Whiparound/July/First Week

[Amy Berkhoudt]

Good morning good people!

Can you feel the time ticking away for the expo of our Tikkun Projects? We can do it! I believe in you!

So I was putting together an informational video about the Food Academy yesterday with a friend of mine who is a very cool director and documentary film maker. He was interviewing me and my team and he did a really good job of asking broad-stroke questions about the program and then narrowing his questions down to asking about very specific moments that make our program what it actually is. These latter questions forced me to reflect concretely as to why I do what I do. I thought it was also a super helpful process as I begin to flesh out my Tikkun project.

What is your Story of Self? What was the one moment (get really specific) that changed you and charged with the task of "repairing the world"?

Here's mine (this one is different than the one I said yesterday during my interview).

I had a student, Henry, whose daily routine was to b-line to the back of class by himself, hoodie over his head, to find a lonely seat. I was his English teacher and I remember him writing very sad but beautiful essays about his family and life lessons. I would write him comments on his essays, encouraging him to continue writing honest pieces because he had a powerful voice. One day, Henry came up to me at the end of class and told me he left a note on my desk. The bell rang and I walked over to my desk to find a small piece of scrap paper with a few words on it. "Ms. B, I'm gay. -Henry." The next day I asked Henry if he wanted to talk about it. At the end of the school day we had a long discussion about acceptance, bullying, fear, and confidence. These conversations continued daily and slowly more and more students would join us in my classroom once the last bell of the day rung. Henry later started and led the first chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance club in Southwest Detroit. He joined the Detroit Food Academy that Summer and led the way, teaching his peers how to be passionate and compassionate workers to help restore a sense of community within their neighborhoods. Henry just needed someone to talk to, a little push in the right direction, and an opportunity to shine.

Everyday I am inspired by students like Henry and I will continue the work to give students like him an opportunity to create change.

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Amy Berkhoudt

Cell: 313.649.5282

a...@detroitfoodacademy.com

 

Executive Director of Programs

Detroit Food & Entrepreneurship Academy

http://www.detroitfoodacademy.com

Intern Coordinator 2013

James and Grace Lee Boggs School
http://boggseducationalcenter.org/

[Amy Berkhoudt]

lol. no one responded to this.

see you this weekend,
Amy

[Jesse Fetbroth]

Hey all,

 

Shame on me!  I was going to say us, but that seems a little rude.  :)

I'm not sure I have as distinct a Story of Self as Amy.  I do think, though, that the tide began to turn for me when I became a Legal Studies major in college.  As I'm sure I've said to you all before, I really loved my major.  It was focused on the way law functions in society, and I was able to take fascinating classes on everything from Gender & The Law, Terrorism & The Law, Immigrant & Refugee Law, and Law & Conscience.  It was pre-law, sociology, anthropology, psychology and more all rolled into one.  I was so fascinated by the way our society was structured and loved learning about everything from environmental injustice, to gender inequality, to second-class citizenship (which ended up being the focus of my senior year thesis after I volunteered in New Orleans post-Katrina).  This also sealed my fate- I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do (and still don't, as you all know far too well), but I did know it would always be located under the social justice drop-down menu.  

If only I could be a professional Legal Studies major...

I'm so excited to see you guys in just a few days!!!!  

Love,

Jesse

 

On Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 9:42 AM, Amy Berkhoudt <amy.be...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Jesse Fetbroth

781.696.8402