It is my last day here at the Sagamore Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana. Words cannot even begin to explain the experience I have had during my time here. It has been hard for me to realize that I am actually leaving this place. When you are living somewhere for a month or so you begin to develop an understanding of your surroundings. If you like what you are surrounded by, you begin to identify with it. That is what Indy and the Sagamore Institute has done for me. I truly love this place and everyone who works here and contributes to the think-tank's mission. I have grown to fit in very well with every here at Sagamore and I have no intentions of breaking any of these relationships even when I return to Eureka.
I have had a different feeling leaving this place that I cannot describe but I know that this experience, even though it was only five weeks, has been one of the most profound experiences in my life. I have learned a lot from genuine people in how to interact with others and how to be a leader. I also feel I have learned a lot that I have not yet accessed. I cannot explain the feeling but I know I am taking a lot more out of the Sagamore Institute than I put in; although I plan to continue my efforts in helping Sagamore in any way I can.
This place was special. Even as an intern you are given important tasks that actually matter and are usually specialized to exactly what you are interested in. My Assignment Detroit project is now nine single-spaced, 11 font, pages long and I have not even spoke on my personal reflections of the project. Who would have known I would get an assignment that is dealing with exactly what I am interested in? I also wrote a piece on the nonprofit sector in Elkhart, IN, another city that has been devastated by the economy. That piece was published in a booklet for the Office Depot Foundation and it is now a two page spread and I was able to see a copy of the booklet. I believe they will send me a copy when Jay returns with extras. On top of all that Wes and Jay wanted me to create a discussion for the Detroit project and I have been working on that this week and it should become a web feature for Sagamore's website in the near future. The opportunities here are endless.
It still feels weird that I am leaving today but I have confidence that I will stay in contact with Sagamore and be able to contribute to the Institute. I have also met some good friends here. One of the interns will become a friend who I will keep in contact with for time to come. We have shared some good experiences during my time here at Sagamore. My roommates were also very good guys and I am glad I was able to foster a good relationship with them; especially since they work for the National sector of my fraternity... Despite that being true I still believe we have created a genuine friendship that will prove to endure over time.
Being here in Indianapolis reminds me of how great the Midwest really is. I have lived in Michigan and Illinois and now I will always consider Indiana another home to me.
Thanks for following us interns at the Sagamore Institute,
Brent Glass
Friday, August 12, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Summer Internship Experience
By Intern Tierney Beck:
This summer I have spent a great deal of time on writing a series of articles in collaboration with my supervisor, Donald Cassell. These articles express the connection between Liberia and Indiana. Before coming to Sagamore I had no idea that various communities in Indiana were so involved in aiding Liberia, including my very own Indiana University. I enjoyed learning and sharing what I learned with others by publishing those articles on the Sagamore website. It has allowed me to improve both my writing skills and my knowledge of development in Liberia.
My favorite part of the internship was meeting Ambassador Bull, the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia. This event allowed me to see that the work I was doing was being heard by someone and appreciated. The lunch and learn seminars were all great learning experiences for me as well. Who would have thought I would ever sit in Jim Morris’ suite at Conseco Fieldhouse? Each speaker we met at the lunch and learn seminars provided me with insight. David Helmer provided a great method for achieving success and completing your goals. His example of turning something so simple into a thriving business was inspiring.
I will walk away from this internship with a greater understanding of just how a think tank works. I was skeptical at how much influence an institution such as Sagamore has on policy. But now I can see that without Sagamore many plans and ideas may not jump off the rug. Sagamore has created awareness and is working to make changes by following through with ideas. Those ideas are made tangible and I enjoyed watching changes being made right in front of my eyes. Sagamore provided me with a great opportunity this summer, and I am so grateful.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Summer at the Sag
As a second time intern at Sagamore (having been an intern in January), I had some expectations about what my summer would be like. I loved my first experience here, and was thrilled to be doing actual research and contributing to the work of such an important institution. No intern grunt work here! Even so, this summer rose above and beyond what I had anticipated - an internship at Sagamore has to be one of the best internships around!
By far, one of the best and most exciting parts of being an intern was the Lunch and Learn program. Once a week, we would enjoy a lunch generously paid for by Sagamore and engage in discussions with Senior Fellows, board members, special guests, and one another. We were given challenging, thought-provoking materials to read and watch, then discuss them or listen to a lecture from one of our distinguished guests. It was really a pleasure to have this time designed specifically to encourage our curiosity and learning, and while it was definitely enjoyable, I think it also served to aid us in our research and work for Sagamore. Some of the most outstanding Lunch and Learn experiences were a trip to an Indianapolis Fever game and meeting with Jim Morris, a two-part visit with David Helmer, and a reading of the Theories of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith. I really enjoyed learning from these people, and engaging in meaningful dialogue with my fellow interns, Sagamore employees, and board members.
Something that was different for me this summer was the number of high profile events I was able to attend and participate in, such as the Indiana-Africa Agriculture Convergence Summit and the visit of William Bull, Liberian Ambassador to the USA. Having done extensive research and writing of articles for these events, it was a thrill to see my hard work in the hands of these people. I knew how important all our work was to Sagamore, but actually seeing it come to fruition and knowing how it would be used in the future was the most rewarding part of this internship.
I have enjoyed getting to know the Sagamore staff so much better this summer and gaining from all they have to teach. I have learned more about my passions, expanded my academic horizons, and really been able to grow as a student and professional member of the community while interning here. Working at Sagamore was the highlight of my summer, and I can only hope that I will have the good fortune to work with them again in the future.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
City Boy
This week I have been focusing on my research project of "Assignment Detroit." It is quite the undertaking and I do not see myself finishing anytime soon. My goal is to complete this project by next Friday, leaving myself two weeks to work on my "Lincoln and Reagan in the Midwest" project. I would start writing about what I am learning but the information is overwhelming and will figure out a way to post the project when completed.
At Monday night's event with Byron Johnson I met a senior fellow of the Sagamore Institute named Larry Ingraham. I spoke with him for about twenty minutes that night and looked at his card later to find out he is the "Director of Economic Development and International Trade." This man is in control of the field that I am very interested in. With the information I e-mailed him thanking him for the talk and asked him if he would like to do lunch sometime. He was very appreciative of the e-mail and he said Thursday he would love to.
So yesterday I came into Sagamore, started on my work when I received an e-mail from Larry stating that he was running a little late and he was wondering if I would like to attend some meetings with him after our lunch. I decided this would be a great way to spend the afternoon so I complied. We went to Weber Grill in downtown Indy, and let me tell you that place has some excellent barbecue. He explained his life story and it is truly fascinating. He was raised in Adrian, MI and lost his father and mother by the time he was thirteen. He went to live with his aunt and uncle who also lived close by in Adrian. He joined the Air Force to avoid being drafted and going to Vietnam. He served there for four years and went around South East Asia as a dental assistant. He eventually attending the University of Michigan in Asian studies and began to attend conferences that were between American and Japanese students. He also went to Japan two summers in a row and began to love it. He went to Japan and served in Tokyo as the director of the American-Japanese relations office. His first daughter was born and decided to come back to the United States and moved to Indy in 1983. In 1990 he started his own consulting firm for economic development.
Our first meeting was at the offices of Bingham-McHale, Attorneys at Law, which happens to be ranked the best law firm in Indiana in seven different criteria. The reason we were attending is because the mayor of Marion, a city 45 minutes north of Indy, was speaking there regarding what he has done towards economic development for his city. Interestingly enough one may recall him, Wayne Seybold, from the 1988 Olympics where he competed with his sister is pair figure skating. He has done some amazing things to bring companies back from Asia to his city, creating new jobs. We were the first to arrive and therefore I was able to speak with the director of economic development for Marion and his Chief-of-Staff. Pretty soon many who worked at Bingham-McHale were filtering in and I began extreme-networking. I was handing out my card left and right and receiving some cards including an attorney and a partner of the firm. Thank goodness I dressed very GQ that day. Someone from the law firm actually came up to me and asked if I was interning there and introduced herself. I told her no, that I was interning at Sagamore Institute from Eureka College.
I was in conversation with a few people of the firm and someone asked me about myself and what I was doing at the Sagamore Institute. I began speaking about how I was creating a memo of Assignment Detroit which was an effort to discover all of the positive aspects of the city. Then the attorney, Margaret Christensen, asked me, "Well what is good about Detroit?" Well I took this opportunity to clear the name of Detroit and ended up giving a lesson about the city of Detroit and all of the positive things happening there for ten minutes. I had the attention of many lawyers and it was a very interesting experience. I also spread the knowledge of where Eureka College was and how it is well on the rise to becoming a highly revered academic institution.
After the mayor spoke, a partner of the firm named Daniel L. Boots, came up to Larry and I and I introduced myself to him. We spoke for awhile and exchanged cards when he made me an awesome offer. He told me if I ever needed anything from Bingham-McHale to shoot him an e-mail or give him a call and he would be more than glad to assist me. I also spoke with the mayor and he assured me I was in good hands if I was with Larry. It's safe to say I had a good time.
The next meeting took place at a Starbucks downtown with Aaron Goetz who is the Head of the Indianapolis-Hangzhou sister city committee. Hangzhou is a city in China located in the area that is similar to the NYC and LA of America. His job is to find ways Hangzhou can benefit Indy, by strengthening the economy and becoming more culturally aware of the country. He asked to meet with Larry for advice and inquired about him coming to speak to his staff. They spoke for an hour and a half and I tried to absorb as much as I could.
I arrived back at Sagamore around 4:45, went up to my workstation packed up my things and left for the day. Today I making the trip back to Eureka in order to tend to some business there. I will be back in Indianapolis late Sunday night.
At Monday night's event with Byron Johnson I met a senior fellow of the Sagamore Institute named Larry Ingraham. I spoke with him for about twenty minutes that night and looked at his card later to find out he is the "Director of Economic Development and International Trade." This man is in control of the field that I am very interested in. With the information I e-mailed him thanking him for the talk and asked him if he would like to do lunch sometime. He was very appreciative of the e-mail and he said Thursday he would love to.
So yesterday I came into Sagamore, started on my work when I received an e-mail from Larry stating that he was running a little late and he was wondering if I would like to attend some meetings with him after our lunch. I decided this would be a great way to spend the afternoon so I complied. We went to Weber Grill in downtown Indy, and let me tell you that place has some excellent barbecue. He explained his life story and it is truly fascinating. He was raised in Adrian, MI and lost his father and mother by the time he was thirteen. He went to live with his aunt and uncle who also lived close by in Adrian. He joined the Air Force to avoid being drafted and going to Vietnam. He served there for four years and went around South East Asia as a dental assistant. He eventually attending the University of Michigan in Asian studies and began to attend conferences that were between American and Japanese students. He also went to Japan two summers in a row and began to love it. He went to Japan and served in Tokyo as the director of the American-Japanese relations office. His first daughter was born and decided to come back to the United States and moved to Indy in 1983. In 1990 he started his own consulting firm for economic development.
Our first meeting was at the offices of Bingham-McHale, Attorneys at Law, which happens to be ranked the best law firm in Indiana in seven different criteria. The reason we were attending is because the mayor of Marion, a city 45 minutes north of Indy, was speaking there regarding what he has done towards economic development for his city. Interestingly enough one may recall him, Wayne Seybold, from the 1988 Olympics where he competed with his sister is pair figure skating. He has done some amazing things to bring companies back from Asia to his city, creating new jobs. We were the first to arrive and therefore I was able to speak with the director of economic development for Marion and his Chief-of-Staff. Pretty soon many who worked at Bingham-McHale were filtering in and I began extreme-networking. I was handing out my card left and right and receiving some cards including an attorney and a partner of the firm. Thank goodness I dressed very GQ that day. Someone from the law firm actually came up to me and asked if I was interning there and introduced herself. I told her no, that I was interning at Sagamore Institute from Eureka College.
I was in conversation with a few people of the firm and someone asked me about myself and what I was doing at the Sagamore Institute. I began speaking about how I was creating a memo of Assignment Detroit which was an effort to discover all of the positive aspects of the city. Then the attorney, Margaret Christensen, asked me, "Well what is good about Detroit?" Well I took this opportunity to clear the name of Detroit and ended up giving a lesson about the city of Detroit and all of the positive things happening there for ten minutes. I had the attention of many lawyers and it was a very interesting experience. I also spread the knowledge of where Eureka College was and how it is well on the rise to becoming a highly revered academic institution.
After the mayor spoke, a partner of the firm named Daniel L. Boots, came up to Larry and I and I introduced myself to him. We spoke for awhile and exchanged cards when he made me an awesome offer. He told me if I ever needed anything from Bingham-McHale to shoot him an e-mail or give him a call and he would be more than glad to assist me. I also spoke with the mayor and he assured me I was in good hands if I was with Larry. It's safe to say I had a good time.
The next meeting took place at a Starbucks downtown with Aaron Goetz who is the Head of the Indianapolis-Hangzhou sister city committee. Hangzhou is a city in China located in the area that is similar to the NYC and LA of America. His job is to find ways Hangzhou can benefit Indy, by strengthening the economy and becoming more culturally aware of the country. He asked to meet with Larry for advice and inquired about him coming to speak to his staff. They spoke for an hour and a half and I tried to absorb as much as I could.
I arrived back at Sagamore around 4:45, went up to my workstation packed up my things and left for the day. Today I making the trip back to Eureka in order to tend to some business there. I will be back in Indianapolis late Sunday night.
Over the Weekend..
I have not posted in a few days so I will start with Friday. I was the only intern in the office all day. I was able to meet with Jay Hein to discuss what projects I will be working on for the rest of the semester. One of my projects will be to create, what will most likely become, a lengthy memo regarding TIME Inc.'s "Assignment Detroit." TIME Inc. decided to delve into the culture of the quintessential American city in an effort to find the positive aspects of the city. Many journalists, photographers, videographers, and bloggers from TIME, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, CNN, and CNN Money flooded the Motor City in an effort to write stories about Detroit for an entire yer. The crew bought a house in Detroit and stayed there for their entire venture. There are some 611 blog posts and close to 100 articles that are a part of Assignment Detroit so this should serve to keep me busy for a while. I have decided to separate the memo into categories and find the posts/articles related and then summarize under the respective heading. At the end of the memo I will also add my reflections on the project and give my opinion on whether it did justice to benefit the city of Detroit in any way. Jay may ask more as I make progress but as for now that is the extent of that project. Jay also expressed his desire in eventually hosting events in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit in the near future in order for Sagamore to reach out to all of the Midwest.
Another project that I will be undertaking is creating an addition to the website so that there will constantly be updates to "Reagan in the Midwest" on the Sagamore website. There are already some links that lead to some Eureka- related pages but I will be starting a trend of essays in a way. I don't know if essay is the right word but it is the first to come to mind. On each one I will dive into certain characteristics of Reagan, how they were learned while he was in the Midwest and reiterate the importance of those values for those in leadership positions. I will not only be focusing on Reagan but Abraham Lincoln will be getting just as much attention, if not more. So it is like "Lincoln and Reagan in the Midwest." Also Jay hinted of me possibly connecting Eureka and Sagamore in even deeper ties, but no more on that for now.
Also I will be helping out for the upcoming Office Depot Foundation event but I need to get more information on that first before I begin to speak about it.
I left Sagamore at 5 PM on Friday, arrived back home around 5:30 put on some jeans and then was picked up by Brian and we headed to Grace Community Church for the fundraiser event for ULICAF (United Liberia Inland Church Associates & Friends) in order to support Dr. Sei Buor and hear Ambassador Bull speak again. The fundraiser started at 6:30 and ended around 9:15. At the fundraiser I was able to eat some Liberian food and it was delicious! I arrived back at home around 10 exhausted.
On Saturday I decided to go to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and it was a pretty nice museum. I found it very interesting to go to the West Africa section and check out all of the Liberian artifacts now that I have had the pleasure of meeting many Liberians! It was a pretty nice museum but I believe the DIA (Detroit Institute of Art) is actually better. Just my own thought. I explored downtown Indy after that, went and saw a movie and then went to sleep. On Sunday I went grocery shopping and did some things that needed to be handled in Eureka.
Today I went into work as usual and began to dive into my first project of creating a memo for Assignment Detroit. I met Jarrod, another intern who was on vacation last week who is majoring in Economics and minoring in PoliSci, so the inverse of my studies. I worked on the Detroit project until about 4 PM until my assistance was needed to help set up for tonight's event.
Tonight Byron Johnson, the author of More God, Less Crime: Why Faith Matters and How It Could Matter More. He signed my copy of the book and I spoke with him for a few minutes. He actually collaborated with Jay back when he worked in the White House. His presentation was good and I was the only intern to stick around for it so they let me be the "clicker" for his powerpoint. He was a very kind and genuine guy. I read a few chapters of it and from his overview of it I know it is a good read. It reminded me of taking Dr. Thurwanger's honor seminar class about the prison system. Byron Johnson spoke about recidivism and has solid research that truly proves Christian faith dramatically lowers those rates as well as the importance of establishing mentors for prisoners that will keep them accountable once the exit the prison system. The mentor should be someone they knew while in prison in order to have a sustained relationship and someone who will "keep them in check." There are many arguments by the academic world that it religion does not belong in prisons or that there is a separation between church and state but whether someone is and atheist or Christian they should realize that THIS WORKS. Nothing else ever has and there is solid evidence for his theory but the academic world, who claims to be open-minded, actually becomes a walking contradiction when they close their minds to new ideas that actual show results. I recommend you read this book.
After the presentation I stayed after in order to help clean up and it ended up being Beverly and myself. Jay and Byron were leaving and he told Beverly and I to take a half of a day off sometime this week since we stayed so late. I don't think I am going to take the offer honestly, there's so much to do. Beverly and I left around 8:30 and I arrived home around 9. I watched a documentary called Grown in Detroit that is about a school in the city that is for girls who are raising children or are pregnant. It boasts a 90 percent graduation rate and the girls of the school can take their children there and they teach them about urban agriculture and how to profit from it as well as feed their children. It was truly and eye-opening film.
It is 10:50 right now and I am exhausted. For the most part all of the exciting events are done with for the remainder of my time here and the rest will be focused on research. There are pros and cons to that.
Also check out the Sagamore website! I am now under the "Interns" tab with a bio! I apologize if there are grammatical errors but I am honestly too mentally drained to go through this post and attempt to correct them! SagamoreInstitute.org
Support the rebuilding of Liberia!!
I started the day yesterday beginning on my own little project to keep me busy until Jay and I are able to meet and discuss what I will be researching for the Sagamore Institute. Since 1990 Indianapolis has had exponential growth in their population and their economy. All the while improving the aesthetics of the city itself, especially the downtown area. They were able to do this by investing billions of dollars over twenty years that then led to an increased amount of diverse jobs, which leads to a greater tax base, and therefore encourages a higher quality of life and attracts many people to the city which brings in more revenue for the various businesses. Indianapolis should be the model for any city that wants to turn itself around. Before Indianapolis began to revitalize itself, most people would not consider even going downtown. Professional sports have also helped the city boost its economy. So I researched the methods that Indianapolis took in order to create a vibrant downtown, which by the way is ranked the 12th most affordable city in the nation, in an effort to see in what ways Detroit could possibly take similar steps. John Morris and I spoke of this before but I can tell you that one huge mistake by the city of Detroit was to build the hallowed Renaissance Center. While it has become the beacon for Detroit and the HQ for GM, it really has negative effects on the economy and revitalization. What the building does is focus all of the attention in one building. There is so much concentrated there that it is one of the only sites in Detroit that has been revitalized instead of trying to create a vibrant city in various areas throughout the region it concentrated it all in one spot along the riverfront. Okay that will be the end of my very simplified economic rant.
Yesterday's event is what I want to focus on. Yesterday afternoon Sagamore Institute hosted a "Lunch Reception Honoring His Excellency William V. S. Bull: Liberia's Ambassador to the United States." Talk about being at a place at the right time; that is what I have done here. First of all if you do not know much, or anything, of Liberia it is officially known as the Republic of Liberia and it is the first country in Africa to ever become a republic. There were indigenous people of the area but the country was founded when freed slaves from the early 1800s were shipped back to Africa, mostly influenced by James Monroe. Coincidentally enough their capital city is called Monrovia and their flag is quite similar to our own here in the U.S. Their motto is "the love of liberty brought us here" and their government is closely modeled after our own currently.
The troubles for Liberia began in 1980 when a military coup overthrew the-then president and two civil wars were fought within twenty years. The civil wars tore the country apart and they only recently held the first democratic election in many years in which the first woman became president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She has an honest message and genuine desire to rebuild the country that she loves, in which an estimated 85% of the country lives on less than $1.25 per day. The great connection between Sagamore and Liberia as a mentioned before is that one of the senior fellows on staff was born and raised there, and by the grace of God was able to leave before the civil wars consumed him.
Along with the Ambassador was Dr. Sei Buor who is also from Liberia, lived through much of the civil wars and then came to the United States to study at Loyola University in Chicago. His story is truly amazing and I received a copy of his book titled No More Warand I plan to read it this weekend. He spoke first at the luncheon and he was so inspiring! His passions run deep and you can hear it in his voice. He spoke of the rebuilding of Liberia and what he is personally doing. His current project is building a two-story school that will allow students to actually have books that they can study from and have school supplies that are not available in their country. It was truly an honor to meet him and be able to shake his hand.
After Dr. Sei Buor spoke, the ambassador stepped up to the podium and began to speak about similar things of Liberia and then of the Sagamore Institute, which is when I realized how blessed I am to be a part of this organization (even more than before). He began to speak from his heart about how Sagamore Institute is highly revered in Liberia and the president herself is considering making a trip here soon in order to show her appreciation. He truly feels indebted to this institute and when an entire country feels that way about such a small think-tank as this one, you become aware of how powerful the institute is and the people who comprise it.
After the luncheon portion of the event there was a fellowship where I was able to meet a representative from the Senator's office as well as one of the local congressman's office. Brian (another intern) and myself asked if the representative would like a tour of the Levey Mansion and her and their office's intern agreed. I felt pretty good when along the tour I was able to speak of more facts of the mansion than Brian, who has been interning here since last August. I'm trying to say this in the most humble manner possible but I believe I am representing Eureka College well. They loved the tour. I mean everyone really would love the tour, this place is absolutely stunning. After the tour I met the daughter of Dr. Sei Buor and others from Liberia. I also was able to speak with someone from the Department of Agriculture.
While Dr. Sei Buor was speaking earlier in the day he invited everyone in the room to a Fundraising Banquet called "Step Into Our Story." It is being held at Grace Community Church tonight and I am going to attend in order to represent Sagamore Institute as well as Eureka College. I am very excited for this event and it is tonight at 6:30. There will be traditional African food that Dr. Buor said he would not tell us how it was made otherwise we would not come. He is a very down-to-earth comical man.
Also right now I am in progress of reading the book titled More God, Less Crime: Why Faith Matters and How It Could Matter More by Byron R. Johnson. Byron Johnson will be at Sagamore on Monday night in order to present it as well as some fellowship so I am attempting to be ahead of the curve as I was for the last author. This book they are actually requiring people to buy but Susan gave me a copy to have.
I e-mailed Jay last night about setting up a project for me and we are meeting this afternoon so I am very excited to see what he has in store for me. I truly love it here in all aspects. There is not one person that works here that is not of an elite caliber and honestly if it were possible I would not mind working here the rest of my life. I'm looking forward to my first weekend for the possibility of sleeping in and possibly going to the world's largest children's museum and maybe even to the Indianapolis Zoo! I have been complimented many times on my professional dress and I have to thank some of my other mentors, John Morris and Mike Murtagh, for that; John for always wearing a suit and Mike for always telling me "Dress where you want to go." I apologize for all of the pictures you are about to see but I want to give you an insight of what this place is.
Yesterday's event is what I want to focus on. Yesterday afternoon Sagamore Institute hosted a "Lunch Reception Honoring His Excellency William V. S. Bull: Liberia's Ambassador to the United States." Talk about being at a place at the right time; that is what I have done here. First of all if you do not know much, or anything, of Liberia it is officially known as the Republic of Liberia and it is the first country in Africa to ever become a republic. There were indigenous people of the area but the country was founded when freed slaves from the early 1800s were shipped back to Africa, mostly influenced by James Monroe. Coincidentally enough their capital city is called Monrovia and their flag is quite similar to our own here in the U.S. Their motto is "the love of liberty brought us here" and their government is closely modeled after our own currently.
The troubles for Liberia began in 1980 when a military coup overthrew the-then president and two civil wars were fought within twenty years. The civil wars tore the country apart and they only recently held the first democratic election in many years in which the first woman became president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She has an honest message and genuine desire to rebuild the country that she loves, in which an estimated 85% of the country lives on less than $1.25 per day. The great connection between Sagamore and Liberia as a mentioned before is that one of the senior fellows on staff was born and raised there, and by the grace of God was able to leave before the civil wars consumed him.
Along with the Ambassador was Dr. Sei Buor who is also from Liberia, lived through much of the civil wars and then came to the United States to study at Loyola University in Chicago. His story is truly amazing and I received a copy of his book titled No More Warand I plan to read it this weekend. He spoke first at the luncheon and he was so inspiring! His passions run deep and you can hear it in his voice. He spoke of the rebuilding of Liberia and what he is personally doing. His current project is building a two-story school that will allow students to actually have books that they can study from and have school supplies that are not available in their country. It was truly an honor to meet him and be able to shake his hand.
After Dr. Sei Buor spoke, the ambassador stepped up to the podium and began to speak about similar things of Liberia and then of the Sagamore Institute, which is when I realized how blessed I am to be a part of this organization (even more than before). He began to speak from his heart about how Sagamore Institute is highly revered in Liberia and the president herself is considering making a trip here soon in order to show her appreciation. He truly feels indebted to this institute and when an entire country feels that way about such a small think-tank as this one, you become aware of how powerful the institute is and the people who comprise it.
After the luncheon portion of the event there was a fellowship where I was able to meet a representative from the Senator's office as well as one of the local congressman's office. Brian (another intern) and myself asked if the representative would like a tour of the Levey Mansion and her and their office's intern agreed. I felt pretty good when along the tour I was able to speak of more facts of the mansion than Brian, who has been interning here since last August. I'm trying to say this in the most humble manner possible but I believe I am representing Eureka College well. They loved the tour. I mean everyone really would love the tour, this place is absolutely stunning. After the tour I met the daughter of Dr. Sei Buor and others from Liberia. I also was able to speak with someone from the Department of Agriculture.
While Dr. Sei Buor was speaking earlier in the day he invited everyone in the room to a Fundraising Banquet called "Step Into Our Story." It is being held at Grace Community Church tonight and I am going to attend in order to represent Sagamore Institute as well as Eureka College. I am very excited for this event and it is tonight at 6:30. There will be traditional African food that Dr. Buor said he would not tell us how it was made otherwise we would not come. He is a very down-to-earth comical man.
Also right now I am in progress of reading the book titled More God, Less Crime: Why Faith Matters and How It Could Matter More by Byron R. Johnson. Byron Johnson will be at Sagamore on Monday night in order to present it as well as some fellowship so I am attempting to be ahead of the curve as I was for the last author. This book they are actually requiring people to buy but Susan gave me a copy to have.
I e-mailed Jay last night about setting up a project for me and we are meeting this afternoon so I am very excited to see what he has in store for me. I truly love it here in all aspects. There is not one person that works here that is not of an elite caliber and honestly if it were possible I would not mind working here the rest of my life. I'm looking forward to my first weekend for the possibility of sleeping in and possibly going to the world's largest children's museum and maybe even to the Indianapolis Zoo! I have been complimented many times on my professional dress and I have to thank some of my other mentors, John Morris and Mike Murtagh, for that; John for always wearing a suit and Mike for always telling me "Dress where you want to go." I apologize for all of the pictures you are about to see but I want to give you an insight of what this place is.
Pictured left to right: Cassie, Brian, Donald Cassell, Dr. Sei Buor, Ambassador Bull, Tierney, myself, and Erin.
Below are the three books I have mentioned thus far in my blog. I have, or will be, meeting all the authors.
My badge that unlocks the building and name tag.
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The original skylight above the grand staircase.
The main hall, where most events take place.
The view of upstairs looking up from the main staircase. Jay's office is the back corner.
Reagan and Eureka College is well represented here. The Reagan picture is the one I mentioned earlier.
The main dining room.
Original jade fireplace imported from Italy.
Main hallway set up for Monday night's event.
The parlor where many important meetings take place.
The historical significance of the Levey Mansion, Sagamore Institute's home.
What a day... what a day.
Yesterday the Sagamore Institute (which is a non-partisan think-tank, learn more at sagamoreinstitute.org) hosted a summit of different agricultural companies and I was able to begin reading the book The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football by John J. Miller. I once again did not have time to meet with Jay because I started my mentorship during one of Sagamore's busiest weeks.
Today was amazing. I arrived at the institute a little before 9 AM and began to do a little research on the economic state of Detroit and Indianapolis. I brought in a photograph of young Ronald Reagan that I had back home and asked if they would like it and they immediately framed it and hung it next to the framed poster of "Reagan and the Midewest" conference from Eureka that is displayed in the dining room. Jay Hein was hosting a President's Circle Luncheon and all of the other interns went to the Indiana Fever game, which is their WNBA team. I decided to stay at the institute and welcome John Morris, my boss back at Eureka College, who attended the luncheon. Also attending the luncheon was John J. Miller, the author who wrote the book I mentioned earlier. The interesting connection is that he is also originally from metro-Detroit and just accepted a job at Hillsdale College in their journalism department. I met many prominent figures of Indianapolis including a journalist for the Indianapolis Star, who is a trustee of the Institute, his son who interned at the institute two years prior, and the associate provost of Indiana Wesleyan University, to name a few.
I ate lunch with John Morris and Jay Hein and then we headed up to the main hall to listen to John Miller give his presentation on his book. I ended up reading the entire book, which was fascinating, and I might have been the only one there that had read it. Jay gave me the copy I read and I was able to get it signed and speak with John Miller for a moment. I helped clean up a little bit and also mingled with John, Jay, and the provost of Indiana Wesleyan. Jay Hein is a genuine person in every aspect.
The event finished, John Morris left and it turned out that the Fever game started at 1 PM and it was around 2:15 at this point. Jay encouraged me to attend the rest of the game because there was going to be a tour following it. Susan, the project director, drove me to Conseco Fieldhouse where I was greeted by the Indiana Pacers' President's assistant. She escorted me to the suite where I met up with the rest of the interns and Donald Cassell, who is a Senior Fellow at Sagamore. I made it with 48 seconds left in the game, which the Fever won 90-78 to keep their win streak alive.
The next thing that happened I was not aware was on the agenda. The President's assistant took the six of us up to Jim Morris' (the Pacer's president) office. We waited for a few moments and then he entered, sent an e-mail and had us sit down at his table. His office was gorgeous. Turns out that he is a trustee of the Sagamore Institute! He asked us what our role as interns were at Sagamore, where we went to school, and what our majors were. I answered his questions and he knew exactly who Eureka College is, along with the Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program. He then began to speak with us and it felt much like when Craig Barrett, the former CEO of Intel, visited our campus at Eureka.
He is such an impressive man. He started working at a bank outside of college where he eventually became Chief of Staff to Dick Lugar, the Senator from Indiana. He held two other jobs for 16 years a piece until he began to work for the United Nations World Food Program where he helped deliver food to those starving around the world. He said he has visited almost every country in the world, so I assume that is all of them excluding the ones that are impossible to get to; although he has been to North Korea and had an very compelling story about that visit. He has photographs in his office of himself with prominent figures of the world such as Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Ban Ki-moon who was the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations. He spoke of both the Popes in such great detail because he developed personal relationships with them.
We sat and asked him questions and he gave us advice that is some of the best I have ever heard. I wrote notes throughout our two hour conversation and have quoted some of my favorite wise comments he made throughout this time. He said, "Leadership does make all the difference in the world." And that those who are truly compassionate, genuine, humble, honest, educated, collegiate, have a partnership mentality, and nurture all relationships throughout their lives will be successful in ways they cannot imagine. (Another intern has a photo of us together on her camera and hopefully I will get that uploaded on here soon.)
After the eye-opening session with Jim Morris we were given a tour of Conseco Fieldhouse and then made our way back to Sagamore Institute. We arrived back around 5 PM and the graduate student Brian had to finish up some work that was needed for tomorrow's event so I offered my time to help him finish sooner. Brian is going into International relations with a focus on Africa. Sagamore is currently connecting with specifically Liberia, because Donald Cassell was born there and is guiding Brian on this project. I helped him put together packets that give policy ideas on how to better Liberia with law schools, nursing schools, and other key aspects. Most of these ideas are already being put into action in Indiana and there already exists a strong tie between Liberia and the state that no one would ever know about. We finished around 7:30 PM and then we went to a Vietnamese restaurant that was amazing. I arrived back home around 9 exhausted. I will start the day back at Sagamore tomorrow at 9 AM!
Tomorrow there will be a presentation on all of the information and the ambassador of Liberia will be attending as well as some key political figures of Indiana. It should be a very interesting time and I'm hoping that tomorrow, after our last event of the week, I will be able to collaborate with Jay Hein and get my project started! I am truly blessed to be able to be in this position. So far I love it here and I am already loving the idea of working for a non-profit organization someday. Maybe my own think tank...
This is my workstation.
Today was amazing. I arrived at the institute a little before 9 AM and began to do a little research on the economic state of Detroit and Indianapolis. I brought in a photograph of young Ronald Reagan that I had back home and asked if they would like it and they immediately framed it and hung it next to the framed poster of "Reagan and the Midewest" conference from Eureka that is displayed in the dining room. Jay Hein was hosting a President's Circle Luncheon and all of the other interns went to the Indiana Fever game, which is their WNBA team. I decided to stay at the institute and welcome John Morris, my boss back at Eureka College, who attended the luncheon. Also attending the luncheon was John J. Miller, the author who wrote the book I mentioned earlier. The interesting connection is that he is also originally from metro-Detroit and just accepted a job at Hillsdale College in their journalism department. I met many prominent figures of Indianapolis including a journalist for the Indianapolis Star, who is a trustee of the Institute, his son who interned at the institute two years prior, and the associate provost of Indiana Wesleyan University, to name a few.
I ate lunch with John Morris and Jay Hein and then we headed up to the main hall to listen to John Miller give his presentation on his book. I ended up reading the entire book, which was fascinating, and I might have been the only one there that had read it. Jay gave me the copy I read and I was able to get it signed and speak with John Miller for a moment. I helped clean up a little bit and also mingled with John, Jay, and the provost of Indiana Wesleyan. Jay Hein is a genuine person in every aspect.
The event finished, John Morris left and it turned out that the Fever game started at 1 PM and it was around 2:15 at this point. Jay encouraged me to attend the rest of the game because there was going to be a tour following it. Susan, the project director, drove me to Conseco Fieldhouse where I was greeted by the Indiana Pacers' President's assistant. She escorted me to the suite where I met up with the rest of the interns and Donald Cassell, who is a Senior Fellow at Sagamore. I made it with 48 seconds left in the game, which the Fever won 90-78 to keep their win streak alive.
The next thing that happened I was not aware was on the agenda. The President's assistant took the six of us up to Jim Morris' (the Pacer's president) office. We waited for a few moments and then he entered, sent an e-mail and had us sit down at his table. His office was gorgeous. Turns out that he is a trustee of the Sagamore Institute! He asked us what our role as interns were at Sagamore, where we went to school, and what our majors were. I answered his questions and he knew exactly who Eureka College is, along with the Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program. He then began to speak with us and it felt much like when Craig Barrett, the former CEO of Intel, visited our campus at Eureka.
He is such an impressive man. He started working at a bank outside of college where he eventually became Chief of Staff to Dick Lugar, the Senator from Indiana. He held two other jobs for 16 years a piece until he began to work for the United Nations World Food Program where he helped deliver food to those starving around the world. He said he has visited almost every country in the world, so I assume that is all of them excluding the ones that are impossible to get to; although he has been to North Korea and had an very compelling story about that visit. He has photographs in his office of himself with prominent figures of the world such as Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Ban Ki-moon who was the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations. He spoke of both the Popes in such great detail because he developed personal relationships with them.
We sat and asked him questions and he gave us advice that is some of the best I have ever heard. I wrote notes throughout our two hour conversation and have quoted some of my favorite wise comments he made throughout this time. He said, "Leadership does make all the difference in the world." And that those who are truly compassionate, genuine, humble, honest, educated, collegiate, have a partnership mentality, and nurture all relationships throughout their lives will be successful in ways they cannot imagine. (Another intern has a photo of us together on her camera and hopefully I will get that uploaded on here soon.)
After the eye-opening session with Jim Morris we were given a tour of Conseco Fieldhouse and then made our way back to Sagamore Institute. We arrived back around 5 PM and the graduate student Brian had to finish up some work that was needed for tomorrow's event so I offered my time to help him finish sooner. Brian is going into International relations with a focus on Africa. Sagamore is currently connecting with specifically Liberia, because Donald Cassell was born there and is guiding Brian on this project. I helped him put together packets that give policy ideas on how to better Liberia with law schools, nursing schools, and other key aspects. Most of these ideas are already being put into action in Indiana and there already exists a strong tie between Liberia and the state that no one would ever know about. We finished around 7:30 PM and then we went to a Vietnamese restaurant that was amazing. I arrived back home around 9 exhausted. I will start the day back at Sagamore tomorrow at 9 AM!
Tomorrow there will be a presentation on all of the information and the ambassador of Liberia will be attending as well as some key political figures of Indiana. It should be a very interesting time and I'm hoping that tomorrow, after our last event of the week, I will be able to collaborate with Jay Hein and get my project started! I am truly blessed to be able to be in this position. So far I love it here and I am already loving the idea of working for a non-profit organization someday. Maybe my own think tank...
This is my workstation.
The rest of the loft where the other interns work.
Hopefully Jay will put up the Eureka pennant I brought him.
Jay Hein and myself after the luncheon.
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