On the first day of work at TechTown, we sat down with our supervisor Betsy, eagerly awaiting to hear all of the wonderful tasks we would be completing over the next two months. However, we soon learned that although Betsy expected us to complete a couple general projects over the course of the summer, we were not expected to come into work by a certain time, leave work at a certain time, or even work strictly in the TechTown work place. At first, this seemed completely absurd to me. Wouldn’t this allow Mabel and I to slack off whenever we want, work on completely unrelated projects without our supervisors knowing, or even arbitrarily decide not to come into work one day?
Luckily, for the sake of TechTown and for the sake of DukeEngage, the answer to those questions was no. It wasn’t because we simply wanted to show that we were responsible Duke students, or because we had good work ethic. It was because our work in Detroit had a much bigger picture- to help the thousands of unemployed by revitalizing the Detroit economy.
The flexibility given to Mabel and me at TechTown allowed us to take initiative, gaining major roles in the assistance of the CityInsight, one of TechTown’s incubation clients, as well as creating economic impact reports to track TechTown’s influence on the Detroit community. Of course this flexibility also came with its drawbacks. At times Mabel and I were offered little guidance as to how to proceed. We’ve inputted hundreds of names and emails into an out-of-date database, gotten conflicting recommendations from different supervisors, and shifted through numbers and metrics that we honestly aren’t even sure are credible. It is in these times that it’s so easy to become frustrated, disregard the kind-hearted nature of TechTown’s wonderful staff, and forget about the bigger picture of our work here in Detroit. But these frustrations have allowed me to realize a truth as well-sometimes you really can’t have everything your own way. Especially in the workplace, there are realistic limitations to the tasks you can complete.
With that in mind, Mabel and I now have a much more accurate outlook on the things we can accomplish at TechTown in the next 5 weeks. Although our idea of the economic impact reports has pivoted from simply an internal recommendation report to an additional public relations marketing tool based on the direction of our supervisors, we are now more determined than ever to produce something tangible, deliverable, and usable at the end of these 8 weeks.
Luckily, for the sake of TechTown and for the sake of DukeEngage, the answer to those questions was no. It wasn’t because we simply wanted to show that we were responsible Duke students, or because we had good work ethic. It was because our work in Detroit had a much bigger picture- to help the thousands of unemployed by revitalizing the Detroit economy.
The flexibility given to Mabel and me at TechTown allowed us to take initiative, gaining major roles in the assistance of the CityInsight, one of TechTown’s incubation clients, as well as creating economic impact reports to track TechTown’s influence on the Detroit community. Of course this flexibility also came with its drawbacks. At times Mabel and I were offered little guidance as to how to proceed. We’ve inputted hundreds of names and emails into an out-of-date database, gotten conflicting recommendations from different supervisors, and shifted through numbers and metrics that we honestly aren’t even sure are credible. It is in these times that it’s so easy to become frustrated, disregard the kind-hearted nature of TechTown’s wonderful staff, and forget about the bigger picture of our work here in Detroit. But these frustrations have allowed me to realize a truth as well-sometimes you really can’t have everything your own way. Especially in the workplace, there are realistic limitations to the tasks you can complete.
With that in mind, Mabel and I now have a much more accurate outlook on the things we can accomplish at TechTown in the next 5 weeks. Although our idea of the economic impact reports has pivoted from simply an internal recommendation report to an additional public relations marketing tool based on the direction of our supervisors, we are now more determined than ever to produce something tangible, deliverable, and usable at the end of these 8 weeks.
In spite of these major frustrations, there is much to be hopeful for. CityInsight will be directly implementing our market research, competitive analysis, sales sheet, and executive summary revisions into pitches in front of major investors as well as in the launching of their product CityWater in August. DTX Launch Detroit will receive numerical, data-driven analysis of the program’s successes in creating jobs, companies, and new technologies for the Detroit and greater Michigan community. TechTown as a whole will have a new marketing handbook to give out to potential investors and clients, detailing its economic impact and entrepreneurial successes from the past 5 years. With so many exciting things ahead of us, I can’t help but feel determined, enthusiastic, and proud to be part of the movement to rebuild Detroit.
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