 den, kitchen, bathroom, washer/dryer, carpet, new appliances, etc!). Other amenities are included: state of the art fitness room, BBQ and gas for grilling, business room with free internet and free printing, pool, lounge area with foosball table, pool table, large TV, and free parking.

LESSON #2: Know what you want and have a back-up plan.

In conclusion, finding housing sucks! But, if you stick to what you want, you are bound to find something that fits your needs. Keep at it, and use your networks as much as you can. My roommate was awesome at finding cheap/free furniture for our apartment and we are now comfortable and able to focus on our work and having fun in DC.

And this is what we have in the end :)


Driving a large Budget truck for the first time!


Moving in…(by the way, we had to move that couch- which has a pull out queen bed in it- from the truck to the elevator, up two flights of stairs down the hall to our room)


When it is all said and done, our place is simple, but great!


Our kitchen is ready for cooking!


My room (all furniture free!)

Orientation: Review and Important Tips!

Wowee! So, it had been quite some time since I have written- my apologies. The orientation, held this year at the Stanford campus, was a fantastic two day experience that allowed new fellows to meet old fellows. Most importantly, it was a chance for us to really get a feel for how to go about preparing for (and having) a wonderful fellowship experience.

On the evening of the 18th, I was rushing from the SFO airport to make the dinner and lecture. I made it just in time to mingle with many former fellows and other public service staff of the Haas Public Service Center. That evening, I stayed at my brother’s apartment in San Jose.

On the 19th, I woke up bright and early to take Caltrain back to Stanford for a full day of Q&A and listening to both the experiences of the former fellows, and to the rules regarding logistics of the fellowship. While there were many lessons and short stories the former fellows gave us, I will include only the main tips and notes I took away from this session:

In your 1st month:
- Be Proactive
- Establish yourself as a "fellow," not intern (you can correct people by saying something like, "As a fellow, my goal is to," etc.)
- Go to happy hours and other such networking events
- Manage your workload
- Don't talk to coworkers about anything that causes "drama" or involves "gossip-like" activities. Keep whatever special privileges you have to yourself.
- PROVE YOURSELF IN OTHER PEOPLE'S TERMS FIRST!
- Cater to their expectations
- When you have down-time, peruse through the server, read online articles about your agency/org, etc.
- BE DELIBERATE BUT HUMBLE, FLEXIBLE BUT ASSERTIVE, and modesty goes a long way...
- Don't discount your ideas, but don't speak in the first meeting as if you know everything about the content you are working on.
- Be observant, read between the lines, read personalities, evaluate the environment, and see where you fit into the culture.
- Show your willingness to receive feedback (do not make excuses)
- Pick your battles.
- Be extra careful about your work (even emails!) because they are judging your work ethic straight from the start.

Mentor Relationships
- Look at everyone as your mentor, and learn from everyone
- Try to schedule a meeting of some sort within the first two weeks
- Emphasize that you are a quick learner and take feedback well
- Be open-minded
- Email before your first day to tell them how excited you are and that you are happy to be working there
- One month into your fellowship, create a learning plan with your mentor- try to look at what is reasonable, create expectations, and a timeline to stick by your goals.
- Do not underestimate other mentors.
- Take advantage of even "car/elevator" time to tell them how your are doing or hear what advice they have on any particular issue (always have a topic ready in your head or a question that can break the ice)

Networking
- If you have downtime, look at it as a time to network- introduce yourself to people, look up people in your office and reach out to them.
- Join the happy hour scene
- Create a list of names and people you want to know.
- Stay in contact with the people you were most fascinated with.

Office Politics
- Take good "read-outs" or notes during meetings and offer them in a types version to your mentors/fellow staff after the meeting. (Four main points, then details)
- Volunteer for meetings
- Be transparent about your projects (be professional, take personalities out of the picture, "pause before sending" in an email)
- If someone tries to take to you about gossip, just respond with "I don't know anything about that" and start a different conversation topic.

Worklife
- Try to keep your work at work and your life at home. Combining the two can cause some drama, unless you stick to these rules.
- Write/create a journal (hence, this blog)
- Follow HR policies when it comes to time off/sick days, etc.

What I wish I would have known (from 2009-2010 Gardners)
- Wear sandels/tennis shoes to work, heels are a pain
- Use the fellowship as an excuse to ask permission to attend relevant conferences in your area.

All very awesome advice, and notes I will revisit as I begin my fellowship.

We then had lunch and asked our last questions. For me, I was sad not to have known these fellows for a longer period of time, but hopeful that they put everything out there for us to be ready for our fellowship. It is also exciting to think that in one year, we will be sitting in their exact same shoes, giving more tips, and feeling more confident about where we will move forward in our careers and lives. After one last group picture, it was time for logistics and a movie of John Gardner’s life. Logistics included how we would be paid, ways to find housing, brief notes over taxes, healthcare, etc. It was great to know that all of our travel (flights, etc.) associated with the fellowship would be paid for.


2009-2011 Gardner Fellows


2009-2011 Gardner Fellows with UCB and Stanford Gardner Administrators

Lastly, we watched a documentary of John Gardner’s life and took away with us a book that will guide me for the next ten months.

John Gardner. Wow.

When I applied for this fellowship, it was not the top post-undergraduate experience on my list. I took the time to look up this “John Gardner” guy, but I didn’t really read into his life and what he did for others. If I had, I think it most definitely would have been at the top of my list. This man has thousands of life-changing quotes, many books surrounding leadership and service, and just a good heart. While I may not have met him, I have seen through others who have, through his works, and through documentaries that he is exactly the type of public servant I aspire to be: always learning, always humble, always creating community solutions, and always giving others the time of day.

Let’s hope I have it in me to be as amazing as he was.

Projects to look forward to!

Super excited for the work to come!

***Draft***

1) Engage agency leadership, especially the Board of Directors in Signature Events including but not limited to MLK Day, AmeriCorps Week, special United We Serve events, and the National Conference on Volunteerism and Service

2) Identify, respond to invitations, coordinate logistics for and prepare needed briefing materials for Board Member speaking engagements including local, regional and national events, community dialogues, National Conference roles, etc
a. Coordinate with the Offices of the Executive Secretariat, Public and External Affairs, State Offices and the Strategy Office to identify appropriate events for Board Member participation and briefing materials needed

3) Support the planning and coordination of Board Retreats, conference calls, New Member Orientation and all related briefing materials

4) Support additional projects of the CEO’s Office including but not limited to the Social Innovation Fund, the Strategic Plan execution, etc

5) General Support of the CEO’s Office and Projects
a. Devote time to increased understanding of the structure, projects and staff of the CEO’s Office
b. Attend relevant meetings, share observations, insights and questions.
c. Investigate and identify internal or external meetings for possible attendance.
d. Other duties that may arise during the Fellowship period

Engagement Specialist! :)

Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 2:14 PM

Dear Christina,

I am happy to inform you that your request to complete your John Gardner Fellowship placement at the Corporation for National and Community Service has been approved. For the purposes of our records, your placement is considered a non-compensated, volunteer internship and the working title of your role is “Engagement Specialist.” The CEO’s team would like to welcome you to our family and we look forward to helping you achieve a productive fellowship.

This letter will cover our understanding of your fellowship and lay out the expectations of both parties. You will begin your internship on Monday Sept 13, 2010, and will end it on July 17, 2011, for a total of 10 months. We agreed that your work schedule is Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, with a daily 30-minute lunch break. I will serve as your supervisor and will provide you with day-to-day management, as well as a bi-weekly supervision meeting. _____________, Chief of Staff will serve as your mentor and will meet with you periodically through out your fellowship to provide professional advice and guidance. The attached draft work-plan provides a general position description with a list of projects, responsibilities and work tasks. Please note that this work-plan is in working draft form as we hope that this fellowship will serve as an opportunity for you to explore and learn all you can about the role of a federal agency in shaping the national service field and we want to allow for flexibility in defining the assignments that will best serve this purpose.

On your first day with us (September 13, 2010), we ask that you arrive at our office by 9:00 am. The Corporation is located at 1201 New York Avenue, NW. If you travel by subway, take either the Blue, Orange or Red line train to Metro Center. Once you arrive at the Corporation, please go to the 10th floor reception desk.

Much of your first day will be devoted to completing the on-boarding process. When you return to your computer, you will need to take the mandatory Computer Security Training in order to get your network account activated. During your first few days, you will also need to attend a new staff orientation presented by the Office of Human Capital and an external outreach training presented by General Counsel.

Space & Phone

Your workspace will be assigned the first week and should be ready for you to occupy on your very first day. As stated above, in order to use the Corporation’s computer network, you have to complete the mandatory security training first, to be granted access. We’ll also give you a short introduction to phone usage and our messaging system.

Schedule

You have agreed to a full-time (40 hours per week) schedule beginning Sept 13, 2010, through July 17, 2011. If this schedule is not accurate, please contact me immediately. We understand that you will need to be out of the office for a meeting in California in Dec or Jan as part of your Fellowship and that you will need time off for the holidays and other personal events. We ask that you give us at least a week’s notice if you will be out of the office.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Once again, I want to welcome you and offer our best wishes for a productive, engaging and growth-filled Fellowship with the Corporation for National and Community Service. I look forward to working closely with you beginning in September.

Decisions Decisions...

When I began the crazy process of finding the perfect placement I talked to everyone including professors, supervisors, friends, the Gardner alums and even family. Someone always knows someone who is working on the issue you want to get involved in. And there never is an exact perfect match, I think, because they are all awesome! eek!

In the end, I sent a crazy email to the UCB Gardner Administrator that read as follows:

Date Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 9:28 PM

Questions to ask myself:
What do I want and how will this fellowship get me there?
How comfortable will I feel to ask my mentor to allow me to be in on unique experiences?
How will this placement challenge me?
What type of service do I like to do, how can this be informed by my placement choice?
Thought: I should not have to convince myself to choose the placement. Rather, it should be a comfortable door opening to the placement. There is no wrong placement as I will take every opportunity to learn from it. No worries :)

Criteria:
1. Access (to high level meetings, leaders in the field)
2. Mentor (open to my personal growth, able to cater to my interests, provide me with substantial work)
3. Ability to challenge me (expand my skills, allow me to learn about how government is creating change)
4. Office environment (other people, general gut feeling of the place)
5. Travel/Capstone experience (what will this be? how will it fit into my goals)
6. Fit in with future aspirations (still shady...)

First Choice: Corporation for National and Community Service
1. Access is guaranteed to the CEO, Board of Directors, and all high level staff members. I will be in on meetings and even work on their strategic plans. I will be allowed to work with my direct supervisor to create my job description that will allow me to move through three different areas of the work at the corporation.
2. My official mentor would be the CEO, with monthly lunches (give or take). My supervisor(s) will also be mentors (I met 4 of them) that lead different projects under the mission of CNCS. All have access to leaders in the field, and will no doubt give me the opportunities to be involved in their projects. _______ has worked with ______ before and I trust, as _______ has said, that _______ knows what a fellowship means and will make it a wonderful experience for me.
3. ***While I was worried before that this placement would not challenge me, I think I was being too cocky. This placement will expand my knowledge of how service is done from the larger perspective. I will be involved in policy, strategic planning, and the face of national service which is completely different than direct service. It will inform my understanding of service and will challenge me to look beyond that.
4. My supervisor introduced me to people all over the office when I arrived and it was a very comfortable setting for me. It was very busy, but people still took the time to look me in the eye, welcome me and give me a little synopsis about their work in the office (even right before their largest conference!). It felt right to be there.
5. While this is a national institution and not a global one, I will be happy with the trade off. My capstone experience (and not the only one by any means) would be working on and even running part of the National Conference which can be a huge addition to my portfolio. There might be other possibilities- national service days, meetings with even higher level officials (why not dream big and say that I could meet our first lady or president!). They are only once removed from the CEO :)
6. This was the toughest criteria. Let me be honest and say that my future aspirations have always been shady. I know I can do things, organize, create, serve, lead others, but HOW has been my biggest question. Through a nonprofit? Does it matter the issue area (like immigration)? Or will it be through creating policy? SO...I do think this opportunity allows me to continue to explore how...I will be in an institution with tons of issue areas (I am a generalist, after all), and I will be working on policy and larger goals that meet the mission of our administration.

I am excited about this placement :)

Second Choice: Millennium Challenge Corporation
1&2. Access is almost as good as above, but unclear. It was made clear to me, however, that I would not have the opportunity to sit in on a high level meeting since my mentor would be around top 12 in the institution and the CEO really only interacts with his boss (top 6 people). BUT, my mentor would have a lot of contacts in other institutions (Treasury, State, White House, etc.) and would probably be willing to make introductions. He is a wonderful person who understands what a fellowship means and he would create a work for me where he would review it with me throughout my time there (quarterly reviews like an employee).
3. This would be challenging on many levels. Content-wise I would be learning about many different countries and cultures and how governments are working with local nonprofits and communities to create sustainable solutions to poverty worldwide. Wow (mouthful). I would learn evaluative methods and practical skills through writing, excel, etc.
4. I only met my potential mentor, which was wonderful, but it seemed that other staff were in their offices- very busy. I am wondering how difficult it would be to work with them, or if there would be opportunities to work with them. I felt wonderful with my mentor, but I did not really get a feel for the office except that it was very professional.
5. Travel is probable. My mentor mentioned that two compacts (agreements) would be closing this year, the first two, and that I could be involved with that process. I might be able to visit these countries. This would probably be my capstone experience.
6. I am not completely clear as to how this fits in with my future aspirations, but it would be a wonderful way to see how government, through MCC works with other governments to create partnerships and change for the people of those countries.

I know I will learn a lot here, and be challenged a lot here, but I am not sure how this will play into my future goals.

Third Choice: Central American Affairs Office, Department of State
It is funny to me how, a week ago I was saying how awesome it would be to work here, and now it is at the bottom of my list. Why? Well, the biggest part of this was mentorship and access. After a long conversation with a former Gardner fellow, it was clear to me that he got lucky and had a wonderful experience, which can also happen for me. But, my mentor was very clear about how little he could afford to give me (time, resources, etc.) so I would in some ways be taking the reigns in my projects and asking for work. I am not sure that that is how I want to use my "golden ticket." I need/want a mentor, someone I can learn from, watch, and someone who will introduce me to other people. It was clear that I would become like another intern and I would have to fight my way to recognition and greater responsibility. While this is not something I haven't done before, I would rather not use my time that way for this fellowship. I think that at CNCS and MCC I will be given work promptly, and I will be able to make a difference right away. My personal fulfillment has always been based on how much I feel I am contributing and it is always the reason why I have gone above and beyond my duties. It is as if once I know I can give, I cannot stop giving. So, if I am fighting to find work and give, I will not be happy there or needed there. I also need to see results from my work and it is not clear to me that State will give me that. Even if I might be the "expert on immigration," it is unlikely that I will be able to affect immigration policy at State. I have to admit that it was very tempting as first, but that realizing how I can be happy with my work is more important that what I will write on my resume afterwards means so much more to me.

So, I hope this makes sense...it has taken me a while and is still taking me some time to reconcile the WONDERFUL opportunities the Gardner Fellowship has given me. No wrong choice, and I think I will be very happy no matter what :)

Congratulations! The email that started it all...

Date: Thu, March 11, 2010 6:38 pm

Dear Christina:

Congratulations! On behalf of the selection committee, I am delighted to offer you a John Gardner Fellowship for Public Service for 2010-11.

We were deeply impressed by your outstanding academic credentials and extraordinary record of public service. In a highly competitive year for the fellowship, you stood out from other candidates for your intellect, commitment to service, and potential for future leadership. It is our hope that the fellowship will help you to begin a career helping the neediest among us, following many other distinguished fellows before you.

I'd like to arrange a time for you to stop by tomorrow to pick up a letter with more details about the fellowship and to answer any questions you may have. In addition, I ask that you let me know whether you will be accepting the fellowship by next Wednesday, March 17.

One of the benefits of the Gardner fellowship is that you will be joining the John Gardner "family" of fellows, past and present. They form a network of accomplished people who can help you as you consider the next steps in your career. In the days to come, you may hear from current fellows and alumni who wish to offer their congratulations.

Congratulations again. I think you have an extraordinary career ahead
of you.

All the best,

AND SO IT BEGINS...