June 2018

Dear Shay, First thing I want to say is, you did great, I mean you did the thang! I know you were intimidated by this project at first and to be completely honest, you still are. You may be asking how do I know that you succeeded when I haven’t lived it yet, well it’s simply […]

Dear Aasha, Before you arrived at Wayne State on Saturday, you had already named the 9 weeks you would be there your “Summer Soundtrack – Independent Woman Edition”. So each blog post will be tied to that theme somehow. You’re already used to not living with your parents, but this is a totally different type

Dear 21-year-old Anna,   I’m finishing my third day and things are still a little bit disorganised and a little bit slow. I’m excited about my project because it focuses on energy efficiency in affordable housing units, and I’m passionate about community-engaged economic development and housing policy. It hits close to home because it’s something

Dear Sierra, It’s day three of your internship and already you’ve had the opportunity to jump right into planning Friends of Parkside’s Annual Health Fair and attend a conference, “Beyond the Ivory Tower.” At this conference, you learned not only how important community-academic partnerships are, but how important it is to initiate and maintain community-academic

Hi, Chloe! I’m so excited that you have the opportunity to live in a new city and work with an organization that aligns so well with your studies and values. You are excited for all the opportunities to learn and grow this summer, inside and outside of your internship. There’s a few things I really

Dear Destini, You have come to Detroit, a place that you have grown to love over the years,  and you have come to do great things. Although this trip is not for fun as it usually is, you are going to have a positive impact on the community and have fun with the people you

Hey Ros, So, you’re three days into the program and you are beginning to adjust and even getting into a “work-flow”. Much like you expected, your boss is pretty relaxed, and you thankfully don’t have to come to work in business attire. However, you did not anticipate how much more business oriented the work you

Dear Kyle, This is a big experience for you. This internship is going to grow you both professionally and personally. It is your first time moving out and living on your own, which will be its own challenge. In addition to moving out this is a new internship. It is much more traditional than your

It is now day three of the program and by now you feel pretty settled in your living arrangement. Everyone seems nice so far and you have a group of friends that seems promising for this summer, you are also looking forward to getting to know other members of your cohort as the summer progresses.