Inspiration, Gumball and Kiplinger

I wish I had some great excuse for why I haven’t posted since I’ve been to DC but the real reason is simple; I’ve lacked inspiration up until now. While DC is chalked full of awesome things to do, I’ve had a hard time finding my place here thus far. I have done amazing things with amazing people, such as seen John Mayer and Arcade Fire play outdoor concerts, gone tubing on the Shenandoah River, played and danced by the monuments at night and other such great things. However, still in this month here, something is missing.

In Lansing, because I was connected to so many great groups of people, movements and initiatives, such as Gumball, YSG, the TIC, etc. I felt like my life had purpose well beyond achieving 4.0s in all my classes. In DC, despite the abundance of nightlife and culture and the steady job I have, I haven’t felt that connection or purpose outside of my work yet. Everyone keeps telling me it comes with time, but I also know I have to continue to be proactive to make it happen. Last week, I connected with other recent MSU grads, who surprisingly felt very similarly. With this small group, I am making my own Gumball group here in order to fill the void left by leaving the best group of motivators I’ve ever had in my life.

For those of you who do not know what Gumball is, you probably think I’m crazy. Gumball started as a small group of committed and driven young adults, who felt they didn’t quite fit into the typical confines of a University club or group. Instead the students worked outside of the system, meeting at Harpers, a local restaurant and bar, every Friday at 5 to discuss different start-ups, projects, events, initiatives, etc. that they were working on. Typical discussions revolved around collaborating to resolve conflicts or roadblocks these individuals faced. Within the group and the group’s contacts, students and recent graduates were able to create some of the best spider webs of networks of anyone at Michigan State University or in the greater Lansing region. Individuals also motivated the other individuals to remain committed to what they were working on and to act on the great ideas floated around the group. While I’m not sure what this new #gumballDC will bring, I feel pretty confident that it could organically grow into not an exact copy of my old gumball group, but a new unique and inspiring group of individuals.

I know some people can feel inspired after listening to a great song, seeing a great piece of architecture or reading a stimulating book; I don’t. Plain and simple, I’m inspired and motivated by those around me, individuals that push me to find meaning in my life outside of my 8-6 by becoming involved in my community and by being part of a solution to challenges and threats all around me.

I know many in this country and even Michigan found it surprising that Kiplinger magazine named Lansing as one of the top 10 cities for young adults, but I don’t. For young individuals looking to be a part of something, like the change in Michigan from a manufacturing based economy to one characterized by small businesses, creativity and technology, Lansing is the place to be. A city can have amazing culture and nightlife, awesome architecture, abundant jobs and all the other right statistics but if it doesn’t have the intangibles of inspiration and meaning, it’s not going to feel like home for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think I can find what I’m looking for here in DC but like my mother says, “it’s going to take time,” and well, effort on my part. Inspiration and motivation isn’t something that just walks up to you and says hello, sometimes you have to look for it.

If you want to read more about YSG, Gumball and other movements in the greater Lansing region, I suggest you check out these articles:

http://www.capitalgainsmedia.com/features/ysglansing0347.aspx… all about YSG in Lansing.

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/02/from_recession_to_reinvention… featuring Gumball and my friend Eric!

My cousin and I at Jazz in the Sculpture Gardens

Big Dreams for a Big City: Washington, D.C.

By the age of five I was claiming I would be the first female president of the United States of  America (watch out Hilary!). While I no longer have presidential or even congressional ambitions, I think most of those closest to me always knew I’d end up in Washington D.C.; though no one thought I’d be working for IBM doing supply chain management. I’ve always wanted to change the world but have always had different routes of getting there—such as being president, to running a non-profit, to running the World Banks, etc. None of those routes ever consisted of working for the private sector.  In fact, during an interview for a scholarship award that MSU gives to a graduating senior, I took A LOT of heat for daring to think I can make this world a better place while working for a large corporation. Since I haven’t started the job yet (eeeks Monday!), I can’t claim with certainty that this is the right path, but I think working for IBM will equip me with many tools and skills I need to meet my long-term goal.

But moving to D.C. has inflated my goals and ambitions even more than the large ones I had in high school and in college, as well as paradoxically making them more realistic. Here, multitudes of international connections to individuals and organizations exist. Opportunities to get involved in game-changing politics usually fall in your lap. And maybe most importunately, you are surrounded by other young adults with the same goals, which spur competition to do better than your peers, but also opens windows of collaboration all around you. It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of opportunities and big dream success in a city like D.C. In Lansing, for example, if I had a question about an environmental related project , I only had two go to woman (thanks Payal and Rory) that almost always could help me. If I wanted to get a blog published, my friend Ivy was always there, and so on and so on. Figuring out how to create that web with those pivotal players from scratch in a daunting place like D.C. is intimidating, but I’m hoping not impossible. Without the network of individuals, like I had in Lansing, I know I can’t accomplish even my smallest and shortest-term goals.

Still, I’ve made a vow to myself to not let any opportunities pass me by, especially in my early stages here. It’s a lot easier to come home after a hard day’s work and read a book than it is to go to one of those awkward networking events where you might not know anyone.   And while I start the full time job on Monday, I’ve also applied for a board position for a D.C. organization, searched out volunteer activities and tried to figure out how to get involved in the D.C. twitter community. I’m open to hearing any other suggestions for connections and opportunities in this new, big, exciting and still kinda scary community.

Iwo Jima Memorial at night last summer...one of my fav sites in D.C.!

Celebrating the 4th in D.C. last summer!

West Lafayette vs. East Lansing: The Battle of the Broken Towns?

My brother and I explored Discovery Park, a hotbed for innovation at Purdue

I sat in here and worked on this while my brother packed!

I’ve been to West Lafayette at least once a year for the last six years when my brother Sam decided as a high school senior to go to Purdue for Chemical Engineering. I’ve always thought of West Lafayette as a manufacturing town far past its prime and encapsulated with boring farmlands. However, after an economics professor, who has traveled around the world, came back from a long weekend trip and said West Lafayette was a “wonderful, cosmopolitan city,” I realized I better reevaluate. After all, I am sure many others hold a very similar perspective of East Lansing and just haven’t given MSU, East Lansing and the greater Lansing region a fair chance either.

So after exploring with my brother and striking up some conversations with the locals there are a few things that I think East Lansing would be well served to emulate. First, just about any restaurant in West Lafayette can get a liquor license. I worried about even writing about this because it could easily be misconstrued to GenY=Booze Hounds, however, a beer with your cheap slice of pizza is a nice social gathering. In East Lansing it’s just not even feasible for a place like Georgios to get a liquor license, or many of the sushi restaurants around campus. We, therefore, are regulated to the limited bars around campus that serve decent food. The more choices the better for us social young adults. After all, variety is the spice of life.

The union at Purdue University is also pretty nice! Now, it’s no University of Wisconsin- Madison union that sits on the lakefront but it does topple the somewhat pathetic MSU Union, which offers no food or seating area that I would ever take my family too. A central location on campus with comfortable seating, a plethora of work spaces and decent food/coffee is what unions should be all about. MSU’s union, unfortunately, is a place I do my banking and study in the basement of but would never actually consider meeting a friend for lunch. Purdue does seem to get this right.

The third thing that struck me is the large amounts of new buildings the University is constructing to house research laboratories and production sites. They created Discovery Park, whose primary goal is to transform a traditional academic culture into one that is more entrepreneurial and supportive of innovation. The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship acts as a capstone for these different science and engineering labs buy creating entrepreneurship education programs to students and faculty and assessing the commercial viability of the research done. This impressive array of physical and program support marks Purdue’s proactive approach to turning West Lafayette and Indiana into a life and physical science hub of for the United States.

I thought I had studied campus entrepreneurship pretty thoroughly across the Big Ten network and bragged about the University of Michigan’s program, as well as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but had never even heard of Purdue’s program, which is arguably the most impressive one. The program includes an entrepreneurial certificate, a entrepreneurship study abroad, events, such as speaker series and business plan competitions, entrepreneurial leadership training for faculty and staff, extensive linkages to University research (as indicated above) and a physical space for all these pockets of entrepreneurship to meet. Of those completing this program 23% said they are currently involved in a venture of some kind, while 88% reported that they are likely or very likely to become involved in an entrepreneurial venture in the future.

While Purdue’s physical amenities, like its Union and variety of restaurants may attract some students and young adults to the University/area, the University has certainly begun cultivating young talent that has the confidence and resources to act on their own entrepreneurial ventures in many disciplines. The city is certainly not perfect, even my brother is ready to get out after five years. However, spaces like Discovery Park will attract and cultivate the best and brightest entrepreneurial minds, particularly in the science and engineering arenas, and could very well push West Lafayette and Indiana to become a global leader in those arenas, if they aren’t already. If students have ground breaking research and facility/resources to commercialize that research, you can bet they aren’t peacing out after their four years here.

I’ve given West Lafayette and Purdue a bad rap these six years and realize anyone could say the same thing about my beloved East Lansing. The region is way more than farmland and a manufacturing town past its prime. It’s a hotspot for my beloved buzzwords: creativity, innovation and talent. And with its newest investments, it’s only going to get better. East Lansing versus West Lafayette? I can’t decide fairly decide winner but I do declare that neither is a town past its prime… They both are on their way up if they keep up their investments/development!