My second week was, on the surface, fairly uneventful compared to my first week. I spent much of it reading and doing logistical work, such as finding out how I would be receiving a paycheck. I also started planning for future projects by summarizing all my Gardner Center reading and putting together a spreadsheet of all the research happening in Redwood City.
The reading was extensive and exhaustive (in every sense of
the word), but necessary in order to understand what is going on in Redwood
City. This is all an attempt to see what questions have been left unanswered by
research. Ultimately, it is up to the Redwood City community to ask a question,
but I hope that the summary of reading will expose gaps in research that lead
to questions that the community may have not previously considered.
So it is appropriate that the theme of my second week is “Each
Stroke of the Chisel.” While each of the things I did this week were not
glamorous or particularly exciting to an outside observer (unless that observer
was really into watching someone photocopy documents), they were all critical
tasks that needed to be done— necessary strokes of the chisel—in crafting the
final masterpiece that is this fellowship. Without reading about the available research
in Redwood City, I cannot help highlight previously uncharted areas. Without
attending staff meetings, I cannot know what other people are doing research
on, or may miss out on crucial information. Without turning in my documents, I
cannot pay rent. This week set a very solid foundation for the work I hope to
be doing down the road.
All in all, it was a quiet week. But one that was extremely
valuable in my growth as a fellow.
No comments:
Post a Comment