Institute for Leadership and Service Blog

In times of uncertainly and confusion, a person desires nothing more than the calming kindness of a stranger or a neighbor, who generously offers assistance, support, and understanding. This is the ministry of hospitality. I experience this ministry every Friday when I spend my day at ICDI’s House of Hospitality, where I help the men living there with school assignments and learning English. The house, located in Cicero, IL, is for men who have been released from detention and have no other place to go upon their release. Upon hearing this process for the first time, I was awestruck by the unpredictability of it all. Dropped off on the corner of 101 West Congress, these men, uncertain of their surroundings but certainly confused on what to do next, are approached by a stranger who knows their name and nothing else. The stranger ask them to get in the car so […]

In the opening introduction of the book Road to Character, author David Brooks makes an important distinction between two kinds of virtues, résumé and eulogy virtues. Résumé virtues are the list of items typically seen on your own personal résumé, the skills you bring to the job market, the ones that aid career success. Eulogy virtues go deeper. They are those virtues that get talked about at your funeral. What relationships have you formed, whether you are brave, honest, kind, faithful, or patient. They exist at the core of your being. Most of us would agree that these eulogy virtues are of greater importance and worth than the résumé virtues. Yet, I know that I focus more time on my résumé virtues and developing those than my eulogy virtues. I also believe our education system and society put a greater emphasis on those résumé virtues. As my internship has come to a […]

Narratives and storytelling has been a long standing tradition in the Latina/o community. It is often in that way in which we learn; by hearing stories from the elders in our families or communities telling us of our long standing traditions from our ancestors before us, events that have occurred when the thought of us was not even conceived, still in our mother’s womb or too young to remember. I grew up with story telling and learned the importance of narratives. To my family and to our community, narratives gave a platform to the unheard. But throughout the existence of our community, we have been shamed and conditioned into believing that we should not speak up for what we believe in due to fear or retaliation of what the majority in the United States could do to us. I’ve slowly seen this fear stripped away by the courageous acts of many in […]

My roommates and I keep commenting on how quickly this summer has gone by. Two months seems like a lot at first, but now it feels like hardly any time at all. I’m entering my final week at Lutheran Services in America, which means I’m working on finishing up the projects that were assigned to me. A few of the projects I have been working on won’t be done by the time I leave, so I will be preparing those to be handed off to future LSA interns. Outside of various smaller tasks, my two main projects at LSA have been donor analysis for the 2015 fiscal year and managing their social media platforms. The first project has involved a lot of compiling and organizing numbers in order to understand where the donations are coming from, evaluate donor trends, and formulate a new development strategy for the 2016 fiscal year. […]

My work at the Federation is all about details. From the exact responses to survey results and their connotations, to document formats, to the placement of questions in each email, each project forces attention to every miniscule detail. And every single detail has been important and critical to the success or outcome of each project. Working with an immense group of 56 councils around the country and in partnerships with organizations like the NEH and Pulitzer, the Federation’s effectiveness in these relationships relies on having each fact or detail correct.   However, our effectiveness is also measured in the work each council puts in to provide humanities programming to everyone in their state or territory. As the national branch, we are the promoters, advocators, and cheerleaders for the individual councils. For all of the work the Federation completes in Washington, DC, negotiating and advocating on Capital Hill, communities around the […]

The Region is as diverse in its problems as it is in its population. You do not have to wander too far to see the poverty that is plaguing some of the largest metropolitan areas in “the 219.” My placement is in one the cities that has been, by and large, forgotten by the rest of the Region and left to its own limited resources to rebuild itself. The progress that the city of Gary makes can seem slow but it is truly amazing to see the good that is coming from the organizations and citizens within the city that refuse to give up on each other. I’m proud to say that the Urban League of Northwest Indiana is one of those organizations. During the second half of my internship, I noticed that many people began to call in for rental and/or utility assistance. Unfortunately, the ULNWI does not have the […]

Since first stepping foot onto Valpo’s campus as a freshman three years ago, the infamous “What are your plans after graduation?” question has always been daunting.  My typical response provides a semi-decent answer, as I mention my aspirations of a career in the nonprofit world. Yet, the follow up question—“What do you plan to do in that field?”—is more challenging. My 21-year-old (male) instincts tend to kick in at this point, and I reply with a simple, “Not sure. I still have to figure that out.” I’m realizing, though, that things need to be figured out fairly soon. Over the past month, my time at Legacy Foundation provided several opportunities for me to realize three key organizational characteristics that are essential for the nonprofit in which I will someday work. Whether observing a diverse group of area residents rally behind Legacy’s collective impact initiative known as “Neighborhood Spotlight”, conceptualizing hurtful […]

As I come to the end of my fellowship with LULAC of IL in Cicero, I had a great opportunity to attend the National Convention that was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. WOW! This place was amazing. The view of green, breathtaking mountains behind the city really blew my mind. The weather was perfect. You know why? Because they were little to no flies and mosquitos, the sun set around 9:30pm, and low humidity. The city was like the ocean on a calm day with a nice breeze. The convention catered to around 5-6,000 LULAC members during the week long convention. It was a nurturing weekend because I was able to spend time with LULAC State officials on the plane, over dinner, dance floor, workshops, and have intellectual conversations. I really bonded with the LULAC of Illinois State Director, Jose Lopez. I would ask questions and he would have answers, […]

In my last post, I talked about the exciting opportunities I was given right out of the gate at the United Way of LaPorte County, I have been able to dive deeper into the great work that this organization is behind. After my last post, I was able to aid local youth, of the Michigan City Police Youth Academy, in building cardboard boats for the Annual Boat races on Lake Michigan. The race was this past weekend, a beautiful Saturday for the community to gather to watch not only kids, but also adults put their cardboard creations on the water. (I have attached photos of both the building and the race day). It was fantastic to be able to work with some of the youth, just being able to watch them work together to get a task complete has made this experience worthwhile.   The community garden that I previously blogged […]

Crowds. Washington, DC is full of crowds trying to get to places. People rushing to work, people rushing home, people rushing to meetings. The metro is always shoulder to shoulder during rush hour. Everyone walks with a purpose because everyone does have a purpose. Even at the park, it’s more relaxed, but there are still crowds of people. Looking around, I realized that I am now a part of this bustling crowd. The wonderful thing about these crowds of people is that no matter where I go in the city, people are making a difference. From making someone’s day with a delicious pizza to donating to a good cause, there’s always happiness amongst the hustle. Every now and then, everyone takes time to relax and enjoy each others’ company. Taking the time to get to hear people’s stories, it’s easy to see that everyone has a place in this city. […]

It amazes me how interconnected we are. We [the NLCS CAPS Fellows] have found ourselves saying “well you can’t do this without that” or “this is why we need that program” and “I understand how that mission overlaps with our mission”. My string of “ahh-ha” moments have been countless as I have realized the interconnectedness of the work I am doing, the work others are doing and the overwhelming amount of social injustices we are all confronting. This work can be compared to a puzzle, we all have a piece that has a part in a bigger picture. Each piece is unique, connected to another, and the puzzle’s completion is dependent on all the pieces coming together.  This idea lead me to the creation of the puzzle depicted below: This summer I am working with the Philanthropy (Phil) Team at National Lutheran Communities and Services (NLCS). There are two components of […]

Here’s the Horton’s Kids office building. Located directly next to the United States Supreme Court and exactly across from the United States Capitol Building. Not bad, huh? This is where I’m lucky enough to spend my mornings- working with Horton’s Kids Youth Development team, researching best practices in older youth development, enrichment, and mentoring programs when I’m not crafting career prep lesson plans for high school students. The office is cute and welcoming- filled with bright colors and even brighter smiles of children on posters covering every empty wall. I loved it as soon as I walked in. Here, on the other hand, is the Horton’s Kids Community Resource Center. Located directly next to an outdoor basketball court and a bus stop, and exactly inside of a Wellington Park housing project where nearly all of the children we service live. This is where I’m lucky enough to spend my afternoons- […]

The passage of time never ceases to amaze me. Moments long anticipated rapidly transform into present experiences and memories of the past. Short phrases can influence a lifetime, while hours of research can so quickly be forgotten. Time it seems, has no rules, no bounds, and though I was informed that my set time frame working with National Lutheran Communities & Services was to be for 8 weeks, the past few days have left me stunned in the question of, “how can it be that I only have three weeks left?” I am incredibly thankful to the Institute for Leadership and Service, all those at Valparaiso University who support the CAPS Fellowship Program, the organizations that have provided internships for us this summer, and all those who have served as mentors, instructors, and guides for each fellow throughout his or her lifetime. In reflections with another CAPS fellow, it has […]

Throughout the week I participate in a different ministry of the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants. Each ministry is an enriching experience that allows me to see a new perspective of immigration that, had it not been for this internship, I would not have witnessed otherwise. Yet before I begin to reflect on one of these ministries, there are a few things necessary to know about the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants. ICDI formed under the leadership of Sister JoAnn Persch and Sister Pat Murphy, “whose names are synonymous with justice in Chicago” according to one of their volunteers. These Sisters are adamant about the holistic care of detainees throughout the entire process of detention, whether that means residency or deportation. The ministries of ICDI include pastoral care at detention centers, court watch at immigration court, post detention accompaniment programs at their houses of hospitality, and a prayer vigil every […]

  When I accepted my CAPS fellow position as an intern with Water to Thrive (W2T) in Austin, I knew that a trip to Ethiopia would be a part of it. What I didn’t realize was how much I would learn about the country and how visible the impact would be that W2T has on rural communities there. Over the span of two weeks, our small group toured about 40% of the country and had the chance to visit twelve well sites sponsored by donors. W2T has been funding water projects in Ethiopia since it was founded in 2007 and in that time, numerous groups of donors from all around the country have had the chance to travel there. Our group of nine people included W2T’s founder, executive director, another intern, myself, and five other travelers.   We traveled to six major Ethiopian cities, separate from the rural communities. In Addis […]

For the last three summers, I worked as a camp counselor at Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center. I loved the work I did – I loved running around the hundreds of acres of land with the campers, seeing their smiling faces, and knowing that I was making a difference in each and every one of their lives. So working in an office in Washington, D.C. this summer is a very different experience, yet I know that this is exactly where I’m meant to be. I am currently working with Lutheran Services in America (LSA) as a Marketing and Development intern. LSA is an umbrella agency for Lutheran service organizations around the country. They have over 300 members who they support in a variety of ways. I am the kind of person who thrives when she’s busy, and when I told my supervisors that they grinned and said, “well then you’re going […]

A senior living complex, whether it be independent living, assisted living, or a nursing home, serves to help the elderly live out their final days in peace and comfort.   As an intern at Wittenberg Village in Crown Point, IN, I am getting a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to achieve this mission. Wittenberg creates a community by incorporating all three living models on the same campus.  Starting on the first day, I shadowed my highly experienced supervisor as he introduced me to both the staff and the residents.  I traveled to the company headquarters, preferably called the “ministry center”, in Arlington Heights, IL to sit in on a budget meeting and meet the executives.  Since then, I have shadowed and worked on projects for the various department heads.  For example, I have helped reorganize the filing system in medical records, conducted government-mandated cognitive function questionnaires to residents for social services, and followed the […]