It was an exciting evening in Washington on Wednesday. I had planned on watching Obama's state of the union address at home with my community. We don't watch too much TV, except for some news and a couple of sitcoms throughout the week. I haven't missed TV as much as I thought I would, as it gives me more reasons to read and watch movies with my community.
On Tuesday, I found out the staff that I interned for at Fox News Channel was going to be in DC convering the state of the union address. In the summer of 2008, I interned for Neil Cavuto and his staff of his 4 pm business show, "Your World w/ Cavuto."
I got in touch with the staff and they invited me to come visit them at the Newseum where they were broadcasting from on Pennsylvania Avenue. I stayed around for the evening, helping greet guests, deliver research, run cue-cards to the producers, etc. The staff produced three shows that evening that aired on Fox Business at 6, 8, and right after the address until 11pm. Guests on the shows included former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, former attorney general John Ashcroft, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, and Tennessee congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. It was wonderful meeting all of them on such a historic evening. Around 8:35 pm, we watched the presidential motorcade travel down Pennsylvania Ave.
Catching up with Neil and his producers was great. They were a wonderful staff to work for and I am very grateful to have kept in touch and to have them as my mentors.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Re-Oriented: Mid-year reflection in the JVC
This weekend the 87 Jesuit Volunteers on the east coast gathered outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania for our re-orientation. This is the first time all of us have been together since our orientation retreat in mid-August.
At the end of this month, we will have reached our half-way point in our year of service. The weekend allowed us to re-evaluate our commitment to the values in the JVC. A majority of the retreat was focused on social justice/Catholic social teaching. The discussions were led by a Jesuit priest from Houston, Fr. Fred Krammer, SJ. One of the most valuable parts of the weekend was having discussions with my apostolate group members who are also working in education placements. Many of our stories matched as we witness many of the same struggles in the education system: Poverty, lack of parent involvement, conflicts in the family, learning differences, and limited resources in our non-profits. These discussions have helped me become more energized about my placement and the remaining six months in the JVC.
This weekend also helped me get reinforced about the four values of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and how my community and I continue to live them:
Simple living: Living off a stipend. The majority of my pay check goes towards rent, utilities, and community food money. Personally I am allotted $85 in spending money. We refrain from using cable TV, subscribing to the Internet, buying expensive food, etc.
Community: Living with four other Jesuit Volunteers and embracing one another's experiences. Nightly dinners, weekly spirituality and community nights. Supporting one another through the struggles and needs of one another. Staying in touch with the greater east coast JVC communities.
Spirituality: Having open discussions about our spiritual lives and how they are integrated into our year of service. We take turns leading spirituality nights; attend Mass regularly. I have been bi-monthly participating in spiritual direction with a local Jesuit.
Social Justice: This year I am working at For Love of Children as an evening high school instructor and assisting with our college scholarship program. The goal is to make college and other post-secondary school programs available to the inner-city at-risk youth that participate in our program.
Re-Orientation was a wonderful experience that allowed me to recognize that challenges that I have been faced with this year and the gratitude that I have for my community, placement, and city that I live in.
At the end of this month, we will have reached our half-way point in our year of service. The weekend allowed us to re-evaluate our commitment to the values in the JVC. A majority of the retreat was focused on social justice/Catholic social teaching. The discussions were led by a Jesuit priest from Houston, Fr. Fred Krammer, SJ. One of the most valuable parts of the weekend was having discussions with my apostolate group members who are also working in education placements. Many of our stories matched as we witness many of the same struggles in the education system: Poverty, lack of parent involvement, conflicts in the family, learning differences, and limited resources in our non-profits. These discussions have helped me become more energized about my placement and the remaining six months in the JVC.
This weekend also helped me get reinforced about the four values of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and how my community and I continue to live them:
Simple living: Living off a stipend. The majority of my pay check goes towards rent, utilities, and community food money. Personally I am allotted $85 in spending money. We refrain from using cable TV, subscribing to the Internet, buying expensive food, etc.
Community: Living with four other Jesuit Volunteers and embracing one another's experiences. Nightly dinners, weekly spirituality and community nights. Supporting one another through the struggles and needs of one another. Staying in touch with the greater east coast JVC communities.
Spirituality: Having open discussions about our spiritual lives and how they are integrated into our year of service. We take turns leading spirituality nights; attend Mass regularly. I have been bi-monthly participating in spiritual direction with a local Jesuit.
Social Justice: This year I am working at For Love of Children as an evening high school instructor and assisting with our college scholarship program. The goal is to make college and other post-secondary school programs available to the inner-city at-risk youth that participate in our program.
Re-Orientation was a wonderful experience that allowed me to recognize that challenges that I have been faced with this year and the gratitude that I have for my community, placement, and city that I live in.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
2010 in the JVC
I returned to my placement a couple of weeks ago after taking some time off for Christmas break. To celebrate the holidays, I returned to my hometown of Lake Oswego, Ore. It was a nice time of the year to return to the Pacific Northwest. No snow to come home to this year; less exhaustion since I was not recovering from a series of final exams, and certainly a different feel at home than long extended Christmas breaks I had in college.
I had a chance to catch up with a lot of friends from home, many of us which I recent college grads going down different paths whether it be continuing school, starting a career, or volunteering. My family and I had a nice holiday and celebrated with our normal traditions. We spent a couple of days in Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon with friends of ours who have a house down there.
On my return to the east coast, I stopped in one of my favorite places in the world: New York City. Several of the Jesuit Volunteers traveled to Harlem to ring in 2010 together. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the holiday but in a festive city with such a great group of people. The next day I returned to Washington DC via the Mega Bus. I came home to housemates Andrew and Rachel who were already home. It was nice to have a couple of days to settle in and gear up for work to begin. Laura and Lauren returned to DC the following Sunday.
It's great to be back to Washington DC. Visitors are always a pleasure to have. A visit from teachers from both high school and college have been a nice treat since our return.
All of the east coast Jesuit Volunteers head to Re-Orientation this weekend. I look forward to re-connecting with many people and seeing what it's all about.
I had a chance to catch up with a lot of friends from home, many of us which I recent college grads going down different paths whether it be continuing school, starting a career, or volunteering. My family and I had a nice holiday and celebrated with our normal traditions. We spent a couple of days in Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon with friends of ours who have a house down there.
On my return to the east coast, I stopped in one of my favorite places in the world: New York City. Several of the Jesuit Volunteers traveled to Harlem to ring in 2010 together. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the holiday but in a festive city with such a great group of people. The next day I returned to Washington DC via the Mega Bus. I came home to housemates Andrew and Rachel who were already home. It was nice to have a couple of days to settle in and gear up for work to begin. Laura and Lauren returned to DC the following Sunday.
It's great to be back to Washington DC. Visitors are always a pleasure to have. A visit from teachers from both high school and college have been a nice treat since our return.
All of the east coast Jesuit Volunteers head to Re-Orientation this weekend. I look forward to re-connecting with many people and seeing what it's all about.
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