We cannot make good news out of bad practice. -Edward R. Murrow

You may be aware that my VISTA placement at TCU was completed on August 28th. I have officially completed my term "serving our country." (You can thank me later) :) IT was a really great year professionally and personally, but while living below the poverty line is educational and spiritually enlightening, it is really difficult. It was a hard year making less than $800/month at an institution where some students spend my monthly pay on a pair of boots or a purse. I also struggled with the feeling that I am behind my peers as I read emails/facebook filled with wonderful life and work related updates. But I was geared up to complete a second VISTA year at TCU, because I absolutely LOVE my students and the work that I do.

In June, we got word that we would not be receiving any VISTA positions for the 2010-2011 year. I was devastated...again. I felt like...why is this happening to me? How am I going to support myself through another year long job search? Why does this happen to me?

After a long, long, loooooooooong waiting process, we got word that our department was receiving a permanent position, Community Engagement Coordinator, working with both academic and co-curricular Service-Learning programs/classes. After an interview process that beat me up more than anything, I was hired on as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Center for Community Involvement & Service-Learning at Texas Christian University on September 27, 2010.

I still LOVE the work I do and the students/faculty that I work with and am again remembering what a busy season this is for service-learning at TCU. I am looking forward to working more closely with faculty to assist them in developing/maintaining s-l courses and partnerships.

I hate to say that sometimes I feel like my value is wrapped up in what I DO, but I do feel that sometimes. It's really good to see that others value my work enough to give me this opportunity and that people appreciate the work that I do. In general, I just really enjoy doing good work.

It does feel slightly strange that for the FIRST time since 2001 (senior year of high school) I have a little extra to buy a little something that I want/need and to treat others as well. (granted, you ALL know my live simply stance, so life won't look TOO different). Anyway, its been a long time coming.

Thank you for your thoughts, laughs, prayers, concerns and support (both emotionally and sometimes financially) along the way.

Do you make a stop at Hemphill and Berry?

As part of my job I teach along with my boss a seminar (READ: class for leadership credit)called Community Action each semester. The purpose of the class is get students talking about service & leadership. This semester we have restructured the 8 week class with the first 4 weeks being exposure weeks and the last four being action weeks. Here's how the first 4 weeks break down:
1. Personal Definition of Service
2. Strengths & Community- this is a favorite of mine because we talk about not only our strengths and how they play out in community, BUT how those we serve have strengths as well---GOOD DISCUSSION HERE.
3. What about YOUR community? We brought in some folks from the United Way that do community assessment and talked about the SPECIFIC needs of Tarrant County that can be categorized as INCOME, EDUCATION, & HEALTH.
4. Exposure Day and then there is week four, a two hour class.

For this class, we told students that we would be doing an agency visit and tour, but what we DIDN'T tell them was that we would be taking the city bus! Transportation is one of the issues the United Way discussed, so we gave them some route sheets (right and wrong) and gave them some time to figure out how to get there, transfers and all.



The students made some great observations about the experience of regular bus riders and the difficulties in navigating that system. We even learned some things from some fellow passengers. The visit at Catholic Charities was great because the group learned A LOT about refugee services and some global issues. Friends, THIS is why I do what I do. Man, I love seeing people think and learn. What a great day!

I am looking forward to the second half of the semester as we discuss ways to take action and who is already taking action. We are also requiring 3 hours of service with a local agency. I'm hoping students volunteer at Catholic Charities and maybe take the bus a little more and burst that TCU bubble.

Reflections on my first week on the job..

As you can tell, I have officially started work at TCU and I've good the faculty/staff car decal to prove it. What a whirlwind week! Even though it has been kind of crazy, it has been SO GREAT to get back in the higher ed working groove. My first day was Tuesday and I already had meetings to go to which was really energizing and great to meet some people. My supervisor couldn't be more kind and welcoming. I have printed out a TCU map and hung it in my office and I am highlighting buildings as I learn what they are and how to get there. This, my friends, is called motivation. :)

I have been eating nothing but oatmeal and vegetarian chili until I get some money for groceries and I was getting a little lonely without usual friends and cable, so when my friend, Matt, popped into town on Wednesday for a meeting- I was THRILLED that he decided to stay and take me to dinner. As I drove there, I discovered how close work REALLY is to downtown and it blew my mind that I could just GO to these places on a whim. Thanks Matt, for the beers, food, and good conversation. How cool when friends pop in just when you need them.



This week, I met some student leaders, decided that I am really going to like working with KAte (the other VISTA), had lunch in the caf every day, taught my first Community Action class, got to bounced ideas off my supervisor, learned some website things, and "may" have worked out a negotion with a colleague to trade my solid purple chairs for his polka dot chairs. In addition to the work I will be doing in my office, I will also get to work with the sophomore transistions team, women's programing, and be a staff partner for a connections class (first year experience). How great!

Oh, and I met a couple of people to hang out with that I have some things in common with. So pretty much a good week.

I'm graduating!!!!

SO, now that the papers and exams are FINALLY complete- I can breathe AND blog.
I am about to be a MASTER. My plan- get a job and buy myself a pipe to celebrate. (You just SEEM like a Master when you're smoking a pipe.)

Here's the skinny- I graduate May 17th from Baylor University with a MSed in Student Affairs Administration. I passed my comprehensive case study on the first go round (My cohort was the first in Baylor history to all pass on the first round.)

Job search:
I have been on two on campus interviews. One of those decisions is still pending while the other gave me the boot.
I have a phone interview scheduled for next week and another on campus interview scheduled for the week after graduation. Plus I am applying-applying-applying!!!


Prayer:
Please pray that I finish my assistantship with integrity (I have 7 hours left).
Please pray that I find a part time job in the interim, because I have bills to pay AND my student loans start again.
Please pray that God allows me to find a position that utilizes my strengths and allows me to be financially secure and helps me to be developed as a professional.


Let me know if there is any praying I can do for you.

Suddenly I see, this is what I want to be...

If only it was that easy. The job search has begun. I am nearly finished with my resume wrinting and I am completely overwhelmed by the job hunt process. It's like going to Walmart for groceries- so many options!!!

I have been looking at so many online postings that my eyes hurt. My computer is sick of seeing my face. Here's the view from my laptops end: (curtesy of my new computer's webcam)

Boo, job hunting is not good for my appearance.




Anyway, here are some options that I am considering.

I am looking into a New Student Programs job in Jackson, TN, a few Multicultural Affairs positions elsewhere in the country, and a Director of Student Ministries position with the International Justice Mission in washington, D.C.


I will be interviewing for positions (other than the ones above) in Boston in March so I need to get a few tailored resumes posted. Of course, honoring tradition- my resume will be posted on my door with a note, "Hire me, please!" until I am hired.

Please pray as I continue to try to to be faithful to my calling. I realy need to take the next week to limit my search nonnegotiables. Thus far my only requirements are the ability to live at a standard of living one notch above "graduate student" and still be able to agressively pay off my student loans. (Agressively=10 years, ha)

If you see any jobs that scream my name, quickly tell them to lower their voices, and pass them along to me.

Coming soon: Thirty Things Thursday times two.

A Visit to the World Hunger Farm

On Thursday morning I got a chance to visit the World Hunger Farm right outside of Waco. I spent the some time touring the farm and then I was invited to stay and eat lunch with the interns. Some of my students and I are going to spend a night at the farm November 30 participating in a hunger simulation.
The World Hunger Farm is an intentional Christian community that is(taken from mission statement)committed to the alleviation of hunger around the world. God calls us to:

* Train individuals in holistic ministry that equips them to work with communities in developing sustainable farming techniques
* Educate those with an economic abundance on methods of conserving and sharing resources
* Participate in local and international sustainable development programs

Our philosophy . . .

is to live simply, helping those who struggle to meet their basic needs by sharing and investing in others what God has given to us

At the hunger simulation, 11 of my students and I will have the opportunity to sleep in a one room building with no plumbing or electricity, use a homemade composting toilet, farm and cook our own food, shower with collected rainwater, etc. The facilities we use are just like what you would find in impoverished Nicaragua.

That night the rest of my organization we be invited to the farm to participate in a Hunger Banquet, where each participant is given an identity of someone around the world. About three people will get to eat steak (upper class) at a table while some eat a nice meal of beans and rice, and then others will sit at the floor and share a small bowl of rice, etc. What a great way to bring it home.
Participate in your own virtual hunger banquet where you "choose your own adventure" at The Hunger Banquet Website

Exposing myself and students to the ways of the world is so important to me. It is so important to bear the burdens of the body of Christ, wherever they are in the world. It is also so important for us (the rich) to be at least a little more responsible with all the "extras" we have. I mean, really, it is so easy to recycle, for example.

I think as Christians, rather as people, we have the responsibility to complicate ourselves by exposing ourselves to critical issues and to think critically about how these things affect the way we live our everyday lives. The learning outcomes that I have established for my students go a little something like this:
To understand the interdependency of all people and establish a commitment to be a local, national, and global neighbor.
and
To be able to articulat critical issues facing leaders today and be able to identify practical ways in which we can address these issues now and in the future of our vocation/calling.

These are things that we cannot ignore as we live are normal lives in Waco, Jackson, Clarksville, Germany, Denver, New York, LA, Russia, Asia, Canada.

The more I know Christ and the way he interacts with me, the more responsibility I have to interact with his people in the same way of grace and compassion. Essentially we are called to die for our fellow man, just as Christ died. Even if we are not willing to do that, the least we can do is stop spitting in their faces by taking all our privilege for granted.

A friend once told me that America is poor, blind, and stupid. I agree. The only way we can truly see is if we rip away from ourselves all of the things we collect in order to hide ourselves from the true freedom we were meant to experience.

I'm not sure how I am supposed to do this, but I think spending the night on a cold concrete floor with 11 18-19 year olds is a start. I have a feeling that on November 30, the 12 of us will be fuller than we have ever been.

World Hunger Relief Website
World Hunger Farm Blog