Posts Tagged ‘Apprentice Staff Highlights’
July 8th, 2011
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 Megan Crawford, LearnChicago! Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center:
“I can’t believe it’s already my turn to write an Apprentice blog! That means our time as employees of Chicago Center is almost over. I have some amazing experiences as the LearnChicago! Program Coordinator. I have had a blast working with so many great colleges and diverse groups. I’ve loved participating in the programs and learning along with the students. I’ve been challenged and encouraged to take autonomy of my position, and my own abilities and career goals have, undoubtedly, been strengthened. Truthfully, I have loved every part of the past year and it still seems surreal that I get paid to work with such a fantastic group of individuals.
The Center is an amazing organization and, if anything, this year has showed me that it serves a different role for everyone. Each student finds something unique within its pedagogy. Some find answers to personal struggles within their class discussions; some find their vocation through internships; others arrive in the big city and find their future home. Regardless of the form it takes, each student who attends Chicago Center finds one thing: transformation.
Truthfully, I applied to the Apprenticeship program with very selfish reasons. I was at a point in my life where I needed change and I wanted to live in a city where I would be accepted. I wanted a job that would let me transform, both professionally and personally – and it has.
Chicago Center has become like family; it has given me the courage to start over, the confidence to live openly, and a supportive environment in which to question my beliefs. We are all different: not everyone on staff necessarily loves Barack Obama, holds the same religious beliefs, or even thinks the White Sox are God’s gift to baseball. But those differences [except maybe disliking the White Sox] are encouraged.
In my opinion, that’s the best part of Chicago Center and the highlight of my position as LearnChicago! Program Coordinator. I have been able to witness how the programs and activities I’ve planned have affected dozens of students. Whatever the class and wherever state they’re from, there’s always at least one student who voices how Chicago transforms him. I have seen so many students come to this city and find a community that meets their needs and interests and, for the first time, feel a certain acceptance. I’ve watched students face their fear of living, working, and navigating big cities and discover an independence they hadn’t thought possible. Some just leave with a more open mind and a better understanding of the world around them. I am so grateful to have been a part of it.
In one of his all-staff emails, Scott Chesebro, our venerated Executive Director, described a recent political change as “an affirmation of the value of inclusion in dialogue and of the recognition of the human experience of difference.” To me, this speaks to the heart of the Center. This program allows students to express and embrace the most important, and often vastly unique, parts of them. And, fortunately for me, it allows staff members to do the same.
So thanks, Chicago Center: hopefully the new Apprentices find their year on staff just as transformative as we did.”
We’d like to thank Megan for telling us about her experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!
June 3rd, 2011
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 Okwara Uzoh, Marketing and Public Relations coordinator talks about his experience with Chicago Center:
“When I first came to the United States at the age of nine, I landed at O’Hare airport. The first American soil I touched was Chicago soil. My first passport came from Chicago. The second zoo I ever went to was in Chicago, and the first play I ever went to in a big city was at the Goodman Theatre when I was in 11th grade. Notice a trend here? So, although I lived only two hours away from Chicago in the little town of Berrien Springs for nine years out of my life, I had always wanted to experience the real Chicago. Yes, I had been downtown, been a tourist, saw the big city as an immigrant, and all that jazz, but I’d never gotten to explore the ‘real’ Chicago on my own.
The opportunity came when Emily Nelson and Tiffanie Beatty came to my Intermediate Acting class during my junior year of college. I was already looking for an internship to do following my junior of college and when I found out that Alma College had an off-campus Chicago program, I was hooked. Tiff and Emily caught me at the most opportune time; this was the moment I had been waiting for all my life – to actually live in Chicago and explore.
Being the college student I am, I rushed to get all my documents in the day before it was due. I did not want to miss this window. The year flew by quickly and summer 2008 rolled around. I was driving along with my friends Kristin and Beth in an SUV to experience something that I was not ready for. I can’t even begin to describe this feeling. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I finally arrived and ran into Scott, who directed me to the Drexel apartments. I got to my room, unpacked my belongings, breathed a sigh of relief and embraced that I was finally here. I was about to live in Chicago for the best two months of my life.
During my two months in Chicago, I had so many amazing experiences. I tried new foods and met different people — even some who had the same experiences I did as an immigrant. I attended multiple festivals and saw Snoop Dogg and 311 perform live. I went to my first baseball game, was exposed to tons of important issues others weren’t even aware of, and put myself out there to experience the real Chicago.
The Center challenged me on a lot of things, but there’s one that sticks out: my identity.
My identity. I always thought of myself as two things: Nigerian and black. Yes, I have black skin and I have all the attributes of being a black person in America, but I am a purebred Nigerian at heart. That is something I never took into consideration until I saw how segregated the city of Chicago is. It was staring me right in the face. I would be riding the bus on the south side with African Americans, but I never felt the part of being an African American. I speak, dress, and carry myself differently. I like rock music more than rap. I don’t fit all the stereotypes of your typical African American. I came to terms that I am a Nigerian. I am proud of my identity. The more I came to terms with it, the more I did research about my country and talked to my parents about the history of my country. I also went back home and made it my goal to learn how to speak my language, Igbo.
Thanks to all of the things I was exposed to, I was sad to leave this wonderful city. I had always wanted to live in a big city again after growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. Chicago felt like home. I didn’t know how I was going to end up here. As I was giving Scott a hug on wrap up, I stated, “I should be an apprentice.” He gave me the ‘Scott laugh’ (which all of you know) and said, “Apply and see what happens.” I nodded and said, “Yes.” Two years flew by and I applied for the apprenticeship program and got the job as the Marketing and P.R. Coordinator.
During my time as an apprentice, I have continued to add on from where I left off after my term as a student. I know the behind-the-scenes work of what went into my term as a summer student. It’s a lot of work. We have a small staff, but we get a lot of objectives accomplished. I have been able to use my computer knowledge in the office. I was able to help organize the 40th Anniversary, which turned out to be a great event. To see all the work that was put into a huge event and have such a great result was rewarding. I have also been able to meet resources that other classes participated in. The list goes on and on about the opportunities I have had as an apprentice. There’s still more to come with the amount of time I have left in my position.
I have been grateful for the chance to come back and be an apprentice and bring some of my ideas to the table as a Chicago Center staff member. I continue to explore this great city for what it has to offer. Some of it includes having Teyonda showing me the great deals on restaurants.com, Groupon and Poggled; I’ve experienced everything from baseball games and the Bears almost going to the Super Bowl to Rahm winning the mayoral election. There has been so much going on that I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for being in the city at this time. I continue to grow as a person being in this position and continue to learn from all the people around me.”
We’d like to thank Okwara for telling us about his experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!
October 28th, 2010
Ben Cook, Housing 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 Ben Cook, Housing Coordinator talks about his experience with Chicago Center:
“My name is Ben Cook and I am the new Housing Coordinator at Chicago Center. One of the great things about studying at Chicago Center is the group living arrangement at our new Boulevard building, here in Hyde Park. Students experience firsthand life in a diverse, urban environment while they participate in academic internships, student teaching programs or social work practicums. My job is to be a group living resource and support for students, to help ensure that every student gets the most out of his or her time spent living in Chicago.
I came to Chicago Center in the Fall of 2009 in part because I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and to experience life in a big city. More importantly, I came because I studied Sociology at my university and I found it fascinating, but abstract – it was disconnected from my experience. My semester at Chicago Center was the most important part of my college education because it gave life to those academic concepts and ideas which I found so interesting. It’s one thing to read about gentrification; it’s something very different to meet a community organizer who is actively trying to protect thier neighborhood’s way of life. It’s one thing to study how immigration law affects immigrants; it’s something very different to have conversations with friends and family of undocumented workers who live in constant fear of deportation. For a whole semester, I regularly met people who are on the front lines, fighting misunderstanding and intolerance. The best part: Chicago Center watered nothing down.
But Chicago Center had a profound impact on me for another reason as well. It introduced me to Renee, the amazing, beautiful woman who would become my wife. Renee came to Chicago to participate in the student teaching program. She and I hit it off right away during the intense week of orientation activities. We love to reminisce about our first memories together – all of them at Chicago Center events: the Latin American Music Festival, the Chicago Architecture Tour, Barrel of Monkeys… Renee had an incredibly rewarding experience student teaching choir at two schools in Chicago Public Schools during her semester here. It’s safe to say that we are both very appreciative of Chicago Center. After my year as an apprentice, we hope to stay involved as alumni and friends of the Center.”
We’d like to thank Ben for telling us about his experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!
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February 16th, 2010
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. Read More
December 14th, 2009
Emilie Lewandowski, Marketing and Public Relations 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 Emilie Lewandowski, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center.
“Hi! I’m Emilie, one of the current apprentices at Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture. I graduated in May from Eastern Michigan University, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. I am originally from Lexington, Michigan, a very small town on Lake Huron. It has been an exciting road that has led me to where I am today – Chicago!
In the summer of 2008, I attended Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture as an Urban Academic Student. During that time, I had an internship at Apna Ghar Inc., a domestic violence agency focused on serving the South Asian population in Chicago. I chose this internship because it offered me an experience I could not get in my home town. In my time at Apna Ghar, I learned how non-profit organizations operate and the obstacles that they face. I learned how to work and communicate effectively as minority. I also realized a lot about the injustices in our society, and how much I wanted to be a part of fixing that. Working at Apna Ghar provided me with invaluable experiences for my future, and it also helped me focus on finding direction in my own life. Read More
