Final Blog

 ·       What inspired you to create this project?

My whole life, I have been inspired by helping others. It fascinated me the good and joy that could come from being kind to others and helping them, and it frustrated me that there wasn’t more of that in the world. I also had amazing role models around me. My Uncle, David Shapiro, is a prime example of a selfless and kindhearted person. My mom is the most loving and joyful person I have ever met, and they have both defined what it means for me to be a good human. So, when creating my project, it was not hard to figure out that I wanted it to be about service. I wanted to know what a career in giving to others looked like. If and how careers like this were possible and what it took.

·       A self-reflection about what went well with your project.

I originally planned my project around my work in Boston, both online and in person. But I found a fantastic mentor here who really made my time working in Cleveland valuable. I ended up spending so much time with Mrs. Thome, and I got to see what a genuinely good human who has a passion for their job looks like. She is dedicated to not only giving to organizations but also being involved in their work. At every place we visited, she knew the people doing work there well, and they respected her so much. Then, in Boston, I had so many meaningful experiences and conversations with Mr. Shapiro. As I said, he is someone I have always looked up to, and he has such an interesting and important job. I had been hoping to learn what it takes to be able to dedicate your life to the benefit of your community and the world, and I figured that out. What is needed is an unwavering spirit and kind soul, and the patience and perseverance to overcome obstacles that will stand in your way.

·       A self-reflection about what was lacking about your project, if anything.

Well, a few things definitely changed from my original plan. When I initially reached out to Mr. Shapiro again, I did so pretty close to the first day of our project (definitely a mistake on my part and a valuable lesson), so he did not have much for me to do then. Of course, Mrs. Thome helped so much with that, and I am so grateful, but my work changed for the first two weeks and was less remote work and more in-person work. Then, because of the great success of my lacrosse team, I ended up having less time in Boston. We made it past the first two rounds of the playoffs, so I had to delay my trip. My time in Boston was so valuable and insightful, but I wish I had more time there than I ended up getting.

·       What did you learn during your time on project? Include supporting examples.

I learned so many crucial lessons. First, with Mrs. Thome, I learned that you have to be thorough and committed to your work in your field. She only has a certain amount of money she can allocate to organizations, and it is her responsibility alone to make sure they are trustworthy and use the money wisely. She also taught me for the same reason, sadly, you can not say yes to everybody, which is why it is even more important to be involved with and know the organizations you are partnered with. Mrs. Thome also taught me there is not always only one solution to an answer. Many problems come up, and many tasks have to be completed; in the example of my work with Mrs. Thome, she had me reallocate funds for the organizations she works with, and she said even though our lists were different, did not mean that one was bad. There are just usually many solutions and possibilities to those types of tasks. With Mr. Shapiro, I learned how committed you must be to your work. Every day, when we got to the office, he would be working for nearly the whole day, talking to co-workers and partners, planning for future events, and reviewing previous ones. He had to be very on top of everything because his responsibility is so great. But he also taught me that great responsibility does not always mean stress. He does his job happily and finds ways to have a lot of time with his family.

·       How can Hawken School continue to partner with your organization? Would there be something we could do on service day? What about any other longer term ideas? 

Hawken could definitely get involved with the local YMCA. Whether that is going down to help clean or organize or running camps that the YMCA may be organizing, I am sure there are many great opportunities for Hawken to get involved. As for Mrs. Thomes’ organization, it is a bit harder because it is a foundation, so I am not sure what opportunities Hawken would have to partner with her besides creating amazing initiatives that could be worthy of her funding.

·       Advice to rising juniors/seniors about planning a project

Plan ahead and communicate effectively and often. Senior projects are very cool opportunities, so be considerate of the people you are partnering with and take it seriously because they are dedicating time to help you.

·       Your most important takeaway overall

My most important takeaway from this experience would be to keep working hard to improve the world and stay dedicated. It takes serious work to be a leader in this line of work, but it is definitely worth it. At the very least, I can always be a human who treats others with kindness and respect. A more important takeaway may even just be to find ways to help however I can.

To both of my mentors, thank you so so much. Your kindness and generosity have allowed me to learn more than I could have hoped for when starting this project, and more importantly, you showed me how to be a great human being. I owe you both so much, and I am so grateful for the work you have put into helping me grow. I look forward to staying in contact and can’t wait to help in any way that you need me to in the future. Thank you!!!