Shared Effort

Attendees of the DC Area Committee Meetings at the CityBridge Offices at the Watergate. From left former Fellow Brittany Stanley, Charity Fesler, Arthur McKee, Lindsay Warner, Ari Altman, Caitlin Sullivan, Area Committee Coordinator Kate Lewis-LaMonica, Kathleen McCleery, Lori Mihalich-Levin and Kenly Webster.

Earlier this month, I spent two meeting-filled days in Washington, DC. Two days during which it was 102 degrees, and the heat was so intense that the air quality was code red, the buses ran for free and I tried to avoid arriving at my various meetings looking like I had just been playing in a sprinkler. Now that you’re picturing the lovely weather, I’d like to share with you a bit about my experience with Princeton AlumniCorps’ Project 55 Fellowship Program in our nation’s capital on one of my meeting-filled days.

My first day began in Georgetown where I met Lori Mihalich-Levin ‘01, one of DC’s mentor coordinators. Thankfully, it was perhaps the only time I have witnessed a Starbucks nearly empty at 8:15 a.m. on a workday. We immediately spotted each other and easily found a table in the back. We spoke about how we each became involved with AlumniCorps and the influential role of mentors in the fellowship year.

My next appointment was at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. E. L. Haynes mission includes ensuring every student attains high levels of academic achievement and succeeds at the college of his or her choice regardless of race, gender, home language and socioeconomics. It was my first organization visit, and the first day for new fellow Sam Page ‘10 as well. After a brief tour, I met with Sam and his supervisor and listened as they spoke about the year to come.

For lunch, I met with Kate Lewis-LaMonica ‘08, Washington DC’s dynamic area coordinator, under whose leadership the number of fellowship placements has nearly doubled. She was wearing an orange dress (for Princeton, of course) and radiated enthusiasm as she shared her thoughts regarding DC’s continuing opportunities for growth.

After lunch, I was off to Tryst Coffeehouse in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC. Tryst is one of those coffee shops that prides itself on its individuality and serves animal crackers with its lattes or smoothies. There, I met Liz Rosen ’10 who was a few days away from beginning her fellowship at Partnership for Public Service. We discussed topics varying from moving in to blogging and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

The next meeting on my agenda was the impetus for my visit, the Washington, DC Area Committee Strategy Session. It was informative to be around the committee members as they brainstormed for the year ahead. The committee was welcoming, thoughtful and had a great sense of humor. Lest I forget, we certainly covered the new name ”Princeton AlumniCorps, AlumniCorps being one word, capital A, capital C, no space, no e, and never abbreviated”.

My last meeting of the night was with four of the new DC fellows. We met at Café Citron- renowned for its atmosphere, fried plantains and mojitos- and got to know each other a bit. We discussed apartment-hunting adventures, the past weekend’s 4th of July plans, and first days at fellowships.  I must say, meeting our new fellows was likely the highlight of a wonderful trip! I know they will a have successful year positively contributing to their organizations, and sharing their experiences in the PP55 fellows blog!

Sara Gordon joined the Princeton AlumniCorps staff as Project 55 Fellowship Program Manager in June 2010. She works closely with local volunteers, fellows, and nonprofit partners to help support and sustain our fellowship program.