Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture

After Her Chicago Internship Program: Michelle’s Apprentice Highlights

Michelle Bess, LearnChicago! Coordinator

The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college.  More than a job it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.

The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program.  It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center.  This month Michelle Bess, LearnChicago! Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center.

“My name is Michelle Bess and I am currently the LearnChicago! Coordinator here at the Chicago Center.  I am originally from Lakewood, Washington, 45 minutes South of Seattle in the Great Northwest!  I graduated in May with a B.A. in biology from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.

I attended the Chicago Center my sophomore year of college during Jan Term of 2007.  I came to Chicago to experience the city, do an internship, and have an adventure, but I was scared, I didn’t even know if I was up for any of those things, I had no idea what I was getting into or what to expect.  I never would have imagined that I could learn and change so much in just 3 weeks.

I was placed at Lawndale Christian Health Center and worked as a temporary Medical Assistant in pediatrics.  I loved my placement so much.  I was able to take the kids vitals, work in medical records, follow doctors and nurses around, sit in on appointments and procedures, read to patients in the waiting room, and provide parents with reading material regarding their kid’s growth progress.  Being at Lawndale was such a fantastic experience because the people that worked there really seemed to believe in the mission of “show and share the love of Jesus by promoting wellness and providing quality, affordable health care.”  I had never worked in a place where everyone seemed to embrace the organization’s mission statement and live it out daily.

I loved my experience in Chicago because I was able to experience so much diversity in many different ways, ethnically, religiously, and intellectually.  Making the city my classroom was so much fun, it allowed me to truly enjoy and fully engage in my learning experience, I was able to go out to explore the city and learn from a person’s firsthand experience about what we were studying instead of from a text book.  Hearing the people’s voices, seeing their passion, and feeling their emotion caused me to care so much more deeply about each topic and really consider how it affected me personally.

Although I learned a lot from the classes and the people that we met I think I learned the most about myself.  I gained so much confidence in myself and my abilities, by learning the public transportation system, living in an apartment with other students, and cooking on my own.  In fact, learning how to ride the CTA gave me the skills to navigate around London and Thailand all by myself!  I also came face to face with some of my own prejudices.  It was one of the most incredible times for me, because of how much self searching I had to do.  I had to examine the way I felt and looked at the world.  I had to admit that I had flaws and needed to work on them…quite a humbling experience.

Going back to Spokane after a month in Chicago was the biggest culture shock I have ever experienced.  So two years later I am back in Chicago because, I loved it.  I experienced a life that was so different from what I was used to, my beliefs and thoughts were challenged, I was pushed to think in ways I never had before.  I came back to work for the Center to have that experience again and to help create programs that encourage students to do the same.

As the LearnChicago! Coordinator I organize the short term learning trips for some of our college partners.  If a professor wants to provide their students with a more hands on experience of what they are learning in class, they are able to bring them to Chicago and we at the Chicago Center put together a schedule that plugs them into communities and people that are directly involved with their topic of study.  I have the most awesome job, I have been able to see the city in a different way than even most residents do, I venture to all kinds of neighborhoods and hear the rich histories of each, meet community activists, go to plays and spoken word events, and learn about all the fantastic resources that the city has to offer.  I love it.

My contract at the Chicago Center is up in August and truthfully after that I’m not sure what I want to do next.  However, if I’ve learned anything from moving two thousand miles away from home by myself, I’ve learned that I AM up for the adventure and I am capable of doing so much more than what I could ever have imagined.  So, I don’t know what my next job will be, but I’m willing to go anywhere in the world and try just about anything!”

We’d like to thank Michelle for telling us about her experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!