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Week 1- the strength of detroit, Shashi

6/15/2014

1 Comment

 
Before I came to Detroit, my vision of the city was shaped purely in terms of numbers and figures. I had heard stories of economic despair and how the city had crumbled to become a shadow of its former glorious self. My most prominent image of Detroit was one of an abandoned home that could be purchased for next to nothing. I can’t say that’s what I expected to encounter when I arrived here but I certainly expected a decrepit city that was searching for ways to revitalize itself. After being here for only a week, it’s safe to say that my image of Detroit couldn’t have been further from the truth. While Detroit is certainly struggling, it has already begun its resurgence and is well on its way to a full recovery. As we visited Detroit, the one thing that popped out to me was the incessant and infectious energy that seemed to surround this city. The people of city truly love their city and want to see it successful once more and this passion comes through in their work and their actions. This human element of Detroit, one of passion and strength, is something that cannot be captured through numbers or graphs and is something that has truly taken me by surprise.

During my time here, I want to find a way to feed off the energy of Detroit and use it to fuel my own drive and leave behind my imprint on this city. Detroit is a city that currently has many ideas and many different ways in which it hopes to rise from the ashes. My biggest contribution will simply be to work with D:Hive and help them become as strong and efficient as they can be. D:Hive is a company which has the ability to impact the city directly through its creation of entrepreneurs. My hope is to find a way to impact D:Hive in the best way I can, I want to bring a fresh set of eyes to their current environment and offer a fresh perspective. I might not be perfectly qualified to do my role, but I believe that hard work will enable me to create an impact that helps to continue the resurgence of Detroit and add a little more energy to this already passionate city. 

1 Comment
Katherine
6/19/2014 12:45:45 am

I love your observation of the human element in Detroit, which cannot be captured in graphs. It has taken me by surprise as well (in a great way)! Can't wait to see the skills that you share with D: Hive.

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