The New Opportunity

At the Urban Ventures Harvest Bash 2022

Here I was, in October 2022 tabling one of my first events alone for a non-profit called Great MN Schools. I joined this organization as part of a fellowship called Move for America.

I found Move from a virtual job fair during my senior year of college in 2022, and loved its mission to help fight against the polarization in politics through fellowships with various non-profits across Minnesota which deal in having discussions to make things better for everyone.

Before I tell my own, I want you to go forward with this asking yourself, what is your passion? I know it’s a bit overstated and maybe a bit corny, but what kind of change do you really want to see and be in the world? I ask this since my post-grad life has not been easy, and I know my personal passions have kept me afloat and determined to see the future. And I hope it does for you too!

And that’s always been one of my personal missions throughout my life, to not just be the best version of myself possible, but also to provide others with the same opportunities I have been blessed to have, if not better ones.

From there, I joined up with Great MN Schools (GMS) as a Community Engagement Coordinator, where my job was to distribute our free family resources like our Minneapolis School Finder and Grade Level Guide books across Minneapolis and table these resources at various events. I had the chance to meet a lot of new people throughout, and even revisit old schools and people I used to know, being born and raised in the city!

Picture of my old “office”

The New Beginning

My work started in late August of 2022, after an orientation with Move for America staff and fellow fellows where did various activities to make us question our viewpoints and biases as well as prepare ourselves for our community-centered jobs to come. It was a great experience, and I knew something great and new was about to start.

My first day with Great MN Schools was in early September, where even though I may have felt a bit overwhelmed by what I was getting into and not being sure if I was the right person for the job, I was nevertheless welcomed warmly by the GMS staff, who taught me everything I needed to know and immediately gave me the tools to do my job.

From there, I started off my work making spreadsheets and building systems to get our distribution, event tracking, and volunteer network efforts off the ground. As such it started as a sort of office job, making sure these spreadsheets with hundreds of locations and info accurate.

But then while we had to wait for the distribution efforts to start, I had to first fill up that event tracking sheet with actual events. And that would be when I would start reaching out to as many places as I could, mainly other local organizations and places that are more full of people. While I would get mixed replies, I still got plenty of invitations for events, and it would start with Open Streets Minnehaha in October, followed by the Urban Ventures Harvest Bash (see photo above).

I also had a bit of my own team to manage too, where I recruited the help of some friends and other volunteers for our distribution efforts. And I am definitely thankful for them, especially at the beginning when I didn’t have my license yet which I had to figure out immediately.

The rest of that first period would go along well, albeit busy with the distribution efforts ramping up as Winter was coming soon.

The GMS Annual Meeting

Deliveries and Winter

Me and Libby Stegger at the Minneapolis School Finder Fair

Winter 2022 would definitely be one of the busier periods in this work, as I had to figure out my license situation now and so while I worked on getting that, I still managed the spreadsheets and continued to lead the volunteer network as best I can, creating distribution routes and making it as easy to do as possible.

But I would soon finally get my Driver’s License on Thanksgiving, which I am proud of doing, though I knew I would immediately have to put it to use doing winter driving. And out of that I believe I came out to be a pretty seasoned winter driver! Having no near accidents while on the job at least.

And so I would begin the distribution efforts myself, wrapping up with our first distribution effort for our Grade Level Guide books, giving them out to 300+ places across the city, and then lean into distributing flyers for our upcoming Minneapolis School Finder Fair!

During this time, I was really starting to deal with the brunt of that post-grad realization where school was really behind me and the rest of my life would just be working and living a fully adult life. There were definitely moments I dreaded going to work because of that, but despite that, I knew that what I was doing for GMS was a good thing to do, and I had plenty of things to look forward to.

And so I would aim to be more determined at achieving personal goals, starting a Dutch language learning project by myself, keeping my mind refreshed on Data Analytics, the field I studied in college, and overall seeking to be the best version of myself.

Move for America Get-Together!

And so I would push on with Winter, managing this distribution, prepping for the School Fair, and doing other things like meeting with the Move for America crew for a holiday hangout and continuing my goals.

Then the School Fair came, where I helped with the welcome table, refilling out resources, attended to any needs from the schools at the fair, and even became a mascot for Green Central Middle School!

The event was a success, thanks to the GMS team and the partners that made it happen. Afterward I would go on a small trip to Seattle with my partner and friends to decompress and get to know a new place I have never been to before.

Events and Presentations Galore

Me in Seattle

When coming back, I came back to my busiest period yet, having to start a new distribution effort for our updated Minneapolis School Finders, distributing a few thousand books across the city to a lot of the same places as before.

This would be harder than before too, not just because of the February and March ice still lingering around, but also some volunteers couldn’t help out anymore due to new work/school responsibilities. But despite that, I made sure all of this distribution was possible and done, and which I was really proud of.

Making a return to my high school to give a college presentation

Another thing I would be as proud of though during this early Spring period would be joining this program started by GMS called Get on Board, a 4-week program preparing aspiring school board candidates to run for office!

I would also be invited to come into an organization to do a presentation about the resources in Spanish! It’s the first time I did something in full Spanish and this, and another later presentation, would be great conversations and successes for me which I am hugely proud of.

Of course, I had other conversations through a new wave of events about families’ concerns about the system, how to use our resources, and other general questions they had but were unsure about who to ask.

Tabling at the Pride Festival Gone Wrong and Windy

I would have these kind of conversations throughout the whole Spring and Summer, and we as GMS showed up at various events, like the Pride Festival, various Juneteenth events, and more!

It was this point I really started to realize I was working towards Move for America’s goal, to have direct discussions with general people I wouldn’t talk to otherwise, and talk about education, unfortunately an area that faces various issues and controversy. But again, despite this, I would push up and seek out to be helpful to families and have genuine talks with others.

As I was starting to think about my next steps after Move for America, I kept this feeling of wanting to help out others and have genuine conversations and connections in mind, as I wanted to now dedicate myself more to non-profit and public sector work, wanting to see a true change in the world and be a part of something bigger.

My time was coming to an end, but I did not want my contributions to be cut short just yet.

Ending and Wrap-Up

After taking a family vacation to Mexico in July, I came back in early August determined to keep going and finish strong for Great MN Schools. I worked on getting as many events as possible on the calendar before my time was up, and make aspects about my work like the spreadsheets easier to use for the next Community Outreach Coordinator so GMS would keep going strong in the community after I leave

But midway through the month, I would be offered to stay on part-time as a contract worker for GMS, to keep up my work for events and distribution as the team works on moving our office space and making other changes before taking on another coordinator. And I accepted, and will continue to stay with GMS until January.

Despite that, I am actively seeking out to improve my skills, especially in data analytics, in hopes of landing a data/technical job soon within the public sector, wherever my skills are needed. Nothing as come yet as of late August, but I have high hopes of getting something soon!

Conclusion

Here I am today, in late August 2023. I may not have something full-time lined up just yet, but I hope to keep doing great things, and push forward with the personal mission I came in with even further. That is to always be the best version of myself, and help give others the opportunities I have been blessed with, if not better ones. Whether that will be carried on in data, mentoring, or another job, I will keep this in mind and I am forever grateful for the people at Move for America for giving me this unforgettable year.

I hope to keep updating this website as my story keeps unfolding, so please keep in touch for what that next chapter will be, and if you want to have a chat about this year or any of my experiences, let me know anytime by visiting my contact tab!

Thank you.