7:55 am: My alarm goes off and I keep my eyes closed until the last possible second.
 
8:00 am: I stumble out of bed and get ready to face the day. I usually make my favorite meal for breakfast: Whole Foods natural peanut better on 7-grain Ezekiel bread and a green apple (If you know me, you know how on brand this is) while listening to Lizzo’s music (if you know me, you know how on brand this is) (and if you don’t know who Lizzo is… you should google her 10/10 would recommend.)
 
8:50am: John and I walk over to the Green Garage and I grab a cup of coffee with almond milk before heading into the Detroit Food Academy office for Huddle, our weekly team meeting with all of the DFA members.
 
10:00: After huddle, we meet with our supervisors Julie and Jake to determine our tasks for the day. We rarely spend the entire day in the office at Green Garage so we try to touch base with our supervisors in the morning.
 
12:00: I take a break from the many hours spent on Canva, my favorite graphic design website, to grab my lunch from the Green Garage fridge. If I need a  break outside, I’ll usually call either my mom, dad, or brother (depends on who’s next in the rotation) for a few minutes while I walk outside.
 
1:00pm: Jake drives us over to the Small Batch kitchen, where Mitten Bites, Jam, and Popsicles are made. Daria, who works production at Small Batch, will let us try any of the Mitten Bites or popsicles that aren’t aesthetically pleasing enough to sell. I take some behind the scenes pictures and videos of production, and then we head back to Green Garage with Jake.
 
3:30: Jaylen, one of the DFA fellows arrives at the Green Garage for his scheduled meeting with me and John. He tells us stories about his placement at Seldon Standard as we work on adding to his resume.
 
4:30pm: John and I leave Green Garage to walk back to the dorms, and I resist the temptation to stop at Marcus Market (which has the best smoothies) next door.
 
6:00pm: I head to the Wayne state gym and check the schedule to see what classes are available. I’ve been taking advantage of Zumba, HIIT, yoga classes, and sometimes even 7am spin. I’ll see if anyone else wants to try the classes as well (shoutout to Kevin for always being willing to do Zumba with me!)
 
7:30pm: I shower and begin making dinner, usually listening to Lizzo again.  While the first night I made myself unseasoned chicken and frozen vegetables, my new recent favorite meal is steak with caramelized onions and brown rice.  

 9:30 pm: I receive the “Love Island?” text from Arjun and I meet him, Becca, Bryn, and Saagar in the boys quad to watch the trashiest (but most entertaining) British reality tv show. Or if we’re feeling fancy, we will hookup one of our laptops to the common room and watch on the big tv. See Arjun’s blog for a very accurate description of the show.
 
11:30pm: After our Love Island banter, where we all get way too invested, it’s time to head back to my quad for bed. Sometimes I’ll read a book from the Detroit Public Library... but usually I’ll sit on my phone until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.
 
 
 

​8:20 AM: *Obnoxious Classic Apple Alarm sounds* BEEP BEEP BEEP
 
8:20:02 AM: I somehow manage to find my phone without opening my eyes and hit snooze as quickly as my hand allows.
 
8:25 AM: *Obnoxious Classic Apple Alarm sounds* BEEP BEEP BEEP
 
8:25:02 AM: Again, without hesitation, I lunge my arm immediately for my phone and snooze as quickly as humanly possible in attempts to appease my ears.
 
8:25 AM: *Obnoxious Classic Apple Alarm sounds* BEEP BEEP BEEP
 
8:30:02 AM: I inevitably convince myself that lying in bed any longer would catalyze me being late to work and so I get out of bed, change into business casual clothing, pack my bag for the day, fill up my Hydroflask with ice and water, and wait for Andy to knock on the door to the girls’ quad.
 
8:45 AM: Once Andy arrives, Andy, Xin, and I descend the elevator and find ourselves making the first zesty choice of the day: either we walk 10 minutes to TechTown, or we ride MoGo for 2-minutes TechTown.
 
9:00 AM: We eagerly open the doors leading to TechTown, analyze the board describing the week’s local caterers for each day, say hi to our lovely supervisor Joanna, and walk immediately to the two small phone rooms in attempts to reserve a two-hour slot.
 
9:15 AM: We inescapably find ourselves walking to the Fueling Station with the goal of reaching the coffee station and all stand in front of our new obsession: oatmik. This milk alternative has effortlessly surpassed all other coffee enhancing options and has become the name of our TechTown groupchat. I grab a TechTown mug, pour in some Ethiopian coffee, and add a splash of oatmilk. Andy takes a cup and fills it with pure oatmilk, and Xin contemplates getting Earl Grey tea or a cup of oatmilk.
 
9:35 AM: After choosing between working in a small phone booth room, one of the round tables in the Fueling station, or in one of the newly renovated 5th floor cubicles, our team sets up our computers, creates an agenda for the day, and puts our minds to work.
 
10:00 -11:30 AM: Our average day will consist of at least one meeting: a check-in with our supervisor Joanna, a meeting to present our work to fellow TechTown staff, a full-staff meeting, or a meeting with local entrepreneurs who wish to receive feedback on their current business models, practice their pitches, etc. We spend the rest of our morning working on our projects.
 
11:30 AM: Local vendors! We return to the fueling station to enjoy the delicious local vendor of the day. Friends from NextEnergy and Street Democracy join us and we chat and play skribbl.io (sponsor me), which really means entertain Maggie as she obliterates all of us with her cleverness.
 
12:30 - 5:00 PM: We say farewell to our lunch squad and get back to work! This will inevitably include some banter between Andy and I and Xin recommending phenomenal restaurants.
 
5:00 PM: Andy, Xin, and I leave work and head back to the dorms.
 
5:10 PM: Usually, at this point I walk over to the gym and participate in a workout class (my new favorite is HIIT).
 
6:45 PM: I amble back to the dorms, take a quick shower, and plan out what I am going to make for dinner. Over the course of these eight weeks my meals have evolved, yet there always seems to be a base of Huy Fond Foods’ Siracha, tofu or salmon, broccoli, and either a soy marinade or curry.
 
8:00 PM: At this point in the day I usually strive to take a moment for myself. This could mean writing another letter to my friend Tedi, photoshopping T-shirt ideas for Project BUILD, watching Game of Thrones, writing in my journal, reading Looking for Alaska, or teaching myself how to make a website.
 
9:30 PM: At this point I have most likely received a text from Arjun inquiring: “Love Island?” Arjun exposed us to this incredibly fascinating British TV show that is on—believe it or not—every single day of the week except for Saturdays. Considering that we were going to be spending quite a few hours crouching around Arjun’s laptop screen, I decided to invest in an HDMI cable and now, when we feel particularly inclined to indulge in luxury, we watch it on the common room TV.
 
11:15 PM: After the show we banter, discuss our days with one another, sometimes dabbling in a game of Catan or Photo Roulette, and enjoy each other’s company.
 
12:00 PM: At this point I usually make my way back to my room, get ready for bed, watch an episode of friends, and lie in serenity as my eyes slowly drift allowing for sleep to come and effortlessly carry me away.

8:15 am: Alarms goes off, and I quickly stretch and rush out of bed to have time to eat breakfast
 
8:20 am: I walk into the kitchen space, where Kevin is already making his morning specialties either his peanut butter toasted sandwich with Chia seeds or eating his overnight oats
 
8:22 am: I quickly grab a bowl from the dishwasher and start pouring my cereal into the bowl FIRST and then my milk, then I quickly run to my room to get a banana
 
8:32 am: I start bushing my teeth and washing my face
 
8:40 am: I start changing into my work clothes
 
8:50 am: I’m leaving the boy’s quad and headed to the elevator to meet Hannah in the lobby
 
9:00 am: Hannah and I get to the Green Garage, where Detroit Food Academy has their working space, and we grab a chair a get ready for huddle
 
10:00 am: Huddle finishes up and Hannah and I meet in the common space to talk to either Julie or Jack about the week’s plan
 
10:45 am: Hannah and I begin designating roles and begin working on our given tasks
 
12:00 pm: We grab our lunches from the fridge, and begin to eat our food but if I’m too lazy to make lunch I would go to Marcus Market on Tuesdays and take advantage of their Taco Tuesdays offers
 
1:00 pm: We wrap up our lunch break and begin to work on what we have already started on that given day
 
4:00 pm: Hannah and I pack up our things and head to the MoGo station outside of the Green Garage and head back to campus
 
4:15 pm: We arrive to the dorms and depart our ways, the second part of my day has officially begun
 
5:00 pm: I head to the gym and begin working on my cardio routine
 
6:30 pm: I begin to head out of the gym and I head towards to the dorms to begin my dinner specialty J
 
6:40 pm: I take out all the necessary ingredients (Lemon, Garlic, Cooking Wine, Potatoes, and Salt & Pepper)
 
6:45 pm: I begin marinating my chicken with lemon, garlic, cooking wine, salt & pepper, while also washing my potatoes and placing them in a pan
 
7:00 pm: I start grilling the chicken and place some rice into the already bowling potatoes pan to make a potatoes rice
 
7:30 pm: I begin to start eating, while this is happening Kevin is marinating his fish or chicken as well
 
8:00 pm: I wash up all the dishes used and head back to my room and quickly call my parents
 
8:30 - 10 pm: We begin to play Catan either in the boy’s quad or the common space at the end of the hallway
 
10:10 pm: I shower and get ready for bed
 
11 pm: I roll into bed and begin streaming Narcos on Netflix, highly recommend watching Narcos if you haven’t watched it!
 
 
This isn’t what all my days look like but a general sense of what a day in John’s shoes looks like. I would love to thank everyone who made this summer experience possible! Couldn’t have asked for a better community partner! Such a marvelous program! Jack and Julie are the sweetest, kindest, and most hard-working people I’ve ever met!

​Thank DFA Team and DukeEngage Team :) 

​8:00 – Wake up, shower, get dressed for work, eat breakfast

8:50 – Knock on Becca and Xin’s door to walk over to TechTown together

9:00 – Arrive at TechTown, begin work

11:00 – Meet with Joanna (our supervisor) about project updates, or another member of TechTown staff for insight into our projects. Depending on the day, shadow Joanna's meetings with other entrepreneurs.

12:00 – Eat lunch at the Fueling Station, perhaps with the NextEnergy or Street Democracy folks

1:00 – Go into the call rooms for some quiet work time

3:00 – Move back into the Fueling Station to work on the sofas, scan area for any free food left over

4:50 – Pack everything up and prepare to leave

5:00 – Arrive at the Wayne State dorms, take a light nap

6:00 – Wake up and cook dinner, afterwards clean up and wash the dishes

7:00 – Watch YouTube or do some light reading, depending on the day

7:30 – Take a brief walk around campus

8:00 – Go to the gym to run

9:00 – Head back to the dorms, shower

10:00 – Meet with Arjun, Kevin, Saagar, and/or Andrew to play Catan

12:00 – Conclude the Catan games

12:15 – Get ready for bed, brush my teeth

12:30 – Sleep

​ 
7:40 am – My alarm sounds …. Usually a minute or two later I lazily roll out of bed and stumble into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Next, I make breakfast in a hurry. A few nights a week I make an egg, cheese and spinach sandwich and heat it the next morning. Other times I just settle for cereal or oatmeal. I change into my workout clothes and head down to the lobby to meet Andrew at the lobby.
8:25 am – Andrew and I depart from the Mogo Station across and quickly pedal down Cass Avenue. We usually push the pace, and our quads are already burning when we get to the hill on Bagley St.
8:45 – 8:50 am: Andrew and I arrive at ProsperUS and head inside to change into our work clothes.
 
9 am: To begin the workday Andrew and I check the phones at ProsperUS for voicemails and then follow up to help connect individuals with the resources they need. In the last week, we have had plenty of phone calls from returning citizens interested in entrepreneurship training, so we have also been enrolling folks into our program. Most days, we continue with intake requests and emails until about 9:30 – 9:45 am. We usually check in with Devin (our supervisor) and just ask her what she may need done that day and update her on how our work is going.
 
9:45 am: Andrew and me begin working on our larger projects. We usually have quick conservation about who should tackle with part of the project before we put our headphones in and started typing and grinding away. This past week we have been working on our Longitudinal Survey Analysis Report. We have been analyzing our findings (mostly using Excel) and then creating a report to convey this information in the easiest way to understand. We have also been working on writing proposals based on the areas for improvement we have identified through both the statistics and numbers and the anecdotal feedback we have received. Usually between 9:45 am and 1 pm Andrew and I take a couple of breaks to reconvene on our findings or give each other progress updates. By constantly communicating Andrew and I really hold each other accountable and also can quickly adjust who is working on what to most efficiently finish our projects.
 
1 pm:  Lunch break! We walk to Honey Bee’s Market (the Mexican grocery store) down the street and Andrew usually buys his lunch there. I am always jealous of his enchiladas, tacos, and burritos, but always take more than my fair share of chips and guacamole samples. I usually bring my lunch (consisting of a turkey or chicken breast sandwich, carrots, and fruit) to save money and avoid too heavy of a lunch. Andrew and I sit on public benches near Honey Bee’s and just chat. It’s been wonderful to get to know Andrew so well and I am certainly going to miss our lunch dates. Sometimes we walk around Mexicantown and admire all of the murals.
 
2 pm: We get back to work. We usually continue on our big projects, and often take small breaks to answer emails, call individuals, create graduation certificates. In the past two weeks, we have been meeting with entrepreneurs and interviewing them to create marketing pieces about their businesses. At ProsperUS I have enjoyed the balance between desk-related traditional office work and personal interaction with Detroit’s emerging entrepreneurs.
 
5 pm: Andrew and I check in with Devin, change into our work out clothes, wave goodbye to Lupe (the office manager), and then bike home.
 
5:25 pm: We arrive back at Wayne State. I walk straight from the gym from the bike station after work since I am already quasi sweaty and gross.
 
7 pm: I finish my workout and walk back to the dorm. On Wednesdays, I typically walk to University Foods to grocery shop after the gym.
 
8 pm: After I shower and chat with family members or friends on the phone or facetime, I start making dinner. My dinner usually consists of chicken, rice, broccoli, and a sauce. Sometimes I make pasta, steak or salad. One of my favorite meals to cook is Arjun’s chicken recipe.
 
9:30 pm: After I cook dinner I tidy up my room and relax a bit. Usually at 9:30 or 10 pm Arjun, Becca, Saagar, Hannah and I watch Love Island together in the common room. Sometimes we all play Catan, which is also super fun. I am going to miss nights of laughter and smiles with our whole group!
 
12 – 12:30 am: Lights off.

8.30am: My first alarm goes off and I inevitably hit snooze and roll straight back to bad. Whilst frustrating, it is almost unbelievable how I manage to do this every day.

9.10am: I look at the clock and realize I have to get up now and run out of bed to shower.

9.40am: After showering I get changed and leave my room to find I am the last one left in the apartment. Thankfully I have the apartment to myself in the morning. I make my usual breakfast of 5 eggs, a bowl of oats and a yogurt whilst listening to the Love Island Morning After podcast.

9.55am: I leave the building and am pressed for time to get to work and normally MoGo. Don’t worry, I never forget the helmet.

10-12: I work on my project and finalize the report that I am finishing up. It’s very interesting work but also can get quite confusing at times, especially when working on my own.

12.30pm: Take a lunch break now and usually have lunch with the TechTown or Next Energy people. We always eat at TechTown because there’s a good spread there but I always pack my lunch the night before so I have that. Its pretty classic - Uncle Bens rice, chicken breast and corn. Exciting stuff folks.

1.30pm: Get back to work and try and fight off the post-lunch slump and crack on with my work.

3.30pm: Everyone at Street Democracy delves into an important conversation with Jayesh about a typical hot-topic. What kind of PhD’s are valid and which professions should call themselves a doctor. This lasts about 30 minutes and is why working at Street Democracy is so interesting - you never know what kind of conversation you’ll have at the shared table.

5pm: I leave the office and call my mum. She always says I don’t call her enough so I’ve made it a habit to try and call her every time I leave the office. I MoGo back, again with my helmet tightly fastened around my head, and get back to my dorm to make myself a snack and a shake.

5.30pm: Head to the gym, I’ve been going a lot this summer and it doesn’t hurt that the gym is literally 100 yards away from our apartments so there is really no excuse. Today its leg day which is a bit of a struggle but I play a soccer podcast on my phone and do the workout.

7pm: After heading back I always have a heavy snack and have a quick shower to clean myself up after the gym. Then I chill in our living room with all the other boys and chat about our days. The conversation is always funny and the chat is good.

9pm: I make my dinner around now, I’m always the last to eat in the apartment. By now John’s already had his dinner 3 hours ago and Kevin and Saagar have eaten as well. After this I play a game of Catan with Andrew, Saagar and Andy/Kevin. The games are always really intense and get very heated sometimes but all in good spirit. I’ve been cheating every game which explains why I’ve been winning recently but hopefully none of them read this so they don’t find out for when we play later today. The games last a while but are always a highlight of my night.

10.30pm: Have a little post dinner snack and send the inevitable “Love island?” Message to Hannah, Bryn, Becca and Saagar. This happens literally every night then we all convene to watch the latest episode of Love Island. For those who don’t know, Love Island is a deep-dive psychoanalysis of Britain in the 21st Century and a must watch for anyone interested in modern behavioral trends. Really cannot emphasize enough how fascinating the show is.

12.00pm: By now everyone’s pretty tired and I get to bed and spend a little too much time aimlessly scrolling on my phone and watching videos. I normally get to bed around 1am.

My day in the life of working in Detroit at ProsperUS:
 
7:30 AM: First alarm goes off. This is from my very loud alarm clock.
 
7:40 AM: Second alarm goes off. This is my phone alarm. I set two alarms on different devices because I am a very deep sleeper.
 
7:50 AM: Get out of bed and get ready for work. Brush my teeth, make breakfast if there is time, and pack my bag to bike to ProsperUS.
 
8:25 AM: Pick up a MOGO and start biking to ProsperUS
 
8:50 AM: Arrive at ProsperUS, usually sweaty and tired
 
9:00 AM: Change into my work clothing and organize my desk to start the day! I start working on whatever needs to get done!
 
9:10 AM: Take intake phone calls, check in with Devin (my boss) and do any other work that I might have that day
 
1:00 PM: Take a late lunch. Usually, I will get delicious food at HoneyBee 
 
2:00 PM: Start working again with a full stomach
 
4:50 PM: Change into my athletic clothing to start biking home
 
5:00 PM: Leave the office
 
5:05 PM: Get another Mogo and bike back to Wayne State
 
5:10 PM: Sometimes get some food for dinner at HoneyBee
 
5:30 PM: Arrive back at Wayne State
 
6:00 PM: Work out at the Wayne State gym when I have the motivation
 
7:00 PM: Make dinner and then eat dinner. I am an excellent salmon maker at this point.
 
8:00 PM: Chill out and maybe play Catan with some people from the program
 
11:00 PM: In my room getting ready for bed
 
11:30 PM-1 AM: Go to sleep

8:10 My alarm goes off. I snooze my alarm for the first time and drag myself out of bed when it rings the second time. I then begin my morning routine including showering and putting on face cream.
 
8:45 I start to “cook” my breakfast. It is not necessary to cook. Sometimes,  it just as simple as putting bread into the toaster and put a cup of mike into the microwave. The first week I cooked a lot in the morning but then I was getting lazier and lazier about cooking.
 
9:05 I pack my lunch, laptop, and charger and run to the elevator. Kevin and I are supposed to meet at 9:05 but one of us always late so I guess the meeting time is actually 9:10.
 
9:10-9:30. I take the shuttle to work. It generally takes 10-15 minutes to go to downtown.
 
9:30 I arrive at the office. With a cup of fresh coffee, I start my day of work.
 
12:30 It is lunchtime! I generally bring my meal to work. I heated the lunch and eat in the office with Kevin.
 
1:10 Time to explore! Kevin and I take advantage of the lunch break time to explore downtown Detroit. We took the people mover to the Renaissance Center and toured around the GM headquarters. Sometimes we walked to the Greektown and sometimes we biked around the Riverwalk. The Atwater MoGo station is my favorite because I spend so much time there during my lunch break.
 
2:00 I go back to the office and start to work. Every Wednesday, we have MoGo weekly meetings to update the work we accomplish.
 
5:00 It is time to go back. After saying bye to Rory, I take the shuttle back to the dorm.
 
6:00 Depend on the schedule of the shuttle, I arrive at Wayne State University around 5:30 or 5:45. After taking a small break, I go to the gym for exercise. My gym routine is 30-minute cardio plus 30 minutes shoulder/ legs/ arms exercise.
 
7:00 After going back from the gym, I start cooking. One of my goals this summer is to eat healthier so I prefer to cook my meal. Even though I cooked every day, I still cannot find a good way to cook chicken breast.
 
10:00 I video called my friend or my family and updated my day to them. If I don’t have a phone call, I watched a movie or read a book for an hour.
 
11:30. Time for showering and going to sleep, preparing for the new day.

7:45 am: My first alarm goes off. Barely opening my eyes, I slap my phone to snooze the alarm.
 
7:54 am: The alarm goes off again. I open my eyes and think about getting out of bed but snooze my alarm again.
 
8:03 am: Third alarm. I push myself out of bed and brush my teeth. Across the kitchen, I wave at Kevin and John who are also getting ready. I take a shower and make my daily breakfast—a protein shake and a banana. I also make lunch, which is always two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
 
8:50 am: I down the protein shake, say bye to Kevin and John (Arjun is still asleep), and take the banana to go, so I can meet Maggie downstairs to leave for NextEnergy. One of us (or both of us) is usually a few minutes late to come downstairs. We walk over to the MoGo station, hop on our bikes, and ride over to work.
 
9:00 am: Maggie and I arrive at the office, greet the staff, and make our way to our desks. We immediately start to work on our tasks for the day. On Monday mornings, there is a team meeting, which Maggie and I always attend.
 
10:00 am: Our supervisor Tim comes to our desks, and we talk to him about our progress on the project. He answers any questions we may have and helps us with any difficulties or road blocks.
 
12:30 pm: Maggie and I walk across the street to TechTown to meet Andy, Arjun, Becca, and Xin for lunch. Sometimes TechTown has pop-up food vendors, so I might order lunch from there, depending on what it is. My favorite was the Mediterranean food. We talk about our experiences and everyone has hilarious stories to tell.
 
1:30 pm: We return to NextEnergy to work on our project. I get hit by a post-lunch slump and go get coffee from the break room to keep me going. In the break room, I may run into some staff and have a quick conversation about our weekends. We usually meet with our supervisor Tim after lunch.
 
4:30 pm: Maggie and I say goodbye to the NextEnergy staff and walk over to the MoGo station to bike back to our apartment building. Upon getting back to my room, I change into comfortable clothes, eat a quick snack, and take a power nap.
 
5:30 pm: I wake up from my nap, wash my face, and go into the kitchen area, where John is usually making his dinner. I chill on the couch and talk to John, Kevin, and Arjun.
 
6:00 pm: I leave for the gym. Depending on the day, I either lift weights or go upstairs to play pickup basketball with some Wayne State students.
 
7:15 pm: I get back to my room and take a shower. I then cook dinner, which is one of three things: pasta, a sandwich, or chicken. This is the extent of my culinary talent.
 
8:30 pm: Someone asks in the DukeEngage group chat asks if anyone wants to play Catan. I always say yes. A group of 4-5 of us go to the common room down the hall and play an intense game of Catan. Arjun has mastered the art of the deal and manages to win the game against all odds. Andy is also a beast at this game. Usually frustrated by my loss, I walk back to my room unsatisfied.
 
9:30 pm: It’s time to watch Love Island with Arjun, Becca, Hannah, and Bryn. Love Island is a trashy yet entertaining British reality TV show, which is on every day of the week. We get way too into it.
 
11:00 pm: I pack my bag for the next day. Then I brush my teeth and read/watch Netflix for an hour.
 
12:00 am: I get comfy under my covers and go to sleep.

Some pictures from our kayaking adventure this weekend