Institute for Leadership and Service Blog

  Greetings! My name is Katie Karstensen and this summer I have the opportunity to be working with ICDI, or the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants. When people ask where ICDI is located it’s hard to give one central location because we are all over the Chicagoland area, and even outside of the state of Illinois in some of our ministries and work. To share what it has been like so far interning with ICDI and talking about all the different ministries we do, I thought it would be easiest to take you through my week and share some of the stories I have encountered. Mondays On Mondays you will find me near the South West suburbs of Chicago at our main office where our executive director, the two Sisters who have founded this organization, the fundraising team, and volunteers have their offices. I have done various tasks such as pull staples […]

By this time, I have just completed my third week of interning, and to say it has been a constant learning experience would be an understatement. This summer I am working at Ingenuity, an organization that not only raises awareness about the importance of a good quality arts education in the Chicago public schools, but also, it works to make sure that arts education stays in the schools and that everyone is benefiting from it from the research and data they collect from over 600 schools and 1,000 arts partners. Sounds simple enough, right? At Valparaiso University, I am a Criminology and Political Science double major (and a theatre minor, but most people forget about that when I tell them my majors).  When I told everyone I planned to spend my summer working at an arts education organization, many people were confused. I got a lot of interesting thoughts on […]

“My name is Aaron, and I work for a lobbying firm” I have always cringed when I heard that word. My teachers, parents, CNN and basically everyone had resolved to decry a whole profession as “unethical” and “corrupt.” Even now, as I rushed to tell family and friends about my new job in D.C., veiled smiles said “you’re one of them now.” Upon my arrival in our nation’s capital, I had resigned to embrace my new role: a puppet, ruled by special interest. Only Venn Strategies isn’t like that. There are no smoke-filled, back room meetings. The office isn’t filled with power-hungry D.C. elites or slaves to special interest. We don’t work to control government, we work to understand it. The federal government is an incredible complex machine with lots of moving parts. As a government affairs firm, our job at Venn is to keep tabs on what’s going on […]

Never underestimate the power that the nine-to-five work day can exert upon your daily routine; this is one of the many lessons that I have learned over the course of my first three weeks in Washington D.C., the place where politics meet reality.  It is a place where a small-town Midwesterner such as myself can easily fall victim to the overarching tones of rapidity and competitiveness.  It is a place where one can find that there exists a clash of understandings.  You see it everywhere; the Metro, the workplace, the restaurants, even the monuments.  From the outsiders’ perspective, there exists a great divide between how people engage with the world that we share. It starts as nuance, watching as some individuals rush down the left side of the escalator while others stand idly on the right, not daring to puncture the median threshold for fear of being rebuked by those […]

About a week into my internship with Lutheran Services in America was when I had my first “CAPS Moment”. I am not sure if this is a real term, but I think it best describes a moment in which a CAPS fellow feels a deep sense of purpose in their called location. I began my internship on a Wednesday and those first few days at Lutheran Services in America were spent with lots of cursory research. My fellowship has a goal of researching the trends of the nonprofit sector, so I therefore began much like I would have begun if this was a research project at Valpo. I read widely and broadly about the nonprofit sector and the organization’s role in it using websites and  journal articles. Even though this was not a university setting but the real world, due to the similar processes my mindset was one of intellectual curiosity, […]

  I never thought I would have the opportunity to see Jesus’ face so many times this summer– until I was introduced to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC) at The Center in Donaldson. The Sisters reside at what they call “The Motherhouse” tripling as an apartment complex, an executive office, and a chapel. Next to The Motherhouse lies the Catherine Kasper nursing home and Catherine’s Cottage (a unit reserved for Sisters). About 2-3 times per week I make my way down to The Center in Donaldson with my boss, Terry, and the trip through the rural town seems more beautiful each time. I serve on the development team at Ancilla Systems Incorporated (ASI) otherwise known as the administrative branch for the Poor Handmaids. Through my work here so far at ASI, I am beginning to realize that what seem like the smallest tasks still contribute to an incredible […]

Wooh, let me breath out and relax for a second; it’s been almost 2 weeks since I began my CAPS fellowship with Heartland Alliance’s Youth and Family Services (YFS) and each day has been a new, challenging, but most importantly exciting adventure. Let me retrace a few of steps to the beginning and get a running start (get ready for some running metaphors!) into some of the experience and takeaways that I’ve already experienced in my first two weeks as a CAPS Fellow.     First and foremost, what exactly have I been doing? Since you’ve taken the time to read this blog I feel you’re entitled to know what I’ve been up to, so let me explain. My primary role as an intern in the YFS division of Heartland Alliance is to work with other interns and staff to plan, coordinate and finally carry out “Summer Program”; a 6 […]

A few things I have learned as I start my CAPS Fellowship in Maryland: 1. I am capable of driving 13 hours straight. 2. Being a tourist in Washington, D.C. for a day and a half is exhausting. There is simply just too much to see and do that you ultimately cannot fit it into that kind of time frame. Good thing I have all summer to metro down to D.C. and explore! 3. Moving into a cottage provided by The Village at Rockville (TVAR) is exciting! You also get very creative when 3 girls get ready in a home with ONE bathroom. 4. Sometimes starting the washing machine is not as easy as pushing a button and you have to get creative with that as well (had to let the washer figure out its attitude first….). 5. When 3 girls walk into a restaurant looking utterly confused and clearly are […]

The Precision Medicine Initiative, am I a doctor? No, I’m a CAPS Fellow. My first few weeks interning at Venn Strategies have been many things. It has been challenging, informative, exhausting, and so much more. I have found myself working on issues that truly matter to the betterment of our society. One of these projects is the Precisions Medicine Initiative. The Precision Medicine Initiative is a program started under the Obama administration. It is designed to expand the scope of medical testing to traditionally underrepresented communities to design new treatments that take into account gender, ethnicity, and environment. The PMI has already changed the way in which certain cancers are treated. But what about me? I have never attended medical school, let alone been exposed to precision medicine. My role has been to help in a different way. I have been assigned to the team that has helped to roll […]

I wandered through the stairways and hallways of the center, I was given the task to find three things that stand out to me in the Harrison Center for the Arts from my supervisor. Art hangs on every wall; while, materials and supplies are stacked and ready to be turned into something new. It is a creative’s dream.     The building itself is old and shows its past through many periods of renovation and additions. Rooms vary from cinder block to brick to limestone. As one room is utilized for gallery or event space, the next will be an artist’s den filled with their work and supplies. There are old wood floors that transition to concrete with paint marks showing marks of the artists here. It feels like a maze in which each corner leads to something new. However, the building serves the purpose to house the artist’s space and their […]

The first two things that occurred to me when signing up for this blog were: 1) I really should sign up to do this blog at the same time my roommate does her blog so that I remember to do so! and 2) This blog follows my first week… that’ll be easy. I can talk about all the things I that I have learned.           The first point was perfect because I nearly forgot, and the second point was more difficult than I originally thought. It’s not because I haven’t learned anything, but because I have learned so much.  I have been inundated with information.  This information is both overwhelming and also thrilling.  I have felt the rush of wanting to dig into my project as well as the… “where do I even start?” feeling.  As one of the three fellows residing at The Village at […]

It’s already been a whirlwind time here in Indianapolis. From moving in during the biggest racing weekend known to man (the Indy 500 for those who are not car inclined) to starting my internship with Charitable Allies to learning the logistics of this beautiful, vibrant city, it’s been a challenge. What I was not expecting, though, was the largely impactful beginning to my time in Mooresville, the town that currently houses Charitable Allies. CA is itself a nonprofit law firm that represents nonprofit organizations through not only the formation process but also educational and administrative support, training, and legal services. Charitable Allies works to see nonprofits through various obstacles whether that is simply filing for tax-exempt status, working better with their board of directors, or being present in court for various legal needs.     When I first arrived at my internship, I was tasked with updating the website for […]

I started my college career at Valparaiso University as a Spanish and Secondary Education major, but through the various experiences I’ve had over the last four years, I’ve discovered a calling to teach English to speakers of other languages. I’ve spent years in TESOL and education classes and countless hours in the classroom working with elementary and middle school English learners, so a CAPS fellowship in this field seemed like a logical next step in learning to apply what I’ve learned in the “real world”. This summer, my internship in Chicago with the English Language Training department of Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services will give me a glimpse of another branch of what I am now exploring as my vocation.     Over the past five days, I have learned about assisting in adult English classes, filing paperwork, inputting data, testing new participants, and making coffee. Assisting with […]

As the first CAPS Fellow to officially start her placement, I am already entering my third week at my placement site. I work at Heartland Alliance Refugee and Immigrant Community Services under their Resettlement & Placement department in Chicago, which works with refugees and immigrants during their first 90 days in the country. I entered the experience 3 weeks ago both excited and nervous to work with a population I have never worked with before, and in not knowing completely what to expect, I tried my best to keep my mind open.     On day 1, I was already diving in head-first. Within the first half hour, I was on my way to visiting a refugee’s home with my supervisor to make sure they felt properly accommodated. By day 4, I was conducting these home visits on my own, without supervision. The general pace and dynamic of the office […]

Two Saturday’s ago, I left the comfort of my home (and bed) to make the trek to Indianapolis to start at ArtMix—a new, albeit short, chapter in my emerging adult life. While I was sad to cut my time short with friends and family, I was extremely excited to get going on this new adventure. At this point, we have likely all moved ourselves in or out of a space at least once—not the most fun part of the experience. Nevertheless, I packed the next nine weeks into one car and headed south. I am extremely fortunate that my parents and two best friends were spirited and supportive enough to help move me in; that made the transition much easier. From there, I said my goodbyes and looked around at what is now my space for the next nine weeks.     As quickly as I found myself moved into […]

Last Thursday I completed my final day at The Village at Rockville (TVAR), packed my bags and traveled back to the Midwest. As hard as it was to leave Washington DC, I had always known there would be an end to this summer opportunity. In my short stint of twenty-one years of life, it seems as though there is always a beginning and an end. Within a year I will finish my undergraduate degree at Valparaiso University and take part in an entire new beginning. When I reflect on my summer experience, my time at TVAR was not defined by the beginning or the end but rather by continuous movement of time between those two points. My time at TVAR was like a train, whatever I tried to do, time was always moving towards the finish line. My summer was defined by many small successes and failures that compose my […]

In the rise of technology firms and innovation in Silicon Valley, there is one thing that consistently drives these companies. These companies want to change the world with their product, but they want to make money, through differentiation. What appears different and innovative about us that would make you spend the extra money. While there may have been problems with connectivity, networking at the turn of the century, the solutions were brought upon by competitively driven businesses. Blackberry was nearly put out of business by the likes of Apple. While the effort was to change the way business is done, success and making money was the driving force, and therefore Blackberry was left in the dust.   In my last couple weeks at United Way of LaPorte County, I was exposed to the opposite of that. While on the surface, it’s easy to understand the difference between for-profits and non-profits, […]

Working at Forest Manor Multi-Service Center this summer has taught me so much and definitely affirmed the idea that every experience is a good one in that it can teach you something. And as leaders, servants and even human beings, if we’re not constantly learning then what’s the point? Through my time there, I learned that although parents paid a weekly fee for their child to attend camp, these fees did not cover all the many activities that the kids were involved in. So the organization applied for grants as well as had an entire host of donors to help supplement daily costs. Seeing all the good that an organization like this does, it was easy to see that they deserve as much funding as possible. So I one day hope to be involved in efforts that somehow helps non-profits to a greater degree in extending their outreach, whether this […]

To the Children of Horton’s Kids,   You have changed my life.   Every day you inspire me, you humble me, you frustrate me, you confound me, you encourage me, you challenge me, and you change me.  I will only be around for a season in your lifetime, but you will be an entire chapter in mine and I am grateful to know that the times I have had with you will be things I carry for the rest of my life. The first day I met you all, I was terrified.  You try meeting some fifty some kids all at once– it’s terrifying.  In the following few weeks, as I got to know you better, I wondered if my place truly was among you all.  How could I meet you where you were at and provide you with anything?  The inadequacy I felt was stifling.  You all were so […]