Dear Mrs. Garman

Dear Mrs. Garman,

Since I have volunteered with New Pathways for Youth, I have learned so many things about myself. Before I joined this organization, I thought that I was a patient person, but I had to re-learn patience all over again. I appreciate all of the guidance that you extended to me, and the workshops you instructed were always exceptional. I think that you, the youth, and the employees at NPFY brought a different kind of leader out me. Before this experience I had no clue what it took to be a mentor. I am truly grateful for this opportunity, and appreciate all of the mentorship that I have been exposed to. 

What I have grown to understand, through your direction, is that mentorship is always continuous. Whether you are in adulthood or adolescence, you should always seek the knowledge of others because you can learn what you least expected. You should strive to be humble, and let others learn from their mistakes in the manner that they fell is right. You taught me that all cultures should not be treated in the same context, but we should learn to adapt to new customs and courtesies. I am proud to have met your acquaintance, and plan to continue to make a positive impact in the lives of our youth. 

Sincerely,

Fatemah Bernard 

What I Have Learned

     I have learned some amazing things from New Pathways for Youth.

• I have learned that all youth can be reached, but you must show your vulnerable side before you can expect the same in return. 
• I have learned that I am not "Mrs. Fix it"; not everything needs to be fixed, sometimes you have to let someone experience the outcomes of their decisions before they "get it". 
• I have learned that kids, no matter their education or socioeconomic class, are extraordinarily intelligent. Seriously, they are crazy smart. 
• I have learned that coaching does not mean controlling, it means sharing your guidance and showing understanding. 
• I have learned that I cannot forget that I have made really REALLY dumb decisions, and there is no need to place judgment. We should all share those times with our youth, and let them know that it is okay to make crazy decisions, but it is more important to learn from our choices. 
• I have learned that we have so much to learn from complete strangers, and people that we did not expect to learn something from. I encourage everyone to try and learn something from someone least expected. 

     During the beginning of my quest, I had a few goals: becoming a better leader, gaining an understanding of the challenges that this non-profit organization faces, and establishing the foundation of a life-long bond with my youth. Thus far, I think that I am a must better leader than when I started out, but this will be a continuous process for many years to come. One of the major things that this organization faces is funding. This is an area where I would like to gain more skills in, and hopefully conquer. Lastly, Shea moved right before our 1 year mark together. We still keep in contact from time- to- time, and she is still growing and prospering. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, while it lasted. 

     

Organizational Strengths

    New Pathways for Youth has several strengths as an organization. They are fantastic communicators, provide great leadership and leadership resources, mentorship, project planning, resourceful, and they have a fantastic organizational culture. As far as communication goes, they make sure that you and your youth have all of the necessary resources to grow together. In addition, they host a introduction between you and the youth's family and initiate the ice breaker. They also make arrangements for goodbye's, when the time comes. This organization has an endless amount of leaders within the organization. They hold monthly workshops for you and your youth to attend, which teach you new skills and better communication techniques. 

     Their organization specializes in mentorship, and they conduct an interview with all of their mentors. I think that this part is extremely important, because they care about the caliber of people that are around their youth. They are excellent project planners, and they hold camps each year for both the youth and mentor. I got the chance to attend this year's camp and it was awesome! They are extremely resourceful and network with other organizations to enhance their mission. Lastly, their organizational culture is exceptional. All of their employees are former volunteers in different capacities. They promote diversity in their organization, and they are extremely open to different cultural norms. I can honestly say that everyone in their organization believes in the mission. One thing that I think they could add to their organization is a youth mentoring program (where their older youth can mentor some of the younger kids). However, this would have to be started in the school setting, as the mentors must be able to drive. 

Career Services: FBI

     Last week, our career services sent out an email regarding the FBI information session and interviews. I attended both, and they were awesome! This email was sent out to all of ASU students, and there was only about 20 of us that showed up (WOW). The FBI is currently hiring a plethora of students that will have their bachelors degree by May of 2015. There are no required skills and they have several job positions: Program Management and Analyst, Budget Analyst, Administration, Intelligence Analyst, Computer Tech, and many more. Some of the jobs are not Arizona specific, but this is a great opportunity. 

     I attended the interview, and while I cannot tell you what they asked I will tell you that it was like any ordinary interview. As long as you can articulate what you are good at, and what you have done then you would do great. I am not sure if they are going to have another information session and set of interviews, but I would highly encourage all of you to go. This organization is a well renowned government institution, and they are extremely prideful about their agencies ethics. There may be more jobs available of USA jobs, so check them out! 

Outdoor Lovers and Policy Summit

     For those of you who are interested, there are many students like yourself that love the outdoors. Recently, one of my classmates (Rick White) sent me a request to join his Urban Recreation page on Facebook. He teaches BMX riding for children, and is in the mist of starting his own non-profit organization. If you have no kids and want to ride, I suggest you join as well since he has some awesome events planned. The latest adventure he went on was at the desert trails park in East Mesa. 

     For all of my policy lovers who missed the Plan Phoenix Summit, it was pretty cool! It was hosted by the Mayor, City Counsel, and City Manager's office at the city hall. They had several information sessions about some interesting things for Phoenix. Yes, I even learned something! Did you know that the land of the sun is not ran at all by solar energy! SAY WHAT! Also, they have some plans to put all of the public transit information on an app, so riders will know exactly when to hit the stops. We had some pretty good discussions about starting a plastic bag ordinance, but the speakers stated that it would have to be an Arizona wide change in order to be realistic (I suggested that we can be the change agent, and not wait for Arizona as a whole to change). There was a sustainability session that addressed several topics, that I did not get a change to sit in but I wanted everyone to know that the information is out there. 

Women's Cooking Class Success

Hello All,

     As many of you may know, I am a nutrition instructor for Refugee Focus. We teach women's nutriton classes and teach the women how to read food labels, understand food portions, guidance on how to save money when shopping healthy, and teach them about food related diseases. Last Friday, we held a cooking class centered around diabetes. For those of you who do not know, diabetes kills more people per year than AIDS! 

     We reserved the kitchen at Taylor Place (which is very nice!), and held the cooking class there. We made a vegetarian style stew, with brown rice that was cooked with diced onion and chicken broth. This event was such a great success! The women absolutely loved the class, and fell in love with our mini dark chocolate covered bananas and baked sweet potato fries. Since rice is a staple food for many cultures, we did an education piece on how certain rices (mainly white) are large contributors to diabetes. Shea and I always spoke about becoming a leader in our community, and I was so sad that she was not there to enjoy this victory. If anyone would like to become a volunteer instructor, please let me know! We would love the extra help. 

How NPFY Demonstrates Public Service

Hello All,

This weeks topic is about describing how New Pathways for Youth demonstrates public service. Firstly, I would like to start by defining what public service means to me. Public service is typically provided by governmental or non-profit institutions. It is a service that is done to directly or indirectly, impact or benefit the public. Public service also provides resources to diverse demographics, and many of these resource would not have been accessed if it were not for the public service sector. Lastly, public service is not motivated by profits, but it is largely about enhancing the welfare of the public.

New Pathways for Youth is a non-profit organization. This means that any profits that are earned are reinvested back into the organizations mission. It is their mission to empower youth to reach their full potential. This is done through their life skills workshops, and mentoring from adult volunteers. Many people think that the population they serve are children, but I would argue that they serve both children and adults. They build community relationships, and they provide access to education resources, mentorship, and skills training. They teach matches how to manage their stress, how to communicate, how to be responsible, and how to be accountable. This organization constantly provides empowerment to hundreds of children in the Phoenix area, and most of these kids come from either shelters, or impoverished demographics. The great things that these kids do as a result of this organization is proof that they provide an excellent public service. They are impacting an entire generation of children, and equipping them with life skills and communication techniques. They serve children, and teach those children to serve others; this service undoubtably impacts all of the public.

What Shea and I Have Learned

Want to Teach Nutrition?

Hello Everyone,

I have another great opportunity for any one who is interested in teaching nutrition classes for Refugee Focus. My colleague and I had created the curriculum, and have been instructing these nutrition classes since the beginning of 2014. Nutrition experience is always welcomed, but you do not have to be in the nutrition program in order to teach. (I have a background in nutrition, but I am currently majoring in public policy). On an informative note, Refugee Focus provides assistance to the incoming refugee population. They offer English classes, trade classes, assistance with living, assistance with employment, and various other resources. They are an awesome non-profit organization, and having extra help with the classes would be greatly appreciated.

What you will be doing: You would be learning the nutrition curriculum alongside myself and my colleague, Kavita. We will teach you how to interact with the class, and how to instruct with an interpreter present. You will be teaching 3 hour classes for groups of women (typically 5-10 women). You will get to learn about diverse cultures, and help incoming refugees with their health. Lastly, this can be used as volunteer hours! If you would like to know more information, please email me directly at fatemah_bernard@yahoo.com.

Take Care!

New Student Organization Interests

Hello Everyone,

For all of you who are interested in joining a student organization, there is exciting news for you! There is a new student organization called, "Downtown Policy Assembly. I am one of the founders of the organization, and I would like to extend an invitation to all of you who would like to join our efforts. Here is our mission statement: The Downtown Policy Assembly is a motivated organization that becomes involved with policies at the local, state, and federal levels. We discover how policies affect our communities to gain a better understanding of how the policy process functions. We organize projects and create outreach programs to address the issues surrounding the policies that affect our communities, and discuss these matters over monthly dialogues. We welcome all interested student candidates to our organization.

We are looking for diverse individuals that would like to come together to help advocate or solve issues that evolve during the implementation process of policy making. You do not have to be from a policy or political science discipline, as we have affiliates from all different backgrounds. It is important to note that we are a new organization, and we want individuals that are willing to help transform our vision and mission. Please join us via orgsync, or at our next meeting. The next meeting is at 6:00pm, behind the A.E. Building (near the grassy area with the tables). Please email me at fatemah_bernard@yahoo.com to rsvp for this or future meetings.

Leadership at New Pathways for Youth

Leadership plays a huge role at New Pathways for Youth. All members of their organization have a role in leadership, including the kids. Many of the employees are in charge of different programs to include the program that I am apart of. For example, my supervisor oversee's all of the mentoring programs, manages the grant reporting, and oversee's the evaluation of all programs. The pals program coordinator is in charge of overseeing each volunteer match. I am also allowed to utilize my leadership skills. Recently, I was asked to attend the pals camp, where I was able to coordinate the meal prep and eating schedule. 

All of the staff have a passion for guiding the matches and all of the volunteers instead of making decisions for them. For example, Shae and I attended a bullying workshop and instead of telling the kids how to handle bullying, they asked the kids how they would stop bullying. They also asked the kids how others feel when they are bullied, and to make their own public service announcements on how to prevent bullying. The kids are very involved with leadership, and often take charge of their given tasks even when they are not called upon. While New Pathways for Youth has many leadership programs, their main focus is teamwork. Lastly, they let others take leadership roles, and are not afraid to admit when someone else can do a job more efficiently.

Reflections As a Mentor

Thus far, my journey as a mentor has been very rewarding. I had been with my youth for over a year, and got to watch her make decisions that would alter her everyday life. She has reminded me the value of mentorship, and how easy it is to simply ask for help. This has inspired me to go outside of my comfort zone this month and reach out to all my available resources. I have had several interviews with different professionals this month; I spoke with our deputy city manager, the director of programs for New Pathways for Youth, the youth and education program manager for the city of Phoenix, and the director of research and evaluation for the Arizona Charter Schools Association.

While all of these people may not become my mentor, they were all very excited about sharing their experiences and knowledge with a complete stranger. This made me realize the power of moving outside of my comfort zone, and seeing how important it is to ask for help when you need guidance or direction. Being a mentor is more than giving advice, it is recognizing when you also need mentorship. The cycle of mentorship should continue, regardless of what you know. We are all limited to our experiences, but limitless to the experiences of others. So, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the resources you have around you.

Interview, Deputy City Manager of Phoenix

Hello Everyone,

I recently scheduled a couple of interviews with some professionals in the public sector. The interview that I will be sharing is from our Deputy City Manager, Rick Niamark. Rick graduated with his masters degree in public policy and participated in the Phoenix management internship. He stated that he never planned to do the job that he has now, but he wanted to interact with the public and be apart of making positive changes for the community. His main responsibilities are to meet with several departments to gain an understanding on what these departments need from the city. Then he becomes apart of the solutions process, and often times presents many of these issues to the city council.

Rick explained that he is the odd ball in his office, as many of his coworkers have their degree's in public administration. Rick says that his skills in data analytics helps him bring diversity to his office, since he has an extensive background in numbers and economics as this is what his degree prepared him for. He explained that these skills were useful in finding solutions to problems, but he had to gain communication, writing, articulation, and leadership skills outside of his degree. He also stated that anyone that is interested in this career field should do the management internship for the city of Phoenix. However, you must have your masters degree to become eligible.

Rick advised me to become proficient in negotiation and diplomacy skills before I reached his position. He stated that these skills will set me ahead of my peers. The new trends for his career are simple; there is a shortage of city managers, and universities are starting to increase their degree programs for the public sector. He thinks that there is a bright outlook for students pursuing this career field, because of these trends. Even though, I am not interested in becoming a city manager, I set the interview to get an idea of what my options were. I think that this career would be very rewarding since I would physically see the results of my choices, but the long hours, stress, and politics may hinder my interest toward this career.

TED Talks

Greetings Everyone,

     For all of you who enjoy watching TED Talks, there is a great episode by Ron Finley. The premise of the video is that anyone can transform their neighborhood by acting and not just conversing about what needs to be done. Ron is from South Central, California where there are miles upon miles of vacant lots that are owned by the city. He expresses his frustration with the lack of food in his community, and that many people in poverty do not have access to dependable and nutritious foods. Ron eventually got tired of staring at the generations of families that were suffering from this and decided to turn a vacant lot into a community garden. 

     After the success of his first garden, he began to expand and then the city served him a notice saying that he needed to remove the gardens or face a warrant. He challenged the city and won his battle, but it is amazing that the city wanted to end something that was absolutely good. Ron was teaching people how to grow their own food, so that they would not have to depend on the government or suffer from food insecurity. What made this video so powerful was Ron's candor. He explained that many people from all over the state wanted to sit down and (in his words) "talk about some shit. He then explained that nothing gets done by only talking, but that we all must act to produce the change that we want. 

Teach for America Seminar

Hello Everyone,

     Yesterday, I attended the Teach for America seminar. I found out that there are multiple organizations like this one; another being "Teaching Fellows". In my opinion, the best thing about this organization is that they serve the lower socioeconomic populations and help students obtain their degree. They showed us a quote that was an eye opener; "just eight percent of kids growing up in low income communities graduate college by age 24". There are many benefits to this program, but the one that was most applicable for me was that you will have two years of teaching experience along with your masters degree. 

     There are some important dates to remember for this program, for all of you who are interested. The application deadline is October 24th, phone interviews are in November, and the final interview is between December second and fifth. The key take aways from building a successful resume for this program are to highlight your academic achievement, work experience and leadership, and what you are proud of. It appears that the most important thing is that you are passionate, and can show that you have been in a leadership role. The leadership role does not have to be in teaching, it merely needs to be in something that you were successful in.

     The program starts during the summer, where you will obtain training and shadow an experienced teacher. You will have to be in the masters program full time and teach full-time, which can be difficult but you are in a class with your teaching peers. In addition, you do not have to take the GRE and your masters thesis is broken up over the course of the two years. Since they do not have the educational policy masters for the program, I am considering doing a concurrent masters in public policy and educational policy degree. However, I still think that this is an excellent program for any degree discipline. 

Shae and I

      Out of all of my experiences with Shae, there is one that takes the cake, literally. One of Shae's most promising talents is her baking. She enjoys baking and completing exotic projects. We decided that we should build a three tiered cake, with each level representing a goal. Now, I have baked plenty of cakes in my lifetime, but I must admit that making a layered cake is not the easiest!

     The first layer we made was vanilla, the second layer was half chocolate and vanilla, and the third layer was marble. To make you all even more hungry, we put cookies and creme icing on it. The first layer represented our goal of achieving something that we thought was a solid accomplishment. This is where our mountain hiking idea came from. Our second layer represented our two personal goals. Shae wanted to do well on her standardized testing, and I wanted to do well on my biology final. In between the baking, we made a verbal commitment to apply ourselves so that we could achieve those two goals. Our third layer represented our goal of creating a better bond with one another. Shae came up with the great idea of making a memory box. The memory box is where we could put a small piece of memorabilia from our activities together. Lastly, we ate the cake and watched her beloved show, Law and Order SVU. 

Something New

Hello Everyone,

     I have just found out about some interesting information for those of you who enjoy teaching or want to embark on education policy. There is an organization called, Teach for America, which helps to provide quality teachers for children who face the challenges of poverty. Essentially, you would teach for them for two years and obtain a teaching certificate or a masters in education upon your completion. You also get paid during your teaching. I am attending an information session for the program tomorrow, but you can find out more information at their website. 

     In addition, ASU has a new masters degree plan through the education department: Masters in Education Policy. Education is my passion, so I am very curious to find out more about this degree plan. As you all know, I am in the public policy program, but this seems like a great opportunity for me to work on an area of policy that I am passionate about. My hope is that the college of public programs decides to implement a concurrent degree plan with the education policy, in the near future. I will have some more information regarding the program soon! I hope this has been beneficial to many of you. 

Any Given Day

     A typical day at my internship is partly unpredictable and planned. Shea and I will typically schedule a time for me to pick her up, and then we explore Phoenix. Although, some of our planned events will be occupied at New Pathways for Youth, as we attend monthly workshops that build our relationship. Two specific events that come to mind is our trip to Camelback mountain, and our trust relay at New Pathways for Youth. 

     One of our first trips was to Camelback mountain, where we hiked to the highest point. One of the key lessons that we learned from our workshops is to try to conquer our fears. My biggest fear is heights, so this challenge was extremely scary for me. Shea and I also had to learn to trust each other, and we had to help one another up many of the obstacles that the mountain presented. I distinctly remember wanting to quit after the third slope, as this slope was the steepest. However, Shea encouraged me to continue up the mountain. It took about three hours to do the whole trip, and Shea was so tired that she thought she wouldn't be able to get back down the mountain. So, every time she doubted herself I reminded her of all the times that she thought she could not do something and still completed it. She completed the whole trip, and we celebrated our victory afterward.

     The next event was at a New Pathways for Youth workshop. Here we were tasked to perform a trust relay against several other volunteer matches. Each trial tested our trust of one another, and was scored on the completion of the task. One trail that I recall was when we had to connect one of our legs to each other, then attach a balloon to the two free legs. We had to work together to pop the balloons of the other matches, while keeping ours from being popped. It was a lot tougher then it sounds, and we took 1st place out of all the trials. We learned the precious lesson of teamwork and trust together. 

The Imaginary Scenery

Hello Everyone,

     This morning, Angel and I went for a run behind my house on a dirt trail. I call it the imaginary scenery, because it's truly that. To let you all in on my experience before I describe its true essence, I will give you all a brief run down of what I saw. First things first, there is a gorgeous row of desert trees that perfectly stack along a mile's stretch of dirt trail. The trees perfectly cast their shadows, turning their reflections into odd shapes along the path. The dirt trail is fixed with exotic rocks, and separates the animated water channel. The channel walls contain disproportional murals of artwork, as if they were intentionally set up for their first art gallery. Many birds glide down to the channel and ride its calm migrating stream. At the very end of the trail stands the majestic cliff, where the water crashes to its doom, and where Angel and I are halfway to celebrating a great run.
     The truth behind my imaginary scenery is that all of the desert trees are cased along a huge wall that separates the trail from several trucking companies, and the shadows only cover the trench that separates the trail. Therefore, the sun gets ample opportunities to display its true power of heat. The dirt trail is cluttered with rocks of all shapes and sizes, in which, I nearly twist my ankle on. The water channel is a very large gaping water runoff ditch, and is filled with mud and debris like grocery karts. The artwork along the cement walls is some very interesting graffiti; although, it looks as if some kids tried to paint their best representation of their favorite cartoons. Regardless of the displaced debris, the birds still ride down the stream of water looking for bugs to eat. The cliff is a very large gutter, with these long metal prison bars that keep large objects from intruding. Lastly, Angel was ready to sprint back home, but she periodically circled around me as if she was trying to motivate me to finish.
     Although the trail is not what it seems, I think that it is important that we all imagine what we would like our surroundings to look like, even if those pictures do not match. I still love to walk or run this trail, because it temporarily takes me out of the desert. I hope you all can create your own environment in one that is not so pleasant!
   

Savage Inequalities

     In between my classes I read some of my book, "Savage Inequalities", by Jonathan Kozol. For all the people that are interested in public education, I would recommend this book to you. It describes many of the challenges that public schools face, especially those that are in neighborhoods that do not have adequate resources. This book was written from experiences during the 1990s time period, but many of the issues that the author discusses are still a struggle for many schools in this day and age.  

     One of the most important issues that this book covers is the issue of diversity among public schools. When I was growing up, I attended a dominantly black middle school, which had a tremendous lack of resources; while there was another school that was closer to my home and had ample resources and smaller classrooms. Due to where I lived I could not attend the better school, because my neighborhood was zoned for the other school. I found that this chapter was especially relatable, and full of some very intriguing experiences. If you share this passion, you should check it out! It is a fairly small book, with about 6 or 7 chapters. 

About New Pathways for Youth

     The internship that I am involved with is, New Pathways for Youth. This non-profit provides mentors for our youth in Phoenix, and responds to the needs of children in dense populations. Along with mentorship, they provide workshops for the youth and mentors that provide a foundation for developing leadership and interpersonal skills. This organization is all about the empowerment of young people, and teaching our youth how to set and achieve their goals. 

     I am apart of the Positive Adult Leaders in Society (PALS) program. This program is one of five unique programs that focuses on providing exceptional role models for youth between the ages 5 and 15, who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. During my internship, I will be meeting with my youth once per week, for at least an hour, and for the duration of one year. In addition, my youth and I will be attending monthly workshops that are designed to enhance our bond and coach us through the many learning lessons of life. The most important thing that I will be doing is providing my youth with great experiences outside of their everyday routine, and providing a safe outlet for their new adventures.  

Who am I?

Greetings Everyone!

     My name is Fatemah Bernard, and I have been a student at Arizona State University since 2013. I am finishing my undergraduate program in public policy, and plan continue my education in the masters program. I have not made a final decision on what I want to do with my career, but I have a strong passion for education policy. I hope to make commendable contributions to the public education sector, and plan to conduct research in this field during my masters and PhD programs. 

     Outside of my educational background I am married, have one child (my dog, Angel), and love to cycle. I also do various wood working projects, enjoy cooking, and started the Downtown Policy Assembly organization at ASU. I have always enjoyed working with the community, and am a firm believer in mentorship; this is after I discovered that I did not know everything there is to know in the world. It was through these experiences, that I decided to begin my internship at New Pathways for Youth and become a mentor. During this internship I plan to become a better leader, gain an understanding of the challenges that this non-profit organization faces, and establish the foundation of a life-long bond with my youth.