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February 25, 2009
Student Thoughts from DC
Washington D.C. ASB'er Brian Wilson is blogging about his experience on his own blog - middle life - and he shared his link with me to share with you all. Check it out!
Note that in the Day 3/4 post, he shares that a fellow ASB participant met Sean Connery at the Library of Congress! Amazing things do happen on ASB beyond that of the incredible projects! Hopefully we can get a follow-up post on this incident!
Posted by kkowatch at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
Day Two in New York - Part I
Wednesday was my second and most busy day in New York City. I visited five organizations (technically six) and walked -- no lie -- probably 8 miles. That is one of my most favorite things about city life... miles go by with ease as there is so much to look at, or in my case, look for (I was looking to find some place to eat!)
First up this morning, I visited Green Map System. I had a great conversation with Green Map staffer, Carlos Martinez. I encourage all SI students interested in community informatics or social computing to check this org out -- they are doing some amazing things through their encouragement of communities to map out -- in any way possible: painted on a wall, printed on a map, or on Google Maps -- where "green" or environmentally friendly organizations and resources are located. This is a great project that's been around since 1994 and they have communities mapping in over 50 countries.
SI first year student Ke Sun is working at Green Map this week. You can read about her archiving project here. When I talked to Ke, she told me that she would also be doing some usability work for the organization. I left Green Map very excited as I see this organization to be one that could develop strong ties with SI as just about everything that is studied at SI is being applied at this organization. I left also wanting to create a Green Map of my town, Ypsilanti. Ann Arbor already has one! I would love to see some SI student or students work with Green Map, either here in Manhattan or remotely from Ann Arbor, in an internship capacity, so if you are interested, let me know.
I then had some free time, so I wandered around the Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Soho. My afternoon visits kicked off with a informal visit to the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Today was a gorgeous day for February and we actually held our meeting outside sitting on some benches along the East River. Chih-Ming Yi (a.k.a. Ricardo) is working on a variety of projects at the LESEC including rearranging the tool shed, but mostly working on updating the website for the NPO. I met with Caroline Kruse, Development Director, and Carey Pulverman, Project Manager (and the LESEC house turtle) who shared with the me the wide range of programs and initiatives that the group heads up beyond that of the composting projects. Carey and Caroline also told me that Ricardo is the best intern ever and they want to keep him forever! Great job, Ricardo, on representing SI well!
I then put my walking shoes back on and trekked over to the ARChive of Contemporary Music on White Street. There, I met with Bob George, an alumnus of the University of Michigan (School of Art) and a man with more interesting stories and restaurant recommendations than I have heard in a long time! At ARC, David Jackson and Noah Liebman each were working on their own respective projects which you can read about here (David - 1, Noah - 2). Project 3 is still available if you are interested!
Throughout the day, I was asking the people I was meeting with what the economic outlook was like for their organizations and how the economy was affecting them. My husband shared with me last night that in the United States, Washington, D.C. is still economically growing and that next is New York as a city that is hanging in there during these tough times (please don't ask me to cite this!) NY is, in some ways, affected by the economy (you can't forget the demise of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch), but in many ways things are the same there. People who want to move to NY because they just want to will continue to do so; people will continue to dine out and go out... thus their economy is more sustainable than maybe that of one that is dependent on the auto industry like in Michigan.
Likewise, the non-profits are still being funded and in some cases funded more well than normal because their funding organizations are trying to buffer for possible hard times in the future. All of the organizations I visited had a different approach for funding -- but all had one commonality: their funding came from an array of resources so that if one didn't come through, it wasn't devastating. ARC was unique in that they focus not at all on grants or city funding but on donors with sustainable wealth. Everyone had a surprisingly positive outlook on their employment situations and everyone was eager to talk about how to utilize interns - both paid and unpaid - to help them continue on their work as projects and initiatives are growing.
Back to ARC... this organization (from the website)..."collects, preserves and provides information on the popular music of all cultures and races throughout the world from 1950 to the present. Since the ARChive's founding in 1986 our holdings have grown to over 1.5 million sound recordings, making the ARChive the largest popular music collection in the United States...In addition to sound recordings and publications, the ARChive actively collects all books, magazines, videos, films, photographs, press kits, newspapers clippings, memorabilia and ephemera relating to the history of popular music--over 2 million items. We also maintain an electronic database of 35,000 people working in the music industry and 200,000 sound recordings catalogued at the ARChive."
Posted by kkowatch at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2009
Students Have Departed & Travels Through NYC
Over the weekend, 94 SI students departed to New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C... almost with out a hitch! Snags are to be expected, but all worked out well -- our students are excellent problem solvers.
Reports so far are good... everyone is at their site working hard and from the emails I see, students are also planning evening adventures to Broadway plays, salsa dancing, and hockey games, amongst many other plans. And, in each city it's Restaurant Week, so they are hopefully going to experience some excellent cuisine!
Today, Tuesday, I arrived in New York. Amazingly, my checked luggage arrived at the baggage claim at the same time I did! I departed LaGuardia, stowed my baggage at my hotel and walked from Midtown (31st Street) to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A favorite museum of mine (ever since the days of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - you librarians and archivists know exactly what I'm talking about), it was a wonderful experience to get to visit this institution for professional reasons. The walk was invigorating, but a little chillier than I had hoped for. To say the least, New York is blustery in February.
Jennifer Henderson, second year SI student and returning ASB participant, is working at the Met this week.. you can see a description of her project at this link. I met with her supervisor, Jim Moske, who was a mentor for ASB when he worked at NYPL. (His wife is also an alumnus of SI and was at SI when the ASB program was in its inaugural years.)
I was interested to learn that what is sought in archivists who want to work at institutions such as the Met is an interest in New York city and its history and how such an institution as the Met fits. This knowledge and interests is much more important than a passion for art, although that's not to say that there aren't a lot of art history majors working at the Met in libraries and the many other departments. New to the Met, Jim was most interested in his position because its one where he's going to get to create accessibility to the museum's collection of papers from directors, curators, and legal records. Formerly working at NYPL where access is the point of the organization, his task is to implement a similar style (although some records will remain confidential) thus allowing for scholars and others to view some documents and records that are currently unreachable. We also discussed the digitization initiatives at the Met in regards to this particular collection... and they are in mind and forthcoming. Jennifer's project was to pull together a list of the museum's exhibits... the goal is to make this information available online and also there are hopes to create electronic records and give access to other parts of the collection.
Jim indicated that there is always a possibility of internships at the Met. If you are interested, contact me at kkowatch@umich.edu and I can put you in touch with Jim -- or he can put you in touch with other departments that might be interested in having you if there is a certain area that is especially interesting.
After the Met, Jennifer and I traveled to almost the northern end of Manhattan to meet up with second year SI student Jenica Baty who is working at The Cloisters, branch of the Metropolitan Museum of the Art with a collection that focuses specifically on European medieval art. Jennifer, Jessica, and I were gifted with a tour of the library and the collection by the librarian on hand, Michael Carter. You can read more about Jenica's project at this link, but while there, she demonstrated for me her work of scanning the historical photos of the Cloisters' building which was built in the 1930s.
Posted by kkowatch at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2009
ASB Site: Cabrini Connections
A returning ASB site for 2009 is Cabrini Connections.
Cabrini Connections is a one-on-one tutoring and mentoring program serving 7th through 12th grade students living in Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing.
The ASB contact at Cabrini Connections is Dan Bassill. Mr Bassill is the founder of both Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection. He started his career in 1973 as a volunteer with the Montgomery Ward Tutor/Mentor Program serving 2nd - 6th grade youth in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood. He became a leader of that program in 1975 and from then until 1990 he used his advertising and development planning skills to increase the volunteer program to connect more than 300 pairs of youth and adults. This growth was also stimulated by the networking that the leaders of the Ward program did with the leaders of other programs operating in Chicago. Dan began building a database of these leaders in 1976 and started a series of lunch and learn sessions which became the inspiration for the Tutor/Mentor Connection.
Cabrini Connections is a grassroots non-profit organization founded to address the large number of children who live in educationally disadvantaged environments and thus fail to obtain the basic skills and experiences necessary to compete for employment in the global economy of the 21st century. The organization was founded on the theory that after comprehensive, volunteer-based tutoring, mentoring, and school to work programs make a significant difference, encouraging young people to finish high school and enter the work force.
Since its inception, Cabrini Connections has created opportunities for inner city children. By recruiting quality volunteers, the organization provides quality tutoring and mentoring to teens living in the Cabrini Green area of Chicago. Since January 1993, more than 400 youth have had anywhere from one to seven years of tutoring/mentoring.
Mr. Bassill wanted me to share with our readers the Cabrini Connections Blog which can be found at http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2009/02/expanding-network-role-of-interns.html
If you have questions, or live in the Chicago area and are interested in getting involved as a Mentor at Cabrini Connections, you can contact Mr. Bassill directly.
Posted by kkowatch at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2009
ASB Mentors Share Their Experiences
This year, over 40 organizations are participating in the School of Information's Alternative Spring Break Program. These organizations -- a full list can be viewed at http://asb.si.umich.edu/2009/index.shtml -- put forth staff, time, energy, and resources to host SI students for a week. This extreme generosity is what makes this program function and with out these people's desire to help our students gain practical experience, our program would not exist.
I invite Mentors or Supervisors of SI students on ASB to share their experience... click below to comment!
Posted by kkowatch at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)
SI-ASB Makes the UM University Record!
Last week, the UM-SI ASB program was featured in the University of Michigan's University Record.
Click here to view the article or read it in full text below!
Alternative spring break programs are growing
By Kevin Brown
Hundreds of U-M students this spring break will trade the beaches of Florida or Mexico for the February chill of New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., or more rural settings.
Some will spend their time off from the University providing community service not necessarily related to their majors, while others will seek new experiences related to their fields of study.
From Feb. 23-27, 575 U-M students — a number that grows each year — will travel to volunteer community service sites with help from SERVE’s Alternative Spring Break program, which started with only a handful of students 19 years ago. SERVE is a program of the Ginsberg Center, and part of the University’s Division of Student Affairs.
Student volunteers with the Ginsberg Center Alternative Spring Break program join local residents traveling to build water stations for Humane Borders in Tucson, Ariz. Students learned about the complexity of border issues and human rights from the experience.
The School of Information Alternative Spring Break program offers career-related activities in places like New York City and Chicago, and with government institutions in Washington D.C., where this group of SI graduate students performed their spring break assignments.
Similarly, the School of Information (SI) Alternative Spring Break program, which started with 11 students in 1999, will this month connect 94 students to volunteer work with institutions including museums, libraries and universities — the types of places SI graduate students will seek careers with upon graduation.
While these are the most prominent U-M volunteer programs dedicated to alternative spring break experiences, other U-M students also pursue internship experiences and privately organized volunteer service during the break.
“When you take part in programs like (SERVE) ASB, you come back with life-changing experiences that will forever shape your outlook on life,” says Jacquelyn Coats, a senior from Inkster, Mich., majoring in women’s studies and communications.
On two separate trips to Chicago, she volunteered at Alternatives, a multi-cultural youth development agency, and the following year at two middle schools. “You want to find a way to have a positive impact on your community, and everything you do in your college career and after is done with this desire in mind until you achieve it. And after that, you keep working at how you can make more positive differences in others lives,” she says.
“It was a great opportunity to try out a career for a very brief amount of time, to see what you think before you commit to a long term job,” says Elaine Engstrom of Perry, Mich., a second year SI graduate student who participated last year in SI’s Alternative Spring Break. Engstrom worked at Columbia University.
“I got to see how they run their libraries,” she says, adding the experience allowed her to evaluate a particular career path without actually moving. “I really liked it but I found it’s not exactly what I like to do, I’m more interested in the technical side of libraries instead of the customer service side.”
Students who participate in alternative spring break activities don’t limit their experience to work. Depending on their commitments, they’re also encouraged to socialize in the evenings and explore what the local culture offers. Last year, Engstrom and some other SI graduate students saw the musical “Rent” and took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. It’s typical for students to go out to dinner and socialize in the evenings, organizers say.
To join the SI program, students pay a $25 program fee and at their assignment city pay for their own local transportation and meals. Lodging at budget hotels or hostels and transportation from Ann Arbor to their assignment is covered by fund raising and alumni contributions.
The SERVE program asks students to pay a $125 program fee. Students who qualify for financial aid may apply for a fee waiver, provided by an arrangement with an outside donor. In addition to the participant fee, each group raises funds for program and trip expenses.
Student volunteers to SERVE begin training in the fall. “They should know what the community partner expects of them,” says Tracy Welch, SERVE co-director. “We cover everything from what kind of clothing they should be wearing to the mission and goals of the partner organization. They should know something about the local culture and politics, and ground themselves in what’s going on.”
SERVE volunteers are asked to choose among 10 issue categories, to determine which organizations they’ll work with. Those categories include environment; urban poverty; issues within the lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender community; domestic violence; and more. SERVE assignments have included delivering meals to AIDS patients in New York City, repairing homes damaged in natural disasters, engaging with urban youth in Chicago, working with the Sioux nation in South Dakota, learning about sustainable agriculture in Texas and working with a community non-violence program in Detroit.
Teams of SERVE students coordinated by student leaders typically take University vans to assignments, some in rural areas. There are 35 assignment areas this spring.
“I think it’s really helpful for students to clarify their own value system and how they fit into the world, it’s really great to see the learning that can happen,” Welch says.
“What’s most special about it in my mind is the changes I see students go through because of the experience. I hear students say it changed their lives, their perspective.”
Kelly Kowatch, SI career counselor who helps direct that school’s Alternative Spring Break program, says the program has developed relationships with a range of institutions including the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Judy Lawson, SI director of student affairs, says the graduate students will be performing 3,600 hours of volunteer service. “That means 26 percent of our master’s students will be involved in a single year — amazing given how busy and committed they are otherwise as professional school students,” she says.
“Practical engagement is central to our school’s mission, and this program was an outgrowth of that focus. The program has become a signature experience for our master’s students and has led to summer internships and job offers. These students serve as ambassadors of SI and the University of Michigan, and the response from the host organizations has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Posted by kkowatch at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)