IN THIS ISSUE:
*Events
*Volunteer Opportunities
*Internships, Jobs, and Beyond...
*In the Spotlight, Flashback: The Obama Years
EVENTS
Information session on the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship
Monday, November 10
5:30-7:00pm
Ida Noyes East Lounge
The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship, a project of the Congressional Hunger Center is a unique leadership development opportunity for motivated individuals seeking to make a difference in the struggle to eliminate hunger and poverty.
The Redemption of Reason Conference
Saturday, November 8
1:00pm
Divinity School (Swift Hall)
Conference centers on social justice and human rights. The conference is hosting Chicago-based NGOs, ministries, food pantries, legal aid services, and health centers as a way to get the university community connected with social justice programs.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center is looking for Mandarin speakers to help with legal intakes for Chinese kids. It would mean going to the International Children’s Center (in Rogers Park) every two weeks for about two hours. Contact Alexandra Fung, afung@heartlandalliance.org or 312-660-1330.
Tutors and mentors are needed by Chicago Youth Centers to work at Bret Harte School for Mondays from 2:50-4:20pm and Tuesdays from 2:50-4:00pm. If interested, please contact Patricia Flax at patricia.flax-hatch@chicagoyouthcenters.org.
INTERNSHIPS, JOBS, AND BEYOND...
Human Rights Internship
The Human Rights Internship Program offers a select group of Chicago students the opportunity to learn the skills and understand the difficulties inherent in putting human rights into practice. The Internship Program is unique in its flexibility, awarding $5000 grants to afford all interns the freedom to explore their interests. Apply and learn more at http://humanrights.uchicago.edu.
Echoing Green Fellowship
Due 12-01-2008
Awards two-year fellowships to emerging social innovators with innovative ideas for creating new models for tackling seemingly unsolvable social challenges. Individuals: up to $30,000/year for two years. Partnerships: up to $45,000/ year for two years. For more information, visit: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship
Due: 02-15-2009
Sponsors six-to-nine month fellowships for recent college graduates (including graduate students) in Washington, DC. Fellows serve as full-time junior staff members working on peace and security issues, at participating organizations. Includes a stipend of $2,100 per month and health insurance, plus travel expenses to Washington DC. For more information: http://scoville.org/.
Federal Work Study (Off-Campus)
UCSC seeks out and posts part-time and summer work-study positions with Chicago area nonprofit and public sector organizations. Opportunities are geared toward identified interests and skills of our College, graduate and professional school students. View this list for the most current off-campus works study positions.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Flashback: The Obama Years
Klara Scharnagl, Staff Writer
Under Michelle Obama’s leadership from 1996 to 2001, UCSC became a more formalized organization within the University; participants in service more than tripled from 500 to 2,000. Undoubtedly, Mrs. Obama made quite an impact, but few are aware of the back-story. UCSC alumni from the Obama era recount their experiences during these formidable years.
“Prior to Mrs. Obama’s efforts, there was no central community service body at the University” said John Papandrea, JD ’98. In 1992, UCSC developed roots as a student-run organization. By 1996, a Faculty-Student Committee on Volunteerism, chaired by Harold Richman, recommended the formalization of the University Community Service Center, including funding programs and hiring professional staff. To lead these efforts, Michelle Obama was appointed Associate Dean of Student Services and Director.
Papandrea shared his view of Mrs. Obama’s inspiring vision adding, “her approach was very pragmatic. ‘Let's not reinvent the wheel,’ she'd say. She knew that various pockets of the university were already doing good work in the community, but it was not well-coordinated and not well-organized. Her vision, to me, was to use what was already happening as a foundation, and get people to see that community service should be more to students than a bullet point on their resumes. To her, it was an opportunity to meet new people and learn about the South Side community that was our home away from home while we were at the U of C.”
Jeremy Robins, AB ’98, was involved in service his entire time at the University of Chicago. Students’ vision “seemed simple: to just use some of the vast resources of the university and the student body to do some good in the surrounding communities” said Robins.
Right before Robins’ fourth year in the College, Mrs. Obama came on board. “I felt she did a lot to change the tone: first just on a symbolic level - as someone who was personally grounded in the two communities, who's life bridged some of that divide. She also spent a lot of time meeting with and talking with student groups, and set a clear, thoughtful message: She wanted community service to not be about one-time feel-good projects, but rather long-term, committed relationship-building - which I felt was so on-point.”
The Summer Links program, an intensive 11-week internship with opportunities at service and non-profit organizations throughout the Chicago area, was launched by Mrs. Obama, and remains a way that University of Chicago students are able to connect with the community. “[Service] was a tremendous opportunity to engage a community a lot of U of C students might never see. I always had the impression that UCSC valued the role we had in expanding the reach of UChicago programs to other parts of the city.” said Katherine Donahoe, AB ‘01.
Just like students today, these alumni came to service for a great variety of reasons; from passion for a cause, to needing a break from academia, to finding a niche where one might not feel as homesick, to reaching out and wanting to get to know the community.
Robins came close to dropping out of the University. “By my 3rd year of undergrad I had seriously burned out of the super intellectual myopia of my classes, and really wanted to dive into something more useful and grounded in the real-world” said Robins. The resources and support he found at the Community Service Center helped him not only to find that “real-world engagement,” it also encouraged him to stick with his studies and see them through.
Service not only contributed to their education, but to their later pursuits as well: Jeremy Robins has been working in education and community development; Katherine Donahoe has been working in public service since graduating. Their time with UCSC, they say, “was invaluable in getting a start in this direction.”
Sarah Truelsch, AB ‘01, said that though she did not know her directly through UCSC, she did encounter Mrs. Obama at many Summer Links and Human Rights internship functions. Said Truelsch, “Mrs. Obama always struck me, as she does on TV now, as down-to-earth, deeply concerned, and very cool.”
The University Community Service Center (UCSC) fosters the development of civic-minded students by providing substantive community service opportunities through community partnerships based on mutual trust and respect. If you have questions - how to get involved as a student or how to connect to students as a community organization - please contact us.
University Community Service Center
5525 S. Ellis Ave., Suite 160
Chicago IL, 60637
Tel: 773.753.4483
Fax: 773.834.1160
ucsc.uchicago.edu
