Author Archives: leadserve

Bright Lights, Big City by Zac Felty

This first week has been a whirlwind of change for me. Moving into an apartment for the first time in my life, saying good bye to my family who I am so used to living with every summer, and starting work at a non-profit organization for the first time. This last weekend and beginning of this week has certainly worked as an open door to a seemingly endless flow of change for myself, as I embark on this summer of adventure in this big city full of bright lights.

The apartment living is one that is entirely new to me, but I am enjoying it thus far. I am used to living in a family sized house, with a yard, neighbors, and with all my younger siblings running around providing an endless supply of distractions and laughter. However, I am now finding myself in a two room apartment with a new roommate. My neighbors are the rest of my cohort who live in the building over, and instead of a yard we have a river and canal to explore. This is a great change for me, but one that I am excited about, nonetheless. On Sunday we all got brunch with a former CAPS fellow in the city at a place called “Wild Eggs,” which creates amazing breakfast food ranging from breakfast burritos to French toast. We went to a fun store called “Silver in the City” which sells things ranging from environmental books, sterling silver jewelry, and the most ridiculous looking socks in the world (that everyone seems to want). I am used to summer activities with my family such as beach day, walks in the neighborhood, and grilling out. However, these activities I have embarked on so far show that a large portion of my summer will be spent exploring the city, trying new places to eat, and finding stores that sell weird socks. All alongside my Indy Cohort. This range of activities that we will and have already embarked on, show how different this summer will be for me. Make no mistake, however, I am very excited for this change and new adventure that is right in front of me.

I also began work with a non-profit for the first time this week. The Kheprw Institute works with low income communities with things ranging from cooking skills, education on social capital, to assisting other non-profits to carry out their missions more effectively. Traveling to this institute displayed (quite quickly) that this city can transition almost instantly to from a beautiful, well-trimmed college campus with shopping and modern looking buildings to a neighborhood crammed to the brim with small houses in overgrown yards; in strong need of assistance. This showed me that the areas where our skills are needed are not always in the inner city, across borders state borders, or across the sea. They can actually be a 13 minute car ride from your home. This institute (thus far) has shown me that there are many different ways we can assist our communities, and they can be much closer than we may think at first.

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

Photo-Ops!

We are happy to have received photos of three CAPS Fellows out serving at their internship placements! Stories from their first few weeks will be coming soon..

urban league visit

Maria Wagenhofer with Jennifer Holmes of the Urban League and Prof. Heath Carter, History Professor at Valpo

Photos_Nate and Caleb2

Nate King and Caleb Rollins across the street from the Lutheran Services in America office