I Think I Can

What did you take away from the conversation with Dr. Amy Wade? What resonated the most with you? Why? Was there anything that surprised you?

First off, I was extremely excited to hear Amy's presentation because I feel so strongly about the lack of people who understand the amount of obstacles many students face just to prepare for college. Hearing her speak really hit home because these are all issues the people in my town faced throughout our high school experience. I feel like over the years I have been trying to decide where I want my focus to be while working in non-profit and a large part of me keeps coming back to education.

One of the many things that surprised me was how many students stayed in college after they arrived. A 72% dropout rate is even higher than I imagined. I didn't realize how much went in to keeping a student at college once they get there. If someone is that far removed from a culture where education is emphasized, among other things, then college would be a culture shock for them as Amy mentioned. In a way, I was culture shocked by coming to college and being around people who really valued their education and realized what it took to be successful. My hometown is different from most places, but very far from what Amy works with every day.

The rest of Amy's presentation that really caught my attention was on the Board side of things. There were so many things that I had not yet thought about with the board-employee relationship. Amy having to explain why she wasn't applying for certain grants, even though it was her job, to people on the board seems like it would just be frustrating. The fact that a company was donating a lot of money, but wanted a position on the board also puts her in a bind. Does that mean now she has to try to make this new board member just as happy as all of the others even though he/she is just on the board because of a large sum of money? I understood their were politics involved with running a non-profit, especially when large amounts of money are involved, but I guess I didn't realize that it would be someone like Amy's job to deal with these politics constantly. Even though this is boggling my mind, I guess I got out of Amy's presentation that this isn't even a worry for her. That her job is about the people she is helping. The politics is just one of the many small obstacles she is dealing with daily to make sure that families and students are prepared adequately for college.