Week 10 (9/16-9/20): Planting Seeds of Peace

Brief recap of the week I was gone: the first half of the week was understandably busy (I didn’t move from my dining room table for 4- or 5-hour periods of studying at a time); I took the test on Wednesday; the last half of the week went by quickly, because time flies when you’re binge-watching TV shows on Netflix. My flight back to the Bay got in on Sunday, and I was promptly greeted by my friends who took me out to lunch. It was a great way to celebrate post-MCAT life and fully commit myself to work! 

Starting this week, I’ll be doing a full 50/50 split between Redwood City 2020 and the Gardner Center: Mondays and Wednesdays at 2020, Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Gardner Center, and alternating locations every Friday. On this first Monday at 2020, I was tasked with researching digital camcorders for an upcoming project. I spent a long time comparing specs of tens of different camcorders, weighing pros and cons against what the camcorder would be used for (creating videos for the 2020 website), and reading the very opinionated reviews of many amazon.com customers. We finally settled on a camera, and will be ordering it soon, so look out for videos on http://www.rwc2020.org/ 

I spent Tuesday working on further expanding my workplan at the Gardner Center before returning to 2020 on Wednesday for the first team meeting at the new office. It was great to see what great work is ahead of us and to have an opportunity to put faces to names of people I had only heard about. We talked specifically about the office environment and how we as a staff can support professionalism, hospitality, and comfort and what each person needs and can contribute in an office environment. I thought this was a great way to get to know the people I will be working with! I also created what Jana called a “Props Tree” by drawing a trunk and some bare branches on a big sheet of paper. People in the office can now put leaves (sticky notes) with compliments and kudos on them as a way of celebrating the big and little things we do in the office.  

I also got a chance to meet with Priscilla at the Fair Oaks Clinic about research in Redwood City. I got a tour and update on the clinic (they’re planning to move in November), and learned a lot during my visit. She promised to send along research articles I had not yet read to add to my ever-growing inventory on research in Redwood City. 

After the staff meeting and another day at the Gardner Center, I stayed on campus Thursday for an event at the Haas Center that was for prospective and current fellows. There was a free dinner, a talk about finding fellowships, and an opportunity for networking afterward (they had me at "free dinner"; it was Darbar!). It was great seeing my fellow fellows again, and getting a chance to meet current seniors. Being on campus and around undergrads made me a little sad knowing that my time as an undergraduate was over, but I was also grateful that I had found a fellowship that very well suits my interests.  

This week’s theme is “Planting Seeds of Peace” because it reminded me of the Props Tree. But it goes much deeper than that. The whole purpose of this fellowship is to create more peace in my world. Everything I did this week helped set the foundation for my future work as a fellow. It may not look particularly fruitful now, but planting these seeds and making these connections with people will soon bear fruit!