Opportunities

It is an opportunity and pleasure to be in our nation’s capital this summer as one of nineteen fellows in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs’ Washington Academic Internship Program.    Staying in Arlington and commuting into D.C. is an adventure.    I love my walk to the metro each morning and back home in the evenings.   

Bluemont Trail, Arlington, VA

There’s a lovely bike path just down the street that takes me part way.  It’s a peaceful walk and the perfect time for reflection, listening to the news or music, or to call and check-in with one of my adult children in Ohio.

Learning Washington’s Metrorail system has been an adventure.   I’ve taken the wrong train more than once and the right train headed in the wrong direction twice!  I’ve also learned you need to use the same Metro SmarTrip or paper Farecard to exit a Metro station as you used to start your trip.   If you don’t, the turnstile refuses to let you exit the station.

I’m interning at the U.S. Department of Education in the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/list/fbci/index.html) which stems from the White House office of the same name. The center facilitates partnerships between government at all levels and nonprofit organizations, secular and faith-based, to promote student academic achievement.  The concept of government (city, county, state, and federal) seeking out and partnering with communities is dear to my heart, especially as it regards education and the education of our most vulnerable children. 

Community businesses and philanthropic agencies, local elected officials, educational and medical (physical and emotional) institutions, nonprofits (faith-based and secular), social service agencies, law enforcement and the judiciary all have a role to play and a duty to do all they can to strengthen educational opportunities and supports for young people.  In Springfield, Ohio I’ve seen the impact this type of community cohesion and involvement can have on individual children and families.  And now, to be meeting national education and community engagement leaders is awe inspiring.  It is a unique opportunity and I’m thankful it’s mine.

“The question is whether all of us — as citizens, and as parents — are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities.”

President Obama, State of the Union Address January 25, 2011