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Participating in educational initiatives

One of my favorite parts about working at Deloitte is the ways we are involved in local communities. Similar to DP Day that the University of Michigan participates in once a year, Deloitte has IMPACT Day, where the entire firm puts our regular responsibilities on pause for one day to participate in skills-based volunteering. Throughout the year, we partner with a few select organizations like United Way, City Year, and College Summit to serve as mentors, teachers, and counselors (among other things).

It's funny that I express such enthusiasm now because all throughout high school and college, I greatly undermined the value of community service. Maybe it's because I grew up in a rather homogeneous suburban neighborhood, but I didn't see the power of mentorship relationships until two summers ago when I got to interact with the underachieving youth at Cesar Chavez Academy in Southwest Detroit. Since then, I've been learning more about different social issues and how I can use my existing passions and educational background to help make a difference (hence last year's ventures in exploring the Base of the Pyramid, social entrepreneurship, etc). Even when it comes to community involvement, there are a lot of different emphases such as addressing issues healthcare, poverty, education, or the environment, but the part that I am passionate about (and just SO happens to be the part Deloitte is committed to) is education.


One of those organizations I learned about when it comes to combining education and business is Junior Achievement, which is the "world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs." In my words, JA uses basic business principles to motivate youth to a better life. Business + education = right up my alley.

A few weeks ago, Deloitte was looking for volunteers and of course I jumped on the opportunity. So this morning I nervously walked into an elementary school in the east side of Detroit, to teach a class of 38 fifth graders (yes it's a huge class) about the importance of managing money (key terms from the day: bank account, withdrawals, deposits). I haven't felt this nervous in a WHILE (last time I had a job interview?) but whew thankfully it went better than expected. More than the experience of teaching in front of a classroom though, my experience in the girls' bathroom was more surprising--some of my observations from my brief stay:
  • The stalls are legit 4 feet tall. I felt like a giant. I also thought of the Stockwell bathroom incident with Anna & Liza kakakak
  • The stalls don't have locks. Not sure if this was to prevent bullying (swirly?) or shady business, but was def shocked.
  • All three soap dispensers in the bathroom were empty
  • There was nothing to dry my hands (no dryer, paper towels, etc)
I'll be teaching this class of 5th graders for a total of six weeks every Thursday, and I'm excited to discover more shocking observations in the process. Here's to developing a more holistic world-view--

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