This weekend was the intern retreat. It started Friday at 1pm and ended Saturday at 1pm. All activities took place in a hotel about 20 minutes away, The Carter Center covered all of our expenses and we stayed the night in the hotel. We started out with some ice breakers and then had a couple of speakers. One speaker works in the Health Programs division, and has spent a long time working to eradicate Guinea Worm. The Carter Center began the initiative in 1986 and there were 3.5 million reported cases of Guinea Worm, as of this year there are about 3,000 and by the end of the year there should be zero. It is an amazing feat. I learned a lot about other tropical diseases that The Carter Center is working on. We (those who live in the developed world) don't have to worry about these diseases (e.g., River Blindness, Trachoma, Schistosomiasis). Seeing pictures and videos of what these diseases do was horrifying, but the fact that The Carter Center Health Programs are so committed to controling/eliminating/eradicating these diseases is wonderful. If you are interested in learning more about any of these diseases just let me know :)
The next speaker is the one that inspired me the most and led me to reflect a little on life. His name is Dr. Stremlau and he is the Vice President of the Peace Programs. His background is amazing to me and his commitment to social justice is inspiring. He commented that he was reading our biographies and that we are the most cosmopolitan intern class he can remember. An intern asked him a question that I found really interesting. He asked Dr. Stremlau whether we need to keep re-potting ourselves to be able to help the "bottom billion" of the world or do we need to do what President Carter did and find our Plains, GA where we are rooted and work from there? Can we work on social justice issues from here or do we need to go across the world? I found this very interesting because it is widely known that the Carters are deeply rooted in Plains and is where their home is, but they have worked so hard and have successfully worked towards peace and fighting disease. Dr. Stremlau responded by saying he doesn't have a Plains and went on to talk about the difficutly in answering the question. I guess it really depends on the person, but it is something that I am still thinking about.
Dr. Stremlau addressed an issue that I and other interns had been thinking about. How will The Carter Center fare when President Carter is no longer alive? I was talking with someone in development last week who said that there are so many donors who give to The Carter Center because of their connection to President Carter and President Carter does a lot of the calling for big donors. That personal connection is very important for donors. A "young" donor to The Carter Center is someone under the age of 60. Many donors are individuals who have supported Carter since his presidency (or even before when he was governor). Dr. Stremlau said President Carter is working very hard to make sure The Carter Center will be in good hands when he passes on. Dr. Stremlau also expressed his own concern about whether the mission of The Carter Center will continue on in the same form that President Carter leads it. The Board for The Carter Center meets quarterly and hears the latest update from President Carter on what he is doing. President Carter does what he wants and no one would ever stand up to the former President and tell him he couldn't do something. That will probably change when President Carter is no longer there and is something that makes me wonder whether or not The Carter Center will be the same. I feel so grateful to have this opportunity to intern at The Carter Center right now and it's such a privilege that I will get to spend a weekend with President and Mrs. Carter in their hometown and really get to talk with them. It wasn't until thinking about the day the Carters are no longer living that I think I really appreciated this opportunity. The Carters are so involved at The Carter Center and since the staff is so small, they really know who works there and the staff all consider themselves as part of a family. I couldn't help but think how devastating the death of the Carters will be to everyone who works there (and really all over the world)...not to be too morbid or anything, but it has been a topic of conversation lately. One thing that Dr. Stremlau mentioned that I found interesting was that there was talk of asking different prominent figures to take a leading role at The Carter Center for a year or something like that once President Carter is gone. This would be someone like Nelson Mandela taking charge of the center for a year or so and then someone else. I don't know that they will actually do that, but it would be interesting.
This weekend really opened my eyes to everything President and Mrs. Carter have created at The Carter Center. It really is an amazing place to work and such a collegial work environment. I already know I am going to miss it here and I have only just completed my second week :)
The other interns at The Carter Center have amazing backgrounds and have literally traveled all over the world. There are a few Fulbright scholars, peace corps volunteers, multi-lingual individuals, internationals, and they are all highly accomplished in all their areas of study...it's just fascinating to talk with all these people.
This last week I was working on research for the Liberia initiative and am really enjoying working on the project. The mental health team is simply amazing and I love working with all of them. They are so dedicated to creating the best experience possible for their interns and I really appreciate it.
Hope ya'll are doing well :)
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Carter Center
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter. The Carter Center aims to wage peace, fight disease and build hope. I work in the health programs, specifically in the mental health program which was started by Mrs. Carter.
I just finished my first week and it felt like a really long week. Two of the days I was out at a different site for a Mental Health First Aid training. I think that is why the week felt so long because the trainings seemed to last forever (unfortunately the trainers didn't seem very competent in what they were talking about). The Mental Health team is really nice and I am excited to work with them. There is another intern in the program and a graduate assistant. This week they didn't really give me any tasks because they wanted me to do some background reading and read Mrs. Carter's new book. Out of any of the other interns I think the mental health group spends the most time in meetings. They really want us to have a taste of everything, so we are constantly being invited to meetings which I think is really cool because I enjoy meetings! The Carter Center Mental Health Program judges Voices Awards nominations and I got to participate in that this week. Voices Awards are given out to movies, t.v. shows, documentaries, etc that portray mental illnesses accurately in the media. One of our supervisors had the three of us (myself, other intern and grad assistant) watch episodes of "Private Practice" that had been nominated. I am pretty sure no one thought we were working so it was kind of funny.
On Friday we had an "assignment meeting" and they divided up short-term projects for all of us and said they will give us long-term projects soon. My projects include working on the journalism fellowship program and preparing for the big meeting they have in september. The Carter Center awards $10,000 each to 10 fellows every year who propose a project that will allow them to use their journalism skills to accurately portray mental illnesses in the media.
The Mental Health Program is teaming up with the Conflict Resolution Program to implement a mental health training initiative in Liberia, so I will be doing some work on that but am not sure what exactly...most likely research.
My third task that I was given was working on writing a speech with the Director of the program that he will give at a conference in Austria.
There are 45 interns at The Carter Center this summer. I guess the most they have ever had is 34, so this is a big increase. Because schools get out at different times, interns have been starting sporadically throughout the last month, which I think has made it hard for the newest interns to really get to know everyone because most people have been around for nearly a month (plus there are so many to meet!). We had an intern social after work on Wednesday, so that was nice and I got to talk to quite a few interns. All the interns have had such amazing experiences so it is really cool talking with them.
So....The World Cup is going on this month. The grad assistant and I have offices next to the finance office and they were all watching the soccer games yesterday. I overheard multiple employees saying that they would be at their desk watching the games if anyone needed them. It was so funny. I predict that productivity at The Carter Center will be very low this month :)
Last thing...the humidity is getting worse...it is really gross. The air is so thick you can feel it. It poured a couple days ago and that made it so much worse :(
I just finished my first week and it felt like a really long week. Two of the days I was out at a different site for a Mental Health First Aid training. I think that is why the week felt so long because the trainings seemed to last forever (unfortunately the trainers didn't seem very competent in what they were talking about). The Mental Health team is really nice and I am excited to work with them. There is another intern in the program and a graduate assistant. This week they didn't really give me any tasks because they wanted me to do some background reading and read Mrs. Carter's new book. Out of any of the other interns I think the mental health group spends the most time in meetings. They really want us to have a taste of everything, so we are constantly being invited to meetings which I think is really cool because I enjoy meetings! The Carter Center Mental Health Program judges Voices Awards nominations and I got to participate in that this week. Voices Awards are given out to movies, t.v. shows, documentaries, etc that portray mental illnesses accurately in the media. One of our supervisors had the three of us (myself, other intern and grad assistant) watch episodes of "Private Practice" that had been nominated. I am pretty sure no one thought we were working so it was kind of funny.
On Friday we had an "assignment meeting" and they divided up short-term projects for all of us and said they will give us long-term projects soon. My projects include working on the journalism fellowship program and preparing for the big meeting they have in september. The Carter Center awards $10,000 each to 10 fellows every year who propose a project that will allow them to use their journalism skills to accurately portray mental illnesses in the media.
The Mental Health Program is teaming up with the Conflict Resolution Program to implement a mental health training initiative in Liberia, so I will be doing some work on that but am not sure what exactly...most likely research.
My third task that I was given was working on writing a speech with the Director of the program that he will give at a conference in Austria.
There are 45 interns at The Carter Center this summer. I guess the most they have ever had is 34, so this is a big increase. Because schools get out at different times, interns have been starting sporadically throughout the last month, which I think has made it hard for the newest interns to really get to know everyone because most people have been around for nearly a month (plus there are so many to meet!). We had an intern social after work on Wednesday, so that was nice and I got to talk to quite a few interns. All the interns have had such amazing experiences so it is really cool talking with them.
So....The World Cup is going on this month. The grad assistant and I have offices next to the finance office and they were all watching the soccer games yesterday. I overheard multiple employees saying that they would be at their desk watching the games if anyone needed them. It was so funny. I predict that productivity at The Carter Center will be very low this month :)
Last thing...the humidity is getting worse...it is really gross. The air is so thick you can feel it. It poured a couple days ago and that made it so much worse :(
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Atlanta, GA
The reaction I have received from many people about the idea of me starting a blog again has been something like "sure nadia and you will post like 3 times?" :) I don't have a good track record when it comes to blogging, but here is another attempt at it.
I arrived in Atlanta on Friday evening and so far am loving it! I was a little afraid of how I was going to adjust after Ecuador, but I feel like I settled right in. The older couple I am renting a room from is really nice, their names are Myles and Ortrude. When I arrived Myles gave me "some Smith good luck", which meant he licked his fingers and then touched my shoulder, I found it very funny :)
A good friend of mine, Chipo, lives here in Atlanta and I was able to spend most of Saturday with her which was wonderful! There is another intern, Korrin, living in this house as well and she is extremely nice, it will be nice to have someone my age around.
Korrin and I went exploring the area today and stopped by a grocery store where I bought some oregon chai and black beans. The guy behind me in line said "is that all you have? just 2 things?", I said "yes" and he looked at the cashier and said "add her things to mine". I was confused and he said "I am going to pay for it, consider it a random act of kindness". I thanked him and walked away a little shocked. It was SO nice and made me very happy :)
The area we live in is 5 minutes walking from The Carter Center and in a very cute part of town, I really like it. The house we are living in is over 100 years old and has a very interesting history. Myles started telling Korrin and I the history, but it was getting late so he said he would finish it another day. The house is pretty large, so Myles keeps finding new doors he hasn't shown us. Last night he showed us a closet under the staircase that the Sheriff (who lived in the house at one point) during the Prohibition years would take confiscated alcohol and would store it in his house, under the stairway.
Well, hopefully there will be more to come :) My first day at The Carter Center is tomorrow and I should get some sleep!
Peace,
Nadia
I arrived in Atlanta on Friday evening and so far am loving it! I was a little afraid of how I was going to adjust after Ecuador, but I feel like I settled right in. The older couple I am renting a room from is really nice, their names are Myles and Ortrude. When I arrived Myles gave me "some Smith good luck", which meant he licked his fingers and then touched my shoulder, I found it very funny :)
A good friend of mine, Chipo, lives here in Atlanta and I was able to spend most of Saturday with her which was wonderful! There is another intern, Korrin, living in this house as well and she is extremely nice, it will be nice to have someone my age around.
Korrin and I went exploring the area today and stopped by a grocery store where I bought some oregon chai and black beans. The guy behind me in line said "is that all you have? just 2 things?", I said "yes" and he looked at the cashier and said "add her things to mine". I was confused and he said "I am going to pay for it, consider it a random act of kindness". I thanked him and walked away a little shocked. It was SO nice and made me very happy :)
The area we live in is 5 minutes walking from The Carter Center and in a very cute part of town, I really like it. The house we are living in is over 100 years old and has a very interesting history. Myles started telling Korrin and I the history, but it was getting late so he said he would finish it another day. The house is pretty large, so Myles keeps finding new doors he hasn't shown us. Last night he showed us a closet under the staircase that the Sheriff (who lived in the house at one point) during the Prohibition years would take confiscated alcohol and would store it in his house, under the stairway.
Well, hopefully there will be more to come :) My first day at The Carter Center is tomorrow and I should get some sleep!
Peace,
Nadia
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