"Don't Mess with Texas"

Did you know this phrase originated from a highway clean-up campaign in 1986? Check it out! Anyways, I bring this up because I am currently in Houston, TX attending the Career Development in Social Work Education conference. We arrived on Wednesday and are returning to Michigan on Saturday, just in time to see the Brewers beat the Tigers at Comerica Park! 

It's been an informative conference thus far but I am still trying to adjust to the heat. They are having an exceptionally hot June this year. For example, tomorrow's high is supposed to be 94 degrees (F) but it will "feel like" 101! My good friend/co-worker Amber and I might head to the coast to check out the Gulf of Mexico and catch some sun after the conference ends. Tonight I had some good Tex-Mex and fried ice cream at a tasty restaurant downtown. Now I'm recovering from a long day of panelists and depressing economy talk in our nice Hilton hotel room.

On another note, I am so excited for August. Highlights include graduating on the 1st, building a playground in Detroit on the 6th, and meeting Kaela in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 18th for a three-week backpacking trip in Scandinavia! Keep me updated on your summers too-I'd love to hear from you!

Traveling, and other ways to pass time

Believe it or not, I am one week into my third and final term of graduate school! It is strange to think that this could be my last few months of higher education-for the rest of my life. A lot has happened since my last post so I will do my best to summarize.

I finished last term in mid-April, during which I was scrambling to acquire materials for gardens in Detroit, finish papers, and say my goodbyes to Alyssa, my roommate who is now in South Africa for three months! She is conducting her final field placement hours for the Social Work program in Cape Town, and you can read more about what she is up to on her blog.

I was also lucky enough to spend a long, fabulous weekend with my college roommate Tricia, in South Carolina. Highlights from the trip included laying out at her pool in perfect, 85 degree weather, taking a mini-road trip to Charleston, eating delicious, fresh sea food, and of course catching up on the last several months of our lives. I was also happy to meet her graduate school friends and have an opportunity to read a book for fun, quite a luxury after a long semester of academic readings. The trip came at a perfect time and I was able to return to Michigan energized and excited for the summer. I will be posting pictures from the trip soon.

The day after I returned from South Carolina, my girlfriends and I spent the day in Detroit, where we toured the city, went to a Tigers game, and ate good food. The remainder of my time off before the summer term was spent making up hours in the Career Center, putting time in at Creekside, and catching up with friends. All in all, it was a great break.

I am now looking forward to lots of summer plans with friends and family. I’m also busy fundraising for my year-long volunteer program in Thailand and cooking as much as time allows. Tonight I made some homemade hashbrowns with red potatoes fried in olive oil-very good.

Well I hope my next entry does not take another month to post…but no promises J

G is for Growth

Today I graduated from Urban Roots, the 9-week urban gardening and community organizing class that prepared me to assist block clubs in Detroit to start gardens. We received our seed packets today, as well as some useful resource books, a t-shirt, and gardening tools! I am happy to have completed the course because it really informed me about sustainable agriculture, organic gardening, and growing for social justice. I haven't gardened in over a year and am so excited to break ground this month. I will be posting pictures to update you on the progress!

On Wednesday we celebrated the grand opening of our Career Center at the School of Social Work. We gave tours of the office all day, provided breakfast and lunch for students, and had several speakers talk about the importance of career services for social work students. Everyone in the office was excited to see such a positive response. As a result of the grand opening, we are much more visible to the student body, which means I will be busy reviewing lots of resumes starting Monday!

Thursday night was very meaningful for me as well. It was the 31st annual "Take Back the Night" rally at the University of Michigan. This event is held every year to speak out against sexual violence. In demonstration of solidarity, women and men marched a 1.5 mile route around campus and Downtown Ann Arbor to demand everyone's right to safety. This was especially meaningful for me during the section everyone fell silent to remember those who were no longer with us because of sexual violence. Throughout the march I held a sign that read "We hate rape, not men." According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men in the U.S. reported attempted or complete rape at some time in their lives. While men are the perpetrators of most rapes, most men do NOT rape. It is important to see men as our allies. I encourage everyone who has a younger brother or son to talk to him about healthy relationships, the importance of communication, and the meaning of obtaining consent.

I am so excited to visit home this coming Easter weekend! I have four days of classes/work and then I'll be back in Wisconsin...until then I have a few papers to write so I better get working.