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.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Holiday Blessings
One year ago I was starting off my Christmas Break in Portland, Oregon. I had just made it home in time to miss a huge arctic blast that prevented many home-bound college students to making it home earlier than anticipated for the holidays. My dad and I were bored at home and unable to drive anywhere, so we took a walk in the snow up to a neighborhood bar about a mile away from our house. We were catching up over some beers and my dad was talking about how excited he was to see where my life was going to take me in the next year. At the time I was concentrated on starting my career right out of college. I couldn't wait the adventure to begin.
Both of my parents are former Jesuit Volunteers and were placed in the same community in a small village in Alaska. I had always been aware of the program but I wasn't sure if it were my calling or not. My college friend Jack was in the process of applying for the JVC. I was excited to hear about him applying; excited enough that I ended up starting the application myself. It felt like the right decision. When I got my placement and committed, it felt even better.
Now here I am, working as a high school program instructor at For Love of Children, helping inner city students reach their full potential in their education. I am amazed at the generosity of the staff who work here and the generous donors that allow us to keep our mission going.
I'm very grateful for the company of my fellow Jesuit Volunteers and the strong community that I live in. We've experienced many memorable moments, from orientation at Blue Ridge;
to a wacky 10 hour Halloween party in Newark; Cheese Steaks and the Christmas Party in Philadelphia; meeting vice president Joe Biden, rodent sightings in our house; late night talks, delicious meals, birthday celebrations and lots of laughs.
I look forward to many more great memories in the new year. I return home for the holidays this Friday. Merry Christmas.
Both of my parents are former Jesuit Volunteers and were placed in the same community in a small village in Alaska. I had always been aware of the program but I wasn't sure if it were my calling or not. My college friend Jack was in the process of applying for the JVC. I was excited to hear about him applying; excited enough that I ended up starting the application myself. It felt like the right decision. When I got my placement and committed, it felt even better.
Now here I am, working as a high school program instructor at For Love of Children, helping inner city students reach their full potential in their education. I am amazed at the generosity of the staff who work here and the generous donors that allow us to keep our mission going.
I'm very grateful for the company of my fellow Jesuit Volunteers and the strong community that I live in. We've experienced many memorable moments, from orientation at Blue Ridge;
to a wacky 10 hour Halloween party in Newark; Cheese Steaks and the Christmas Party in Philadelphia; meeting vice president Joe Biden, rodent sightings in our house; late night talks, delicious meals, birthday celebrations and lots of laughs.I look forward to many more great memories in the new year. I return home for the holidays this Friday. Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The vice president, news anchor contribute to the JVC
The Jesuit Volunteer Corps held a fundraiser Wednesday evening at St. Francis Hall in Washington, DC.
The JV's were invited to represent their placements. The invitation included the special guest, Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball, who was invited to deliver a talk on service. Chris served in the PeaceCorps before entering his career in politics and news. Chris' wife, Kathleen, is a former news anchor and now executive at Marriott was also attending.
The evening was getting started as expected. As we were getting instructions on how to volunteer at the event, JVC's development manager announces to us that Vice President Joe Biden would be making an appearance. Biden entered the room with grace, shaking everyone's hand, smiling and speaking with everyone that approached him. He was gracious to the JV's and our support people. He spoke on stage with his son, Hunter, wh
o served in JVC Northwest in my hometown, Portland, Ore.It was quite a thrill that evening. The JV's and I will be recalling that evening for a long time.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
A Nor'easter Storm?
"A Nor'easter storm? What's that?" Asked my community member Andrew last night at dinner. He and I are the only two community members in our house from the west coast. He had heard the term a 'nor'easter storm' on the news yesterday. Our Scranton, Penn. native housemate Lauren informed us that it means a large storm of winds coming from the North and heading down the Atlantic.
A storm is heading south, and it's a wet and windy morning in our nations capital. I try to ride my bike to work at least four times a week and because of the Oregon-like weather, this morning was one of the more difficult ones I've had since living here. It's about 1.5 miles from our JVC community house to my work, so a 10-minute ride or a 25 minute walk. DC is an easy place to commute by bike. I'll admit the first time I started riding in traffic I was a little scared, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's good exercise, allows one to get somewhere relatively quickly, and saves time and money from taking the Metro or a bus.
Last weekend my sister Maggie, who lives in Portland, made a visit to Washington, DC. It was a mini college reunion for her, she was meeting up with two of her friends in DC and also spending time with our brother Brian and I. We had lot's of fun together, including a wonderful Sunday night dinner with my JVC community. On Monday I showed Maggie my placement and we had breakfast in Adams Morgan. After I got off work we met up for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. (If you have not had Ethiopian food I highly recommend it).
It's fun living and working in such a fun city that people love to visit. I can't believe that we are nearing mid-November. Thanksgiving is just two weeks away!
A storm is heading south, and it's a wet and windy morning in our nations capital. I try to ride my bike to work at least four times a week and because of the Oregon-like weather, this morning was one of the more difficult ones I've had since living here. It's about 1.5 miles from our JVC community house to my work, so a 10-minute ride or a 25 minute walk. DC is an easy place to commute by bike. I'll admit the first time I started riding in traffic I was a little scared, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's good exercise, allows one to get somewhere relatively quickly, and saves time and money from taking the Metro or a bus.
Last weekend my sister Maggie, who lives in Portland, made a visit to Washington, DC. It was a mini college reunion for her, she was meeting up with two of her friends in DC and also spending time with our brother Brian and I. We had lot's of fun together, including a wonderful Sunday night dinner with my JVC community. On Monday I showed Maggie my placement and we had breakfast in Adams Morgan. After I got off work we met up for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. (If you have not had Ethiopian food I highly recommend it).
It's fun living and working in such a fun city that people love to visit. I can't believe that we are nearing mid-November. Thanksgiving is just two weeks away!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Visit to the Big Apple
There are a lot of great things about being a Jesuit Volunteer. But the one that stands out the most to me is the rich community I became apart our orientation in August. This weekend I traveled to New York City and visited the communities in Brooklyn and West Harlem. Friday morning I departed from Washington DC on the Megabus and around noon arrived in mid-town Manhattan. I'm familiar with the area from when I participated in an internship there during the summer of 2008.
My friend Delphine, a JV in Brooklyn, met me in Manhattan where we spent the afternoon. I took the opportunity to re-visit the staff I interned for at Fox News Channel. I interned for the business news program, "Your World w/ Neil Cavuto." I had such a positive experience interning for that staff I could not wait to return and visit with them. It was fun to return to the energy of a busy newsroom and see many of my mentors. I speak often of my experience in NY and of my internship and when we were leaving the News Corp building, Delphine said , "Now I know why you speak of this place so often." I loved my experience in television news, and after my year of serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps I plan on returning in either the capacity of either producing or reporting, or both.
Reconnecting with the Brookyln and Harlem JV's was a blast. Friday evening we went out to a fun bar in Williamsburg, Brookyln. We finished the evening eating some delicious gyros bought streetside. The next day we were tourists and walked through Central Park and Greenwich Village. In the pouring rain we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and made plans to meet up that evening with Jesuit Volunteers visiting the city from Newark. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and Sunday afternoon I returned to my community in Washington. Last night our community had two of our JV support people and Jesuit liason over for an incredible dinner prepared by our Italian cuisine queen Laura.
The start to a new week begins today - countdown to Halloween: 5 days!
My friend Delphine, a JV in Brooklyn, met me in Manhattan where we spent the afternoon. I took the opportunity to re-visit the staff I interned for at Fox News Channel. I interned for the business news program, "Your World w/ Neil Cavuto." I had such a positive experience interning for that staff I could not wait to return and visit with them. It was fun to return to the energy of a busy newsroom and see many of my mentors. I speak often of my experience in NY and of my internship and when we were leaving the News Corp building, Delphine said , "Now I know why you speak of this place so often." I loved my experience in television news, and after my year of serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps I plan on returning in either the capacity of either producing or reporting, or both.
Reconnecting with the Brookyln and Harlem JV's was a blast. Friday evening we went out to a fun bar in Williamsburg, Brookyln. We finished the evening eating some delicious gyros bought streetside. The next day we were tourists and walked through Central Park and Greenwich Village. In the pouring rain we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and made plans to meet up that evening with Jesuit Volunteers visiting the city from Newark. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and Sunday afternoon I returned to my community in Washington. Last night our community had two of our JV support people and Jesuit liason over for an incredible dinner prepared by our Italian cuisine queen Laura.
The start to a new week begins today - countdown to Halloween: 5 days!
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