Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Value of Community

I knew when I was first accepted for this position in last August that I would be returning to a rich and vibrant community in Putnam County, Indiana. It was easy coming back, and I remember telling Bob Steele and Linda Clute that it felt like I was coming home.

When I was deciding between graduate schools barely a month ago, I think I went back and forth between options every day. Maybe every hour. The programs I struggled choosing between were almost identical in every way, but when I reflected on what I was looking for out of the next few years, the answer was obvious. I wanted to be a part of a community.

So here I am getting ready to head out to Denver, CO by way of mountainous week-long road trip to find that community while attending the Korbel School of International Studies at The University of Denver. Now that it’s my last day at Prindle as a Graduate Fellow, I’m not sure that any place will compare to right here. I was told this many times as a student, and I've remembered it often during my short time working at DePauw: this is a special place.

DePauw, Greencastle, and for me, The Prindle Institute have become my home and family. This place pulses with ambition, promise, compassion, and curiosity. I've seen it in the eyes of so many people. In this rural, poverty-stricken county in central Indiana I have met business women, creative entrepreneurs, future senators, incredible artists and musicians, caring citizens, best friends, and close friends. At first glance, this may seem like any other small town, but it’s not. It is special.  

Community is what I've been searching for, and here’s the cliche: it’s been under my nose this entire time. I know that going to Denver is absolutely the best decision for me, and I have the people from DePauw and Greencastle to thank for helping me make that decision and supporting me for literally every mile of the journey. Thanks to them, I have a place to stay and a job to work at when I arrive; I have a crazy yoga hobby to cultivate; I have a little piece of the Midwest always with me in Denver, Colorado. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Until next time,

Katie 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Finding the Value of Work

“Choose a job that you like, and you will never have to work a day in your life”-Confucius

How many times have you heard this advice? I grew up thinking that the only career path I should pursue, is one where I love the work that I am doing. While I still strive to find these positions, I believe that work has inherent worth and that finding a job you love is a luxury that the millennial generation sees as normalcy.

This is a timely matter to discuss with college graduations having just passed throughout the month of May. A trending conversation topic, there was a recent Opinion piece in the New York Times that discussed the inherent value of work and the millennial generation obsession with, “do what you love”. There is such a tone of entitlement in those words. What about a statement like, “work to earn a living that will make you comfortable?” Many of my family members previously or currently work in the service industry, in jobs where they work days and evenings and weekends just to pay bills and earn a week’s worth of vacation at the end of the year.

Are we devaluing that work in advising everyone to follow their passions professionally?

Service jobs, tough jobs, need doing. They are available, and they are a source of income. Doing what you love is not an accessible notion for those just trying to get by. It’s not even necessarily the best option for the more privileged demographic of college graduates. Why?

Several reasons. Doing what you love doesn't always pay the bills. I don’t know of a job that exists that fulfills all of one’s passions. And just because you love something, doesn't mean you want to work in that field. Trust me on this last one. I love the outdoors, but I quickly found that working in the environmental field turned my interests into an emotionally draining chore.  

So, why do millennials follow the, “do what you love” notion?

A recent study suggests that Generation-Y (I identify this as late teens to mid-twenties entering the work force) values job fulfillment over salary benefits and security. Since this generation is the first to grow up with the internet, they have been exposed to more of the world’s problems and strive to be a part of the movement that can solve them. There’s also the idea that instead of getting married and identifying themselves through hobbies and home life, millennials identify with their jobs and create communities around where they work and with whom they work.

At some point, we need to reassess our personal values when it comes to work. I know I've had to do this several times throughout my very early and brief professional career. Family is of the utmost importance to me, and someday I hope to provide economic stability and security to my parents and close relatives the way that they have done for me. Although I still search for jobs that are fulfilling, even more so, I eventually want a job that will reasonably pay off my student loans so that I can spend less time worrying about finances, and more time cultivating meaningful relationships.  

In Professor Gordon Marino's words from the NYT Op-ed, "sometimes we should do what we hate, or what most needs doing, and do it as best we can."

Friday, May 16, 2014

Making the Uncomfortable Common

Long, late night, “front porch” conversations have been a cherished experience in my life. I learned storytelling from family members grasping for details and the thanksgiving turkey, I learned humility and mentoring through long car rides with coaches and role models, and I learned about myself by leaning back and listening to friends and strangers around the glow of a campfire.  I like asking and tackling messy questions. In the right environment, with the right people, conversations flow from religion, sex, racial discrimination, to education, leadership, morality, sexuality and beyond.

As I wind up my tenure as the Prindle Graduate Fellow, several of these topics swirl in my head as possibilities for blog posts. I would like to use the next few entries to reflect, ruminate, and even rant over the collage of ideas I've gained from the year.

Bear with me, please.

At the very end of winter term, I was invited over to a DePauw student’s house for a game night. Of course, when you put a handful of young women together who love philosophizing over life and mix in a glass or two of wine, it’s hard to get past a few rounds of Catchphrase. 

Instead, we discussed one of the (unfortunately) most uncomfortable and hush-hush topics in our society: sexuality. I thought this was restricted to one-on-one conversations only! With initial unease and eventual humor, we discussed the fluidity of sexuality, and why so many of us were raised to see sexuality as a moral dilemma. As if heterosexuality was right and homosexuality wrong. To quote one of my best friends, “How can consensual love ever be wrong?” I believe it is the hate and civil and human injustices stemming from ignorance that is morally repugnant.

Why do we find sexuality so difficult to talk about? The majority of the problem could be finding a safe space to discuss these issues. I define a safe space as a judgment free zone; an area of compassion and empathy where individuals can speak freely without fear of criticism or interruption by others. How rare these can be. It is just as rare to find friends who fill this space.

It’s also uncomfortable to discuss topics like sexuality because our society sees difference of any kind as painfully awkward instead of exciting or intriguing. In order to change a worldview like this, we need to ask for more than institutional equality. Legalizing gay marriage only puts a Band-Aid on an open wound. The problem may seem fixed, but subversive discrimination still hinders children from being themselves or distracts any individual in the LGTBQ community from focusing on work because of the side comments or glares made by their confused and ignorant coworkers. I’m not an expert in this field whatsoever, but it’s a topic I give voice to because of how strongly I feel about it.

Sexuality and other taboo subjects are always difficult to talk about until someone speaks up. I have incredible respect for the people I know who have come out to me, or expressed their insecurities about their sexuality, religious background, lifestyle choices, etc. That is difficult to do.

I feel the need to bring up sexuality and difference in my capacity as the Graduate Fellow because they are timely matters of justice and ethics. The Prindle Institute, its staff, and interns should create safe spaces to make these conversations possible, and speak up when others are too afraid. I hope others feel the openness of this physical area and these people, and foster similar environments in their daily lives.