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.