Career Service #2

Today, April 15 2015 (no this isn't about tax day), there was a career service held by Notre Dame Mission Volunteers. 

When I was browsing the career services coming up that were offered, I decided I wanted to learn more about this firm.

It wasn't exactly what I thought the organization was going to be, but this is what I took from it:

The organization sends volunteers around the US to work alongside other religious folks, who are trying to make a difference with the "economically disadvantaged". While the volunteers are at their locations, they work with the disadvantaged with "literacy and education". Overall, the firm really strives to help the disadvantaged through education, which they believe is the key to helping someone help themselves.

I like the idea of what the firm is trying to accomplish. However, it was not quite the organization for me. My last career service I went to check out the Peace Corps, and that really resonated with me. 

For the career services, I was more interested in learning about experiences outside of schools, as opposed to seminars or workshops. I think I was able to do some good exploring. Of the two, I really enjoyed the PeaceCorps, and everything they had to offer in terms of experiences. 

Free Write- Living in Flagstaff

To be honest, I would have never thought I would have moved to Flagstaff. It never crossed my mind until I was 20. I had live in the valley my whole life, born and raised. I really wanted a complete different change of scenery, and it seemed easiest to move to Flagstaff. I could go to school, and still be close to my family. 

The setting and life style in Flagstaff is completely different than living in Mesa. Everything is pretty close together, you can get anywhere in town on a bicycle. Other than a nice warm ride in the winter, you probably don't really need a car to live in Flagstaff. In fact, traffic gets so congested in Flagstaff, that you can get around faster on a bike. This is something we can't really do in Phoenix, because everything is so spread out. We basically all have to commute to a job to some extent. Grocery stores, retail stores, and everything in between is all spread out.

The community in Flagstaff is very tight knit. The community is very active in all events, whether recreational or political. The town of Flagstaff feels passionate about how it is set up, and they strive to keep it a certain way. I learned that Flagstaff has a big box policy where they have limits on how big a commercial building can be. For example, a giant super center Wal-Mart can not be built. The Wal-Marts there are pretty small. I also found it funny that tourists think Flagstaff is a "real" city, because they have a Wal-Mart. 

Another thing I really liked about Flagstaff is that it wasn't so small you knew everyone, but you are able know quite a bit of people from living there. For example, you could go to the down town area and most likely run in to someone, so you wouldn't necessarily always need to make plans with everyone. I guess this probably pertains mostly to going down to the bars on the weeks! :) 

Flagstaff was a really cool experience, but I knew I needed to move back to the city to get established and have more room to grow. I am really glad I chose the degree I am in at ASU. 

Free Write- AZ Micro Greens

During my internship, my mentor/supervisor Steve schedule a tour at AZ Microgreens. I almost feel embarrassed to admit this, but I really was unknowledgeable about micro greens, or more well known sprouts. 

http://www.arizonamicrogreens.com

AZ Microgreens, and three other agriculture based companies, set up shop at a very large scale greenhouse. The really cool part about this greenhouse, is that is was built on an "abandoned" elementary school playground. A while ago, the school was basically shut down due to lack of funds. So in an effort to revitalize the area, and utilize the space instead of demolishing the building. The classrooms are used as offices mostly by non profit organizations, which pay pretty cheap rent to the government. It is a really efficient set up, that I honestly hadn't really ever heard about in the Phoenix area. I really loved hearing that non profit organizations were utilizing this abandoned space, and for something so great like agriculture.

Arizona Microgreens grows a wide variety of micro greens. Basically they harvest the vegetable at it's sprouting stage, when it is only a few inches tall. Micro greens have the most nutrients, and cancer fighting elements at this stage. I was able to walk through the rows of sprouting seeds, and sample as I pleased. I tried radish, mustard, corn, broccoli, and many other types of sprouts. I was so blown away by the distinct flavor each type of sprout had. I remember the radish being really harsh, and the corn was so sweet and by far my favorite. Then Steve and I were put to work, and we harvested our own sprouts to take home!

It was an eye opening experience, and one that was very unique! I encourage everyone to check out AZ Microgreens website, and tour their grow house. 

Free Write- MMMF

This weekend, I took a nice (and much needed) break from school and went to the three day festival in Down Town Phoenix called McDowell Mountain Music Festival. 

My work usually helps donate towards the charity event of the festival, because one of the main sponsors is a construction company we do interior work for. I actually just learned that this weekend, and I thought it was really awesome that my work donated to the cause, and also that they gave out VIP tickets to the employees who were interested in going.

I really enjoyed all the different bands that were put together in one concert setting. I love the opportunity to check out new music, or appreciate a band even more by hearing them live. One bad I really appreciated more than I thought was Portugal the Man. They had such a great stage presence, and kept everyone dancing. Also, I got to see my favorite band, Widespread Panic, which always brings a fun crowd and a great show!

Another thing I really enjoyed was the setting in Down Town Phoenix. I was able to check out a couple places down town before the festival, so I felt like it connected me a little bit more with the community.

I am a bit exhausted today after the whole weekend. I won't lie, I struggled a little bit through work and class today (haha). However, I am feeling good and more motivated to finish up the rest of the semester!

Public Service & Urban Governance

Why do I believe Local First Arizona demonstrates Public Service and Urban Governance? 

Well, there are several reasons why.

Local First Arizona's sole purpose is to service the local communities, by building local economy, vibrant communities, and ultimately supporting the community.

The are active in many mixers, events, and speeches each month to connect people in the community. Those connections are networking amongst local businesses, connection of local producer and local consumer, and connecting consumers to their community. 

If it wasn't already obvious, Local First Arizona is all about their community, and anything that will benefit it.

Local First Arizona, not only makes connections within the community, but they fight to influence policy to ensure their vision for their community. 

Local First Arizona is compiled of people who are inspired by the community, want to provide services for their community, and who are leaders of the community. 

Local First Arizona inspires others to be dedicated to their community, and be a part of the public service initiatives. 

Supervisor Interview

For my Leadership and Change class last semester, we had to interview someone who we believed was a leader and making change happen. It immediately struck me to interview my supervisor, and mentor, Steve. He is absolutely a leader in a change effort. He works tireless to communicate local and healthy food to a community, and motivate a change within our community. He is very precise about the work his team does, and sets high standards. At the same time, he is always willing to do any task that he may ask his constituents, and always makes the environment fun. 

I would like to share this interview about leadership that I had with Steve. This interview gives a more personal, and inside view point on Local First Arizona. It really shows how innovative, dedicated, and passionate a non-profit organization can be!

·       Within the organization, do you observe more energy and effort being directed toward meeting the objective of the change effort? Do you see individuals challenging questions and validating for themselves the need to change? – How you view other in the organization wanting to participate in the change; are they part of the change, do they make effort with personal lifestyle, etc..

We are all completely bought in to the work that we do. Our organization’s goal is to build consumer participation in the local economy, and I’d say that we are all very dedicated to making those individual consumer choices that we encourage others to make as well. For instance, we all visit the farmers’ market for much of our produce, we all participate in buy local month in December, and there is often at least one of us present at many of our events, enjoying the experiences for ourselves. We hold ourselves and one another accountable on this, so yes, I would say that we are very dedicated to being a part of the change.

·       Within the organization, does your group that is guiding change motivate and inspire others to participate in the change?

Yes, I think so. Our organization understands that we will not successfully change Arizona’s economy without the participation of other members of that economy. A large portion of the work that we do is inspiring others to make changes for themselves, by reminding them of the big picture. We walk the walk when it comes to building the local economy; we inspire other businesses via practices such as ensuring that almost all of our b2b transactions are done with local companies. Often we find that businesses are hesitant to do this due to the perception of the expense with working with locals, so by doing this, we help to lead the way for other entities to follow.

·       Within the organization, does your group that is guiding change consistently get the resources, information, and support it needs to progress rapidly?

Not always. Sometimes we need to work with limited resources to get the job done. It can be a challenge, but we work hard to bring together resources that already exist in the community. For example, for our Fall Festival, we borrow picnic tables from the Roosevelt Row CDC in stead of renting costly table/chair combos for seating.

·       Regarding the change effort, what is your vision? How do you make your vision compelling and desirable for your constituents/other individuals?

Local First Arizona´s goal is simple: Make Arizona a better place by supporting locally owned businesses and building vibrant communities that residents are proud to call home.

·       Do you and your constituents/ other individuals in the organization  discuss the vision, goals, and strategies in routine management meetings as well as formal and informal gatherings?

We do regularly discuss how our initiatives fit in with the vision/mission/goals of the organization, however, there is minimal discussion on developing our mission/vision/goals further, except on a case-by-case basis, as it pertains to the evolution of our initiatives. For example, when we adopted a new initiative that promotes “good food” we had a process of defining exactly what “good food” looks like, and had to decide whether or not advocating for (for example) GMO-free food was within the scope of our mission/vision/goals.

·       Within the organization, do you use recognition and reward systems that inspire, promote optimism, and build self-confidence? Do you observe new ideas being proposed and tested by your constituents/other individuals in the organization?

Yes; LFA is all about recognition and empowerment. Our organizational belief is that people perform their best when they enjoy what they are doing, and feel a genuine passion for that work. To that end, all members of staff and the head leadership at LFA regularly recognize the various volunteers, staff etc. in the form of appreciation, encouragement and recognition.

·       Regarding the change effort, are there quick results that are made visible to all? Do your constituents/other individuals regularly recognize and celebrate even the small important achievements?

Yes, we have very active social media streams, and utilize our live twitter feed to highlight all things small and large, then facebook to highlight the big stuff. This platform also allows our members to retweet and share the message, further amplifying our voice and reach!

·       Within the organization, are new projects and initiatives being launched to make more significant changes to the organization’s processes, technology, and systems?

Yes, for example, we are currently in the process of a major website overhaul, addressing many issues with website functionality, as well as integrating a new web platform

·       Within the organization are people seeking to understand what they need to do and what is expected of them to be successful in the change effort? Do they use old habits, values, and traditions to describe how things have changed?

Our team is very good at seeking consensus and collaborating to meet goals. Our office setup, we have one giant table that everyone sits at, so we often work together to develop our own capacity through internal mentoring and advising. We are very much a team, and we are always working on building new strategies and habits that will make us a more productive workplace.  

Leadership

Leadership definitely plays a role in my internship environment. Local First Arizona is a leader for its cause, and Arizona's communities. Each member of Local First Arizona has to be a leader for the cause of the organization as well. Each employee does their best to represent what local means. They shop local, eat local, and promote local to the best of their ability. 

When I was interning for LFA last semester, I immediately felt engaged to be as consumed in local as possible. I began shopping more frequently at Farmer's Markets, finding the local food producers at stores, and eating at local restaurants. I wanted to represent that I was being a leader of local within my community, just as my co-workers were doing. 

After my internship, into this semesters, I have kept my loyalty to my affiliation with Local First Arizona. I still want to represent the local community, and be a leader for LFA. This internship has changed my habits, and I want to continuously improve. 

I would definitely say it is imperative for everyone affiliated with Local First Arizona, from employees to volunteers, to display leadership. Local First Arizona is motivating a social movement, and everyone affiliated has to be completely passionate for its cause. They have to live the life they are pushing others to change to. They have to be as local consuming as possible, to show others that it is possible. They are constantly involved in the community, working with the community, and shopping within the community.