Friday, April 9, 2010

Abria Lewis Memorial

From this day forth, in front of Henderson Middle School stands a purple bench. That bench is where Abria will sit and watch over all who enter the doors of HMS! We should be so lucky to have such an amazing Guardian Angel! You're even luckier to have been in her presence before she earned her wings

April 9, 2010 
On what would have been Abria Lewis's 13th Birthday family members, Henderson Middle and Community members gather together to unveil a Memorial. 

Ayana & June 
(her Parents) 
To have two of your children pass away, would break and destroy many people. While devastated, Ayana & June are the strongest people I have ever met in my life. Their faith and conviction in God and his mysterious ways is second to none! 

I can only hope that one day I'm as grounded and as strong to be able to face such trials and test presented and withstand them. 



 


Friday, April 2, 2010

Campus Director Retreat. Greensboro, NC

In search of brighter days, I ride through the maze of the madness,Struggle is my address, where pain and crack lives,Gunshots comin' from sounds of Blackness,Given this game with no time to practice,
Born on the Black list, told I'm below average,A life with no cabbage,That's no money if you from where I'm from,Funny, I just want some of your sun Dark clouds seem to follow me,Alcohol that my pops swallowed bottled me,No apology, I walk with a boulder on my shoulder,It's a Cold War - I'm a colder soldier,
Hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the King,
-Common "A Dream"



Greensboro, NC 
March 30- 31, 2010 

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I got the opportunity to get together with the rest of the leadership team here in North Carolina for retreat. During these two days we explored the International Civil Rights Museum, work with an Americorps program called Youth Focus, get our hands dirty with film editing software, learn about valuable academic support tools, troubleshoot apprenticeship obstacles, and learn how to clear the mind and center ourselves via Hapkido class.




This could be the last time all five of us are together. Erik is leaving in May to go to Brazil. The remaining four of us may be returning but in potential different roles. Its been great to work with this group here in North Carolina. If this is truly our last time together then I'm glad it we were able to spend it like this!

These past two days have been very refreshing and invigorating. During our dinner, we managed to hold a conversation without using the words Citizen Schools or anything related to work. The topic of conversation was Ms.Badu's latest video where she is walking nude through downtown Dallas.
Question: What would you do if you were walking with your child and Erykah Badu walked by with no clothes on?

The conversation centered around how we would deal with our kids seeing all that goodness exposed by Badu. Answers varied!!!

I think the best part of the retreat was our time spent at Youth Focus. We got to work one on one with some at-risk kids at this home for runaways and homeless youth. We did a Team building activity. A variation of the Egg drop. A "Hot Air Egg Time Machine" competition were one of our staff was paired up with a child and the duo have to build a machine that could float in the air.When we met the kids they had these really bored ass looks on their face. I was a bit nervous that this wasn't going to go over very well with them. For a moment, I had a flashback to program and my kids.  Fortunately, they loved the activity!  I wanted to Photography the Museum and the Homeless shelter, but neither would allow us to take photos! 

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Getting that Senioritis

Happiness/more or less/It's just a change in me/ Something in my liberty/Oh, my, my/ Happiness/Coming and going/I watch you look at me/Watch my fever growing/I know just where I am/ But how many corners do I have to turn?/How many times do I have to learn /All the love I have is in my mind?/ But I'm a lucky man
With fire in my hands
-The Lucky Man - Verve Pipe 

For the last five years, our top CDs have had a special training pathway for future leadership at Citizen Schools and related positions in the education and non-profit fields. The Senior Campus Director position has been rewarding exceptional CD performance and encouraging longer CD tenure (since the longer CDs stay, the more their students achieve). Senior CDs: Run model campuses and lead their peers as regional/national trainers and mentors Pair up with a mentor, internal or external, to support their continued professional growth and development. Participate in select National Strategy Retreats Convene periodically as a group to assess their progress and share best practices Receive a salary boost each year they remain as Senior CDs A Selection Committee comprised of organizational leaders who have a programmatic or recruitment focus has chosen this year’s cohort for meeting these criteria: 1. Served for two full program years as a Campus Director 2. Achieved strong-to-exceptional performance on their Program Scorecard throughout their tenure 3. Demonstrated skill in staff development 4. Demonstrated thought leadership and organizational-building skill at the regional and/or national levels (e.g., trainer, peer exchange, campus contribution to best practices distribution) We’re proud to introduce the six newest Senior Campus Directors!

Life is crazy! One moment you are struggling, the next you feel like you are on the top of the world. Its a unique story that started in Schenectady,NY in 2005. I was a file clerk and janitor at a private practice dental office. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I had taken the LSAT and done poorly on it. I remember talking to Dr. Donald Liebers one morning during one of our 5 mile runs. We talked about life. I had express to him my frustration about my current situation.  His response was " you just gotta bust ass and do what's necessary to get to were you want to be. There's no substitute for hard work!"  Now five years and 4 states later, here I am in a better position to do work that I'm passionate about.

I was recently re-reading the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. It follows a young Shepherd name Santiago on his journey to fulfill his destiny or "Personal Legend". There is two quotes that stuck with me from that book.

Quote #1
When you know [the Universal Language], it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city.  And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant.  There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only.  It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world.  Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning

Quote #2
And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
While I am still waiting for Quote #1 to happen lol, I believe quote #2 to has some truth in it. When you want to accomplish something and other people are in agreement of that endeavor people will support and aide you so that feat is completed. If you haven't read the Alchemist its a good read, pick it up!