Hello,
It has been so wonderful working alongside everyone and getting to know other fellows. I hope you all have been enjoying your summer and I cannot wait to see what everyone accomplishes.
Looking back at when I first joined, I knew very little about the city or the type of work I will be doing. I merely had a vague understanding of what gentrification meant or the housing/development crisis in the city. By reading about the city and working with people who are passionately leading projects that aim to heal some of the issues, I have come to know about the nuances of the problems Detroit faces. I was able to see firsthand the importance of legal representation and the ways that lawyers can participate in social work. It was really inspiring to me since that is a field I want to enter. I was able to meet so many interesting people and formed many meaningful connections that have been supportive and encouraging of my future goals. It has been a pleasure to develop my skills and to learn through this program. I will take this knowledge and apply it to my professional career one day. In addition, my mentor provided me with a lot of important advice about how to approach the world and how you should not settle for less than what you are worth. How to still hold onto hope through the work that you do instead of resorting to cynical remarks due to learned helplessness.
