Mother Theresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” This is what leadership is about to me. No one individual alone can create change that affects our most vulnerable citizens, but together, we can make a difference. This is the spirit that I see at NDRN. It is a team effort and everyone plays a crucial role in the mission at hand. In my internship experience, I get to watch a team of leaders work together toward a goal of supporting the Protection and Advocacy Centers in each state to do the work of advocacy for persons with disabilities. Because I am being mentored by a team of leaders, naturally, I have been given the opportunity to demonstrate leadership myself.
One component of leadership is passion. As the parent of two adult children on the autism spectrum, I am passionate about advocacy for individuals with disabilities. Each member of the NDRN team has their own reasons for working for the cause of social justice for individuals with disabilities. This runs the gamut from those who are born with disabilities to those who are now disabled as a result of going to war on behalf of our country. Some have family members that have dealt with the struggle of disability, and others have experienced it themselves. There is a deep commitment of care given in each and every decision and action that this important team of individuals takes. I have also been given the opportunity to attend meetings, briefings, and hearings that I feel are important to us as an organization. Innovation is an important characteristic of leadership. My team has also given me the opportunity to provide input and write documents that are meaningful to those that we protect and advocate for. They have given me complete freedom in creating fact sheets that will be used to advocate for more funding to better advocate for persons with disabilities. My co-workers display leadership in several ways, one of which is slowing down enough to explain what is unknown to interns. Every moment of the day is valuable to my co-workers and supervisors. They are constantly in coalition meetings, phone conferences, meetings on the hill, research, and interdepartmental meetings. This means that every moment of their day is valuable. Still, as a leader, they take the time to help me, as an intern, to understand things on the hill that come naturally to them because of the amount of their experience. One of my favorite times is our commutes to meetings. This is walking time that I can spend asking questions and listening to their wise education and direction.
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One of the posts that I have been asked to make is to profile an individual with a career that I aspire to. I have chosen my newest professor, Richard Benedetto. Mr. Benedetto is a professor at the American University, School of Public Affairs (http://www.american.edu/spa/faculty/benedett.cfm). Mr. Benedetto has spent his career as a political reporter for more than 40 years. He recently retired from his position as White House correspondent for the USA Today. We are reading his book, Politicians are People, Too (http://www.amazon.com/Politicians-Are-People-Richard-Benedetto/dp/0761834222). It is a memoir of Mr. Benedetto's career as a reporter.
As a child, Mr. Benedetto was very close to his grandmother and grandfather. His grandfather immigrated to the United States from Italy and was, "a proud American with a deep and sincere love for his adopted country" (Benedetto 2006). At the age of 10, Mr. Benedetto's grandfather instilled in him a respect for all politicians who serve our country, whether you agree with them on everything or not. Mr. Benedetto has realized that he first became a reporter when he would report to his grandmother each week all about the Saturday matinee that he would see. Each week there were three movies, a serial, a cartoon, and a newsreel. Mr. Benedetto has B.A. M.A. and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University. Mr. Benedetto believes that it is important to treat everyone you meet, especially if you are pursuing a career in the political arena, fairly and with dignity. He always looked for the good in people and he believes that this is deeply needed today as well. One of the trends he often observes in the media today is a hastiness in reporting and a disrespect for our political leaders. I can see that this is true. Like Mr. Benedetto, I aspire to look for the good in people. Like him, I want to treat those I encounter in the political world with fairness and respect. With the current polarization of politics, it is a challenge for anyone who participates in our great federalist government to do so. Mr. Benedetto commands respect when he walks in the room. Listening to him speak, one feels like they are getting a truly special treat. I am truly grateful to learn from such a dignified, experienced, and professional individual and I aspire to hold to the same principals in my own career. One of the spots that I like to hang out at,, when I have free time is a local jazz bar named Mr. Henry's (http://www.mrhenrysdc.com/entertainment). It is across the street from where I am living in DC. It has been around for many years. One of my favorite female artists used to sing here, Roberta Flack. Between Wednesday and Saturday, Mr. Henry's has live jazz, bluegrass, or open mic music upstairs. Since it is close and I love music, I like to go there at least once on the weekend. Everyone who works there is very friendly. They all know my name and say hello to me when I come in. Some even give me hugs now. Since being away from my family and friends back home, it has meant a lot to get to know these friendly individuals in Washington, DC.
One day I was in my apartment and I received a text from one of my friends there. She invited me to come to her home to spend some time with her, her boyfriend, and her friends on the Sunday night before Columbus day. I was excited to be invited and accepted. I arrived and we all sat around a fire pit, sipping beer and sharing stories. We all rolled with laughter and quickly clicked with one another. I realized that I could make friends wherever I end up landing after graduation and it was a good feeling. Phoenix is definitely my home but after I graduate, I will need to go where the best opportunity for me and my family takes me. My fellow interns through TFAS have given me the same feeling. We are all from all over the country and yet we all manage to enjoy each other so much. I suppose that the fact that I am an extrovert and love people helps, but if you are willing to take a chance and reach out to new people, you too could experience new friendships in a strange place. I already think about the difficulty of leaving so many that I have come to love here when it is time to go back home in December. Of course, knowing that I can catch up with my Phoenix friends and familly returns a smile to my face. Knowing people from all over the country is a good thing, especially when it comes time to hunt for a job. I know I have made life time friends here already and I am so glad. There are many types of people in Washington, DC. Being a part of an organization that works for one of the most vulnerable groups of our population presents unique challenges. NDRN advocates in DC work for their membership, which are federallly funded Protection and Advocacy Centers in each state. These centers are charged with advocating and representing persons with disabilities who are being discriminated against, denied crucial services, or locked away with no loved one advocating on their behalf. Many of their clients are persons in extreme poverty. When one advocates for the poor, one of the challenges is helping those who have always lived a life of privilege and advantage to understand the context that their clients live in. How do you help someone understand poverty who has never experienced it? How can you paint a picture of the obstacles that they face day after day? These are challenges that advocates face on a daily basis, especially in DC.
NDRN joins with other organizations to form coalitions that focus on issues of mutual interest to their clients. Yesterday, several of these organizations came together for a rally at the capital that was put together by NDD United, http://www.nddunited.org. "NDD United was established in response to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which placed austere caps on federal spending for all discretionary programs through 2021 and set the stage for sequestration starting in 2013. With so much at stake for so many programs, NDD United brought together for the first time hundreds of stakeholders from across the nondefense discretionary (NDD) sectors to call for a balanced approach to deficit reduction." With the concern of an impending shut down of our government, NDD and many other organizations rallied at the Capital to ask Congress to "Raise the Cap." Several democratic leaders came out to speak to the crowd, and the public through media, in support of the non-defense budgeted programs. We made signs, wore caps and let our voices be heard on behalf of persons with disabilities. One of the classes that I am taking this semester at GMU is a Public Policy class that focuses on teaching the interns how Washington works. One week we focused our reading on think tanks. Think tanks are organizations that are devoted to research and advocacy on topics that are of interest to the progression of our society. Many of them use their research to form inform politicians on public policies that could benefit the public. This past week, instead of discussing in class the topic that we were reading about, our professor invited us to attend a Congressional Briefing on the topic, "A Critique o the CFPB's Arbitration Study." The meeting took place on Capitol Hill in the Rayburn House office building.
Our professor moderated the event. We heard a researcher from a think tank share his research on the topic of arbitration. After he shared his research and conclusions from his research, a representative of a consumer organization rebutted the argument the researcher made and shared his own research and experiences as an attorney. When both sides were ableton present their case, the moderator opened the discussion up to the audience for a time of question and answering. Once the briefing was concluded, we students got to sit in the seats that committees normally sit in and discuss the topic of think tanks and our thoughts on the briefing that we had just heard. One of the things that I have appreciated about this professor is her ability to listen and be open to all views, in spite of the fact that she has very strong opinions on the topics we discuss. Her experience in DC is substantial and she is generous in sharing tips and recommendations for those who would like to pursue a career in DC. As an Arizona State University, Nina Mason Pulliam Scholar, I spent a good amount of time becoming familiar with Career Services. The ASU Nina representative arranged for someone to come and show us how to use the Linked In website to prepare for finding out first job after graduation. I also used the online resume services where I emailed them my resume and they provided feedback. I learned a lot from the input I was given. I believe these skills helped me in applying for and receiving the internship I am now enjoying in Washington, DC. While I haven't been able to attend any ASU Career Services events this semester, I am still learning so many fundamental and essential career skills through the TFAS program.
One of the things that we get to enjoy here are weekly events that are planned to prepare us for the next step in our journey toward building our careers. TFAS brings in Alumnis for us to listen to and have question and answer time with. Alumnis share their own experiences with TFAS and tell us how they got to the influential positions that they now hold. This week we had a Professional Development Seminar with a successful professional here in DC named Chris Ullman. We all sat around a round table with the speaker. We ate a light breakfast while he spoke to us. His topic was, How to Land a Job in DC. He is a managing director and the director of global communications for a firm that supports corporate businesses. Mr. Ullman started out by talking to us about how to market ourselves. He told us what information would be important for us to gather and put together about ourselves in this process. He encouraged us to consider both our heads and our hearts in the process. He also shared with us the value of getting critical feedback, how to build our professional network, and how to find opportunites. Finally, he encouraged us to develop a personal narrative that we could share with perspective employers during an interview. I felt empowered and determined to actively continue to work on my career path. It is an ongoing process that becomes a way of life. Mr. Ullman gave a TEDTalk once and his topic was how to "Find Your Whistle". If, like me, you are finishing up in school and considering next steps, you might want to set aside some time to listen to his TED Talk online. I know you will enjoy it. Since I arrived in mid August, it has been hot and humid in DC. Living in Phoenix has spoiled me by not having to deal too much with humidity. This past week, the weather changed and it has been cold and wet. We interns were told to always have an umbrella with us, and now we know it is true. The thing about not having a car and being an intern is that rain or shine you need to get to your classes and internship, wherever it is. I walk through the rain each morning to the bus stop where I wait for a bus to take me to Union Station. When I get off of the bus, I walk 3 or 4 blocks to the CNN building where NDRN leases office space. I have noticed that the buildings here all have a lot of security. If you are a guest, you have to check in with security with a picture id. If you regularly work in the building, you will have a badge with a special electronic device in it that you use in the elevator to get to your floor in the building. The id badges are programmed to only allow you to access your organization's floor and the lobby floor. Once you reach your floor, you will need to use your id card to get into the door of the organization. It is a very safe environment.
There is a kind of peace in my soul as I walk through the city, even as raindrops fall all around me. The pace of life in DC is extremely fast. It seems that most people are in a hurry to get where they are going. It's like they have tunnel vision and can only see where they are going and no one between here and there. Many people avoid eye contact which I find fascinating. When I need to go to George Mason University or the Fund for American Studies office for classes, I take the Metro. Learning the Metro has been an adventure in and of itself. After being here for almost 2 months, I am starting to feel like a pro. The other day I was on the Metro and we were approaching a stop on the route. All of the sudden I heard a voice of someone that sounded like an old man or someone who had a cognitive disability of some sort. He said out loud on the train, "May you help me today, please?". He repeated this phrase over and over and made his way through the train. I finally saw him and he was an African American man in his 30's with a developmental delay. It is obvious to everyone that he has a cognitive disability and is most likely homeless. There is an unspoken silence and an uncomfortable quietness in the air as those on the train avoid eye contact. Each and everyday, you come across the homeless begging for their next meal or a cold beverage. Even if you wanted to help them all, most working Americans can't. The discomfort everyone feels is knowing that they can't or won't help on a particular day. I have learned not to judge that. Everyone knows when they can and cannot give. Still, my heart broke as I imagined this man as someone's son or brother. I wondered where his family was. I wondered why he was homeless and begging for money. I imagined with horror what it would be like for my own son with a disability to ever be in that situation. I couldn't go there in my mind, it was too painful. I then wondered what he had gone through in his life. Was he loved, nurtured, and cared for, or was he neglected, abused, and unwanted? Then I wondered if he was being exploited. Was someone putting him out there with this repeated phrase and cup to collect money that would be taken from him? My thoughts eventually came back to why I am here in DC. I remember that I am here to intern for an organization that advocates for attorneys who advocate for persons with disabilities in each state. I feel more determined than ever to do the slow, hard work of advocating for individuals who cannot do so for themselves and it puts everything back in focus. I arrive at work eventually determined to give my very best to help this organization accomplish their mission successfully. I am grateful to be a part of their team, even for a limited amount of time. |
Daphne ThompsonPursuing a Bachelor Degree in Public Services and Policy, Daphne is starting her senior year this fall. Archives
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