Week 1 🙂

Hello everyone! I am Gabrielle (Gabi for short), and I’m from Berkley, MI. This upcoming fall I will be a sophomore. While I’m currently in LSA, I plan to transfer to the School of Education at the end of the next school year. My love for working with youth and being involved in community engagement is what drew me to DCERP. As well as working amongst the people in a community to help work towards change they desire and deserve. 

As we have started our first week, I am beyond excited to be part of the DCERP and Hamtramck community. To me, community is working together with those around you to build an environment that is welcoming – constantly striving to work towards a common goal. Communities are formed by some commonality whether it is people living in the same neighborhood, people who are a part of a religious group, people who share a hobby, etc. That shared interest provides the space for people to come together to engage in ways to improve their community to make it better.

With work beginning to slowly start to pick up, I have found that my organization skills have helped me stay on track. I thoroughly enjoy creating lists, especially to-do lists to remember what needs to get done and to prioritize the more important tasks. I keep a notepad with me at all times to jot down important information or just to keep on hand in case I get an idea for a project for the summer program. Then, I will transfer my notes to a Word document, so it is easily accessible and organized when I next reference it.

A particular skill I would like to develop are my computer skills. While I am well acquainted with technology, my knowledge is pretty standard. I would like to be comfortable with different programs that I might be expected to use throughout the varying jobs I may have.

By the end of this program, I would like to have the confidence to know I can go after any job I aspire to have that may seem out of my reach. This summer I will be coordinating the City of Hamtramck’s summer youth program. Being in charge of hiring interns, planning their work days, and finding ways to build community through bridging cultural differences, is a lot of responsibility, however I know I am capable of working hard to create a solid curriculum that will give the students the opportunity to grow. I know simply by leading this program successfully will make me beyond proud.