April Blog post

Nothing too fun this month. I do have to say that I am very glad to be done with independent component two. And to be honest, I'm getting pretty sick of senior project. Just like everyone else, I'd imagine.

The garden which I integrated into my component two is coming along beautifully. I'd take a picture of it but it's dark outside.

The junior interview which took place today was pretty interesting. I'm glad that I was able to give some advice, and the juniors which I spoke to seemed somewhat interested in what I had to say.

Seriously, this is all I can think of right now. Peace.

March Blog Post

This month has been pretty uneventful. Unfortunately, my mentor has been out of the office due to some personal stuff and therefore I haven't been able to go in too often.

On another note, my research is going pretty well. I've been able to formulate several answers which I feel are fundamental. For now, my best answer remains "The best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to encourage underprivileged teenagers attend college is by adopting a different business model." The non-profit business model is flawed in many ways. For example, by law, a humanitarian non profit isn't allowed to make any profit, and therefore, there isn't much money to sponsor it's activities, rendering it virtually ineffective. The way that most non-profits acquire capital is by practically begging for money from funders (usually right wing foundations). They never get enough money out of them, and have to keep coming back for more. Basically, the problem with non-profits today is that most use business plans that make them unable to sustain themselves in an economic sense. I'd also like to say that I feel that the essential question format is too restrictive in some cases. Yes it's good that a question be specific, but the way that essential questions are supposed to be structured makes some of these projects way too specific, making it difficult to find research as hindering the ability to explore closely related (and relevant) topics of interest.

February Monthly Blog Post

So this month, I was able to conduct my 3rd interview with Nancy Mintie, founder of Uncommon Good. I think that this has been my most insightful and useful interview to date. Nancy explicitly talked about the non-profit struggle with big business and lack of funding. She also presented her ideas on how to make it better. She talked about how the non-profit model is seriously flawed and that the best way to bring about social change is by investing in socially-conscious businesses, which basically take all the altruistic/humanitarian aspects of non-profits and meld them with revenue-earning practices. This means that the business can make enough money to fund it's good-willed ventures instead of struggling to fund raise and squeeze money out of conservative, unwilling foundations. Her answers reassured me that I'm on the right path because all of what she said coincided with the research I've done.

So I just want to comment on the first advisory house meeting we've had...
I found this time to be very poorly spent. I already know what articles I have, which help me with what, and of which I need to find more of. These meetings are supposed to be for our benefit. I feel like our time would be better spent doing research on the I pads or something like that.

January Blog Post

A blog post for the month of January...

This has been a pretty eventful beginning of the year, especially this past week with 30 minute presentations. What follows are a couple of things I've noticed about them which are essential to the success of these presentations, and which I'll have to make sure I accomplish.

• Appropriate body language
• MAKE TIME 
•  Have a creative and engaging activity. ENGAGING. 
• Provide a clear explanation of the EQ

So my essential question is "What is the best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to help underprivileged students attend college?" The answer I've composed for my presentation that is to happen a week from this upcoming Monday is "by exploring and employing business practices used by profit-oriented businesses." 

December Blog Post

Blog post for the month of December

First off, let me start off by saying Happy New Year!! I am excited to begin a new year full of academic achievement as well as personal advancement. I hope whoever reads this blog post is also ready for a new year and has no regrets about the last. 

So now, about my mentorship...

I've been thinking about the activity I had the class do for my ten minute presentation a long time ago. What I had the class do was: 1) design a non-profit organization and establish a goal for their non-profit 2) give their non-profit a meaningful and creative name. I never considered partaking in the activity myself, but now, after volunteering at Uncommon Good, I've given the activity some thought and this is what I've come up with...

If I were to create a non-profit organization, it's purpose would be to raise awareness about bored teenagers as well as provide outreach for them. Honestly, I've witnessed this firsthand. When teenagers get bored, they seek excitement in all the wrong things. What my non-profit organization would do would be create a program that enables teenagers to get involved in fun and productive activities outside of school. It would let teenagers plan their own activities and manage their own trips. Providing teenagers with healthy outlets would stimulate them and encourage them to be more productive and involved in school. The name of my organization would be "Adults for the Betterment of Bored Teenagers" or ABBT for short.

This is only one of my ideas. When I finish school, I hope to establish a non-profit with the goal of helping teenagers one way or another.

November Blog Post

Blog Post for the Month of November 

Another month, another blog post...

So my mentor-ship is going alright. Nothing to report, really. Pretty uneventful. My essential question has progressed, thanks to that last mandatory blog post. My EQ is much clearer and I feel like I now have a better idea of where I want to take this senior project. That said, I feel like my EQ could be refined further still, because it is a tad vague and open to interpretation. But enough about that.

My mentor-ship has helped me realize that although I do like the fulfilling taste that non-profit work leaves in my mouth, I can't work behind a desk for the rest of my life. It's just not my calling. 

Another thing I've realized is the importance of time management. That's something I have to become better at. The way I'm doing things now is too stressful. At my mentor-ship, I've witnessed the organized way these employees go about their day. If I'm to become a professional of sorts, I'll have to start picking up on some of these good habits and begin utilizing them while I'm still in high school. 

Lastly, we've tentatively brought forth the idea of having a cleanup day at the LA River sometime in January or February. Just thought whomever reads these should know just so you get the idea of what type of work we do. 

October Blog Post

A blog post for the month of October...

Well, there really isn't much to report. My internship is going well. I'm still helping out at the office and learning new things: managerial skills, the importance of organization, how to perfect spreadsheets, etc.. My essential question remains pretty much the same: "what is the best way to run a successful non-profit organization?" And my answer is still leaning towards public image.

I do have to say though, my service learning hours have me thinking if I really want to have a desk job when I graduate college. Although a desk job usually means that you'll be getting decent pay and benefits, I don't think I'll be able to handle one. Everything is too structured and procedural for my taste. That doesn't mean that I regret taking on the topic I did for senior project. I feel like I should do some exploring, and non-profit work offers me a good starting point.

Lesson one presentation was kind of helpful. I now know that I have to get better at presenting in order for me to make it through two hours of presentation. During the lesson one presentation, I noticed that I was messing up my words a bit, so I'll have to make sure that I enunciate. Furthermore, I realized that I unnecessarily repeated some information. So I'll have to create some sort of mental checklist.  

Yeah well that's about it for this month. I hope that by next month I'll be informed enough to be able to comfortably "present" on my topic for at least 15 minutes. Baby steps.

September Blog Post

September

This past month has been pretty busy: college essays to work on, scholarships to apply to, schoolwork to fulfill...but nonetheless, I've made time to learn more about my topic and do some hands-on activities with the organization I'm volunteering at.

Native American Ceremonial Staff donated by
local Native American community. 

Recently, our organization took a trip to a local farm (at Pomona college) where we helped with various tasks, such as: planting, weeding, tilling the soil, and doing a little bit of harvesting from last season's crop.

It was really nice to see so many people come out and be willing to help. With this type of effort, we were done in under two hours.

Recently, Uncommon Good witnessed the completion of a new office building for it's staff members as well as the community. The build was amazing. Instead of using a conventional stick-frame design, the architectural firm in charge of the project, CEDG (Claremont Environmental Design Group) used...older building techniques. The office is constructed entirely out earth, more than 50% of which was already on-site. By using methods such as cooling chimneys, thermal mass, natural lighting,  and grey water systems, the building is immensely eco-friendly and cheap to maintain. What's more is that the community helped in the actual building process.

Native artwork on the walls of Uncommon Good's
New office building.

Thus far, I've learned a couple of important things about non-profit work and keeping a non-profit organization in order. First off, because non-profits financially rely on donations and fundraising, a good public image must be maintained. Websites should be updated frequently and public relations should be handled with care. Secondly, although government sponsorship can be good, it is wise to be wary, because things can turn bureaucratic pretty quickly.

I plan to expand my borders by volunteering at other non-profit organizations so that I may learn not just about community-aid and environmental foundations, but also about others, such as health and legal-aid non-profit foundations.