CLP Alum

This past weekend Marla and I had the opportunity to meet up with two past CLP alums, Samantha and Allison.  They were from the 08 class so they were the second CLP class.  It was interesting to see what has changed since their class and what is still the same.  They also gave us advice for the thesis.  Don't worry we will share.  It was also interesting to hear what they have been doing since CLP.  Samantha actually worked in my town for awhile before moving out to DC.  She now works for Congresswoman Janice Hahn, and Allison works for the DC Council.  I also found out that I have been corresponding with a CLP alum the whole semester and had no idea.  A past alum also worked for NOW and now serves as the president of Chicago NOW.  One of my job is to keep track of our chapters so I correspond quite frequently with presidents.  What a small world!

CLP may not be the biggest grad program out there, but we do have a lot of great alums who really care about us and our success.

Hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo!

Now for THIS Week’s Post...

This week was a very eventful one for me, which is nice because it is my final week here at Niagara.  On Tuesday I went down to Springfield for the Niagara Foundations annual Intercultural Reception.  We set up a bunch of cool Turkish pottery, there was a Turkish band playing, and a guy who would write your name in Turkish script (this was incredible, I got one for everyone in my family haha).  After some mingling with members of the Illinois General Assembly, there was food served in Jesse White’s office, which is ridiculously huge by the way.  After the food, there was a brief presentation of awards to various people, and Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan was the emcee.  I was able to talk to him for a few minutes and we shared a few stories about our individual trips to Turkey.  Then we had to pack everything we brought back into a rental van and drive home to Chicago.  I was given yesterday off since we got home around 1:30 AM that night, so I was able to do so much needed LSAT practice.  I’m really looking forward to get this thing over with.  Anyone else taking it June 11th?

Today, the Consul General of Israel is coming in to speak about current events in Israel, which I think will be very interesting with heightening tensions with Iran.  I’ll let you guys know how this event today goes in my next post.

P.S. - I just ate a chocolate donut, and it was delicious.

- Joey

Last Week’s Post

Hey Guys,

I am using the post for last week since I forgot to post, and this week’s will come immediately after (I know you’re pretty excited about that).  So last week Lori Healey, the Director of the NATO hosting committee stopped by the office for one of Niagara’s Morning Conversations.  These days are especially brutal because I have to be at work by 7 AM, which means I’m waking up at around 4:45 AM.  Anyway, it was nuts when she got here, and cameras from ABC, NBC, and Fox were here along with multiple newspapers.  Her presentation was pretty basic and short, and she was in and out of the office pretty quickly.  She address security issues, traffic control, etc. surrounding the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago.  I did get to interview her once she was done speaking though, which was pretty cool.  Other than that, the week was pretty uneventful except for my continued efforts on the Abrahamic Tent Initiative, which I told you guys about in one of my previous posts.  Hope all is well! See you in a few months!

Wal-Mart Protest and Unite Against the War on Women rally

First off, happy May everyone!  Can't believe it is May.  I feel like I just arrived in DC, and in a few short weeks, I'll be heading back to Illinois.  DC has been a great time.  So glad that I moved out here, and I can definitely see myself moving back out here in a few years.

Last week was both slow and busy at NOW.  Right now a lot of staff and officers are on vacation, because our annual conference is at the end of June, and they will not be able to take off when it gets closer.

On Thursday, we did partake in action with local workers' groups.  We have never been big fans of Wal-Mart since we don't believe they give their associates enough benefits.  Therefore, when allegations of Wal-Mart bribery in Mexico surfaced in the New York Times, we were all over it.  We, along with ally groups, protested a Marriot Hotel, because Arnie Sorenson aka Mr.Marriot is on the board of directors for Wal-Mart.  We are asking that Mike Duke and Rob Walton of Wal-Mart step down as well as stop construction of Wal-Mart stores in DC until a full federal investigation has taken place.  Needless to say, the protest got pretty intense.  Never have I seen so many security guards.

Anyways, this past weekend was also the Unite Against the War on Women Rally.  Rallies were held in 47 locations across the nation.  My boss spoke at the one in DC.  The DC rally had an array of speakers that ranged from men to women to transgender people to Catholics, atheists, and people of other faiths.  I truly enjoyed the rally.  It was upbeat and inspiring, and nice to see what you are working for.

Blahhh

Hellooooo everyone!


Sooo last week, not too much happened around the office, other than the fact that it was really busy. There really isn't much that I can say about the past week. Oh, there was this client who came in who didn't speak English, and I instantly panicked. I'm always very nervous about using my Spanish skills in real life situations! All of our volunteers who speak Spanish were in meetings, but I managed to maneuver through the conversation (haha)! On Saturday we had this volunteer appreciation event, which included pizza and cake! So, I was excited about that! Well, I need to get back to work, so I will talk to everyone soon. Have a good week :)

Woah!! Hey-oh! New layout for the Blogg... I am not exactly sure how to feel about this.... or how to use if for that matter...

On to the residency... Things have slowed down considerably as the approach to the end of the intern program at New America. I helped screen the new interns, and I have to say, I do not think I would have stood a chance to getting a spot at NAF for the summer had I never worked there. The competition is incredibly rough, especially during the summer.

One of the things that contributed to the smaller workload is the release of Peter's new book. It has been very exciting seeing how everything comes together. He is scheduled to travel extensively to promote the book-- he kicked off with the cover story of Time Magazine. Pick a copy if you get a chance, it is fantastic article... I am pretty sure he will be on John Stewart to promote the book as well..

Welp! Until next time!!

INSPIRE summit!

Hey everyone!

I've been so bad at this blog lately... my apologies. Around this time last month things started getting crazy. My sister came to visit, then another friend came and we did some traveling around Scandinavia, and then my research got hectic. I'm actually writing this from the Illini Union, as I'm currently on campus for the INSPIRE summit, a conference between Swedish universities and UIUC. Yesterday morning I gave a presentation on my research, so I've spent the last couple weeks in Sweden preparing intensively for that, and flew onto campus last weekend. Being back is strange, but pretty exciting. This Sunday, I'll be on a plane back to Stockholm!

The conference has been amazing. Last night I elbowed my way into the VIP dinner, where I ate fancy food with the U.S. ambassador to Sweden, Chancellor Wise, and the Presidents of three Swedish universities, among other really interesting attendees. I talked up CLP to lots and lots of people.

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on my residency, but I'll update more extensively (with pics!) very soon!

I love reading about everyone's awesome semesters! Excited to see you all again. If any of you are on campus this week, let me know!

Mel