Hello all!
I have had the opportunity to work with DDP staff for four weeks, as of today. I do not have much experience with the community that DDP serves as a result of working remotely. However, DDP has welcomed me and aided me in integrating into workplace culture. All of the staff at DDP are older than me and are veterans in the non-profit sector. For this reason, I believe they are more patient with my learning curve. I have made sure to remain honest and true to myself within the workplace. With tips from DCERP and help from my colleagues at the community site, I believe creating workplace culture remotely has been fairly easy for me.
When I think about culture, I am reminded of the document Ray shared about cultivating team culture in COVID-19. I can say from my own experience that I have done my part in creating cultural experiences with my community site. At this point, I have: collaborated with other programming team members to find new ways to work; improved my knowledge of COVID-19 park and recreational policy; and embraced the now by recognizing the changes in working through a pandemic. These concepts have progressed my work with the community site tremendously and have allowed me to familiarize myself with the community programs. I look forward to continuing these habits and incorporating others cultural practices. Moreover, my mentors at DDP have helped in my workplace cultural experience.
My mentors at the DDP have been open to my questioning about community-based research and serving the Detroit community. They have significantly helped me in connecting the dots of my fellowship. I speak with one of my mentors weekly to check-in on my work progress and address any problems that may occur. I look forward to diving deeper into community outreach and programming throughout the summer.
Best,
Le’Elle
