Daily Archives: June 3, 2019

A Summer Sanctuary by Alyssa Trinko

Flowers. Flowers all around me. Shades of pink and lavender. Little did I know these were the petals of milkweed: the native plant to Indianapolis that provides monarch butterflies with a sanctuary in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was golden hour. I felt the warm, gritty surface of the bench upon which I rested as I gazed at the luscious greenery surrounding me.

Before I sat down to catch my breath, I had spent one hour driving around Kroger searching for parking — desperately trying to navigate my way through the one-way streets. I struggled to decide what groceries to buy. “What will I cook for dinner tonight?” I thought. “What will I cook for dinner the rest of the week?” I was exhausted, and I was overwhelmed. I had just finished my first day of interning in the city.

As exciting as change can be, it can also be quite daunting. I have spent nine days in Indianapolis, living on IUPUI’s campus and working at the Harrison Center, and I feel much more confident now. The first few days were pretty challenging. While an internship experience is about growing as a professional, it is also about learning to stand on your own two feet. Grocery shopping, cooking, and commuting to work play a big role, of course. Self-discipline, hurdling obstacles, and feeling comfortable with uncertainty, though, are parts of the story, too. With the support from my roommates and a little (okay, a LOT) of perseverance, I have successfully survived my first week in a new city.

And I could not be happier. This summer I am a Creative Placemaking Intern at the Harrison Center, which is a non-profit organization “for the arts” and “for the city.” The Center focuses on renewal, anti-gentrification, and building healthy communities in Indianapolis through “cultural solutions: art, music, education, and grassroots activism.” It has been amazing to see firsthand all of the incredible work the staff and resident artists are doing here, and it is even more thrilling to be a part of it. Here is a video that might give you a better idea of the work we do: https://vimeo.com/299053006

As a Creative Placemaking Intern, I will contribute to and lead art projects that are based in concepts of place, which means the history and culture of long-term neighbors and neighborhoods on Indianapolis’ North Side. Through these projects, we hope to preserve their traditions and bring new Indy neighbors into their stories instead of erasing them. I am looking forward to writing blogs, making photographs and storytelling, organizing events, and building community with the wonderful neighbors in Indianapolis.

Just as the monarch butterfly starts its life journey as a curious caterpillar, it always finds its way to becoming the beautiful creature it is meant to be. I, myself, feel much like the monarch — in search of sanctuary, nourishment, and growth, as I prepare my wings for flight. And Indianapolis seems to be the perfect place.

Coming to Chicago by Ty Snarr

Coming to Chicago, my life felt utterly different. Growing up in a rural town in Ohio, all I have known is cornfields, pastures, and knowing every neighbor. While those things definitely have their advantages and disadvantages, pulling up to my apartment was exciting. I honestly felt as if I didn’t deserve to be getting the treatment of living in the Loop. This was just the beginning of my getting acclimated to the city. Part of my excitement soon turned into frustration as the first place I went to buy milk charged $5.00 a gallon. Nevertheless, I knew once I established a routine (and found a reasonably priced grocery store) I would begin to feel more at home.

The second day in Chicago was a day preparing me to navigate the city. I practiced my route to work, taking the brown line to and from Heartland Alliance. Heartland Alliance is an organization where many CAPS fellows have worked before. Their tagline “Ending Poverty” illustrates the broad range of services the non-profit offers. The refugee and immigrant community services (RICS) office, which I am working in for the summer, helps refugees, immigrants, and asylees integrate in the United States. As a public health major, helping program participants access all of these services is vitally important to promote health amongst the population.

Arriving at my first day of work, about 20 participants sat in the lobby waiting to go on an employment trip, looking to get their first job in the United States. It became clear that this would not be an average internship, but an opportunity unparalleled. As with most placements, the first day consisted of getting accustomed to the office and doing necessary paperwork to ensure I’m not a felon. My co-workers were wonderfully accommodating. They invited me to lunch and gave me a complete rundown of all of the best deals in the neighborhood. As the afternoon came around, my work began to slow. This was not because there was little to be done, but the opposite. My boss and co-workers were extremely busy and did not have long chunks of time to dedicate to training an intern.

As the week has gone on, I have started to pick up on quite a bit. I have had the chance to help out the organization by creating case files, going on home visits, traveling with a family to pick up prescriptions, amongst many other activities. For someone who has only been to Chicago twice before and never using public transportation, I now feel as if I have been doing so for years. Looking forward, I am excited to see where the next nine weeks take me. Acting as an assistant case manager, I will have the opportunity to work with numerous families and learn about the rigorous, and at times defeating, process people go through for a better life in the United States.

My life feels dramatically different than a week ago in my hometown. Living on my own for the first time, in the third biggest city in the country, with no pressing matters outside of work, I’m undeniably gaining a new perspective on the world. This inspirational work will be guiding me this summer. Although there is no guarantee that this is the workplace, lifestyle, or city I want to end up in, I nonetheless know I am humbled by the work I will be doing this summer. By the end I hope to see in a new light.

-Ty Snarr, Heartland Alliance