Ijeoma Anyanwu: Ijeoma Goes Back to High School
When I would tell my friends that this year I’ll be “going back to high school,” the common response was “Huh???”, followed by probing questions in an attempt to reveal any possible reasons for why I would do such a thing. However, going back to high school is proving to be one of the highlights of my senior year thus far.
My fellowship with the LSB Community Fellows program is taking place at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in San Jose, within the school’s Work Study Program (CWSP). The school’s goal is to provide a private school education for those who normally wouldn’t be able to afford one, and is able to do so through a unique tuition model. Every student is placed at a year-long internship in one of the many Silicon Valley companies partnered with Cristo Rey. Students work once or twice a week and their pay goes towards their education. The Work Study Program is in charge of acquiring partners, getting the students to and from work everyday, and maintaining corporate partner relationships. My specific role is a Special Projects intern within Work Study, and so far, I have had the opportunity to get involved with a whole bunch of stuff!
I still remember my first day at Cristo Rey, when I saw a sign made by a student that said, “Welcome Ms. Anyanwu, we’re all so excited to have you here!” I was shown around and met some of the lovely faculty at the school. I felt so welcome and comfortable being there.
The first few weeks of my fellowship have consisted of meeting lots of different people, working on tasks within different functions of CWSP, being introduced to a few exciting long-term projects, and a first look into the world of working in a nonprofit. During my first two weeks, I helped plan an event for all the students in the school to meet up with their “work teams”, which refers to the groups of students that work at the same company (on different days). With a fast-approaching deadline, I was given the opportunity to directly contribute to a big semester event that CWSP was holding, and felt extremely accomplished when I was able to get my responsibilities done just in time for the event to be a success! Since then, I have been introduced to many different projects, from updating the CWSP section on the website, to preparing Christmas cards to be sent to corporate partners. Within the last few weeks, I have had meetings with everyone in CWSP (and even outside of CWSP) regarding different tasks, and I am excited to get started on all of them and learn more about what it takes to run a nonprofit.
Even though this is a fast-paced environment where everyone always seems super busy, there are two moments that have stood out to me so far that have been quite special. I had a meeting with my supervisor, Sarah, on my third week at the job. The meeting was meant as a “check-in,” where I would update Sarah on what I was working on and what needs to be done. But for part of the meeting, Sarah asked me how I was doing. Unrelated to Cristo Rey and CWSP, she just asked how I was doing and how school was going. I opened up to her about how school has been quite demanding and the uncertainties of senior year were worrying me and I could feel that she was listening. She offered me some advice and even offered to connect me with some corporate partners if I was interested. In a meeting with two other coworkers last week, a similar conversation took place. I was amazed at how people were interested in how I was doing and wanted to support me, despite how busy they are. I could tell it wasn’t just part of formalities. They were listening. I will certainly say that experiences like these and the people I’m surrounded by,both students and faculty, make me so thrilled for what this year will bring at Cristo Rey. So far “high school, round 2” has been going well!