June 2015

Being back in Detroit feels great. Every assignment I am doing, from handing out flyers to conducting research,  I feel as if I am playing my part to help my organization help Detroit. My organization strives to restore northeast Detroit through affordable housing, business retention, beautification and block club formation. Day to day we put […]

I’m learning a lot on the job and by visiting Detroit for seminars and group meetings. My organization, the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office (SEMREO), also works very closely with Metro Matters. I’ve noticed that everyone here is collaborative and supportive. Each week the team affords the opportunity to have an “All-Hands,” so that a

If there is anything I’ve learned about working at Nortown CDC so far, it’s that no two days are alike in the world of community development. One day you’re having a meeting with your councilman from District 3 about the Norris House restoration project, the next you’re working with Greening of Detroit to figure out

As the days continue to trickle on by, and simple tasks start to become daily routines, interesting events have started to grab my attention. Overall, SDEV is an awesome place the puts forth the community and its own resident at the forefront of their mission statement. As a direct result of this, all of workers

In the two and a half weeks I’ve been with Detroit Future City, I learned that the office is pretty understaffed. Everyone there is incredibly smart, dedicated, and more than capable, but I have begun to notice the long hours everyone puts in. The ten people who make up the Detroit Future City implementation office

As much as teamwork is reinforced in school you never really see how important it really is in the real world. As the old saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child,”  it really does take everyone in the office to get a project done. Though one person in the office at SDEV

Thus far one of the primary observations I’ve made both inside and outside of work through this program is a sense of unity amongst organizations and residents of Detroit. I believe that this stands out to me so much because it contrasts my experiences last summer, when I had the opportunity to work in New York City. In

The everyday hustle and bustle of American Indian Health and Family services surrounds me as I sit at my desk, staring at my screen with music blaring through my headphones. When I take a minute to unplug, sit back, and watch the staff, I see their dedication, drive, and focus. Everyone appears to be on

EcoWorks is a non-profit environmental consulting group that is involved in many projects in Detroit and around Michigan. The project I am involved in is assessing the city of Dearborn and providing recommendations to lower their energy use and make them a more sustainable city in general. The first step to achieving this is to

Dear Luis Carlos Wow week two was strange. It was almost like week one, except completely different. You still don’t really know what you will end up doing at your non-profit due to the fact that they don’t know what you will be doing there, but hopefully something will come up. Eight more weeks, and