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!
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
January 29th, 2007
As part of a five-day LearnChicago! program to explore poverty and community, Ball State University students met with Prexy Nesbitt (center) to frame a discussion about issues of poverty in Chicago and worldwide. Prexy is also a recognized expert on race relations in the United States and South Africa.
January 18th, 2007
Whitworth College of Spokane, Washington spent three days with us as part of their three-week long Prejudice Across America Tour. Their LearnChicago! Program included hearing Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP, a visit to the DuSable Museum of African American History, a visit to Devon Street, a port-of-entry for the Indian and Pakistani communities in Chicago, a South Side Tour, a Mexican Murals tour, blues music, a play, a tour of the Puerto Rican community and a visit to the Cambodian American Heritage Museum.
The images below were taken at the Cambodian American Heritage Museum, where tour guide Ms. Chris Olsen introduced students to Cambodian history and the legacy of the Killing Fields. Students also met with Mr. Kompha Seth, Exectutive Director of the Cambodian Association of Illinois and a survivor of the Killing Fields.
January 16th, 2007
Chicago Center Apprentice Joe Taylor reflects on his experience with Whitworth College’s LearnChicago program. The program took place over King Day weekend, and included many events that celebrated the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Today I had the chance, with students from Whitworth College LearnChicago Program, to attend Rockerfeller Memorial Chapel to hear Mr. Julian Bond speak. Hearing him speak was especially moving for me because not only was he a founder of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Atlanta, he is currently the Chairman of the NAACP. Mr. Bond touches on many of the issues and causes which were dear to Marting Luther King Jr. but also brought more recent events into perspective such as Katrina.
Mr Bond also called attention to the fact that is not unpatriotic to question your government; it is in fact your job to question the government during times of war. He gave a moving speech which brought the audience to their feet in applause.
It was great to be a part of this special event, right here in Hyde Park, and give students from outside of Chicago a glimpse of what is so important to us here in the city.”
December 6th, 2006
This Fall, 13 students from the University of Notre Dame Multicultural Center spent a week with Chicago Center. From their first day of a Gospel Mass, Greek Lunch and Live Jazz, to learning CTA, visiting the American Indian Center, seeing amazing plays and touring Chicago neighborhoods, we gave them what one student called “one of the best weekends of my life!”
The students made a video of their experiences in the city. You can view the video here: Diverse City
Comments from some of the participating students:
“I feel I am much more knowledgeable about the ‘real’ Chicago. Only having visited Michigan Avenue, I never realized the city was so rich culturally. If I ever decide to go back to Chicago, it won’t be to go shopping, it will be to eat a great meal at the Nile Restaurant and catch some spoken word at Cafe Nine 17.”
“People fear the unknown. Before this seminar, I didn’t know a thing about Chicago’s neighborhoods. I would not have felt comfortable landing just anywhere in the city and knowing how to handle myself. After a week riding trains and buses to every part of the city, I almost felt at home. What I learned in Chicago wasn’t something you could draw on a map, point to in a statistic, or even cite in a paper. I learned about other people and that they are not so different from you and me.”
“Anyone can benefit from this program, because no matter how much you think you know about race, culture, or socioeconomic issues, the people themselves are the most important. By visiting Chicago, you step out of the text book, away from the statistics, and into the lives of real people.”
“The city is much larger, more complicated, more vibrant and with far more struggles & challenges than I imagined before….Analyzing is good, but I need to remind myself that there is reality behind it. I had assumptions about the way things work, which are wrong. I also realized that I CAN fit into a city.”
