Taking on a new role

I just found out last week that my internship may be shifting to more of a research fellow position, which I am very excited about. Everything is still in the very beginning stages so nothing is certain yet. But apparently the foundation is starting to help develop the strategy to move ASU in to the next phase of The Challenges campaign. The Challenges was a very innovative project that helped to inform the public that ASU is determined to tackle the major "challenges" of our time, which include the areas of education, technology, communities, sustainability, economic opportunity, healthy lives, human rights, and understanding the past and present for the sake of our future. The next phase is going to focus on how ASU is providing The Solutions and addressing some of these issues. Over the next couple months I will slowly transition from my current responsibilities over to a research and support role for this new project. I think it will incredibly interesting and I looking forward to working with impressive group of people that will be involved.

Stuff to do before break

I can't express how excited I am to go on a little break from work and school next week. On Wednesday evening my girlfriend and I are flying out to spend Christmas with her family in Minnesota. We also have a bunch of friends from college that live in Minneapolis so it will be fun to see all of them. Before I leave however, I have a few things to finish up with at work. There is huge invitation mailing going out for a conversation with President Crow at the Tempe Center for the Arts so I'm sure I will spend a lot of time stuffing envelopes this week. I am also working on putting together a family tree of the Fulton family - as most may know they are the family that made the Fulton Teacher's College and Fulton School of Engineering possible. One of the gift officers thought it would be helpful to have all of the information such as birthdays, ages and children's names of the Fultons so I'll have to spend a lot of time doing research. Then, I'll be working on doing the final drafts of the CASE award entries so I can get them sent in before I leave. It will be a busy week, but at least it will be a short one!

Food Drive

The office has been having a pretty heated food drive contest over the past month. The Foundation was divided into several teams and which ever team brought in the most food items won a free breakfast - a highly sought after prize. Combining a large group of already generous and charitable people with a competitive element made for an exciting contest. We had a few captains that collected money and when out shopping to find the best deals they could. Many huge boxes of Ramen noodles were purchased to say the least. It looked like we were leading the whole time  but then on the last day some of the other teams literally wheeled in their food items on large dollies. Our team ended up coming in third I think, but together be brought in over a couple thousand food items to help out those in need.

Agency Review

Last week I started to volunteer for the Tempe Community Council's (TCC) Agency Review. I heard about this opportunity almost a year ago when I was interviewing a manager at TCC for another class. I had asked about the skills necessary to be a successful non-profit manager and he said that proposal and grant writing was huge and that I should take advantage of every chance I have to get experience in that area. He told me to stay on the lookout for the next Agency Review. The Agency Review is process that allows citizens of Tempe to have a say as to which local non-profits should receive public grants. Over the course of the next couple weeks I will review between 4 to 10 proposals from various Tempe non-profit agencies. I believe 35 agencies have submitted 55 proposals so far this year asking for around $1.3 million. I get to read through the proposals, fill out an evaluation and formulate questions to ask the agencies that I'm reviewing. Then, in February I get to sit down with a panel of other volunteers who have reviewed the same agencies and we get to have representatives of the agencies answer our questions. Last year, the city council went along with every one of the recommendations from the Agency Review. It's very cool process and I am excited to be apart of it and to learn more about proposals.

CASE Awards

Recently, I have been working on putting together a couple entries for CASE awards for the foundation.  CASE stands for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and they give out awards for best practices in various areas of university advancement such as fundraising, marketing, training, etc...In order to be considered for an award, a school must submit an entry that describes the program and why it is special or innovative. My supervisor came to me a while back and told me that she thought two of our departments, the Parents Association and the Office of Estate and Gift Planning, deserved CASE awards. She told me to take point on the project which meant doing the research for what was required, writing the entries and submitting all materials. It was interesting getting to know more about each of the departments and finding out what made each of them unique and how they demonstrated innovation. We're in the final stages of the submission process now. I've written drafts of the entries up and my supervisors are reviewing them. Everything is due by the end of next week.

Zoo Lights

We had our work holiday party at Zoo Lights last night. Unfortunately I was late because my girlfriend and I attended her work party first. It was my first time going to Zoo Lights so I didn't realize how packed it would be. After finally finding a place to park, we made our way through the zoo and checked out all the light exhibits on the way which were pretty neat. When we got to the tent where the foundation party was, everybody had already left and all the food was gone! I wish we had gotten there earlier because it was a great venue for a party. It was down this long road that was closed off to the rest of visitors and in this open area with a giant fire pit and tents set up for food, drinks and even arts and crafts for kids. We were lucky enough that they hadn't closed the bar up yet, so we grabbed a drink and sat by the fire for a little bit before going back and checking out the rest of the zoo. Fun night overall, but I wish we had made it there earlier so I could have introduced my girlfriend to all the great people I work with.

American Dream Academy

I thought I would use an entry to talk about the organization that my girlfriend works for. She is a program manager for the American Dream Academy (ADA) which is run out of ASU's Center for Community Development and Human Rights. ADA is a parent outreach program that aims to equip parents with the tools they need to get more involved in their children's education. Many parents do not have experience in a formal school environment or come from different countries so they face many barriers from becoming active participants in their children's education. ADA places special emphasis on the importance of obtaining a college degree. ADA has partnered with over 150 schools throughout metro Phoenix. Volunteer facilitators hold classes for groups of parents from each school. Upon completion of the program parents attend a graduation ceremony. Last Friday I was able to attend one of these graduations for the first time and see my girlfriend in action as well as the impact the program has for families. Thew Elementary had about 150 parents participate and graduate from the program, so it was a packed house. My girlfriend was the MC and led the entire event in both Spanish and English - pretty impressive to watch. Parents received their certificates and watched as a procession of their children marched in. Not very many dry eyes in the house. It was a proud day for all, including myself because I was able to see the amazing work that my girlfriend and ADA perform in the community every day.