It is often times the unexpected moments in life that are the most rewarding and insightful. My summer experience interning for Detroit Food Academy thus far has further supported this statement. It is simple to explain to someone that I, along with my partner Ajay, are assigned to two different branches of Detroit Food Academy and have been given the freedom to explore our passions in developing creative deliverables and use our skills to formulate improvements for the nonprofit itself. A portion of our projects are rooted in the Fellowship program of DFA, where we are meeting weekly with each fellow, helping them with resume and professional development, and creating a video series, where each video tells the story of a fellow. The remaining projects fall within the scope of Small Batch Detroit, which as the business side of DFA, allows our projects to be more product-focused. We are developing a method for the company to effectively identify and record training/work hours, looking for ways to get funding, identifying methods for the production of products to become more efficient, and improving the marketing for the food products Small Batch has to offer.
The question of how I am specifically serving the Detroit community, however, is more complex to explain. By no means do I completely understand the scope of my project, for I have yet to understand Detroit in its entirety. I have begun my search through unexpected moments that have spurred self-reflection, curiosity, and understanding. When I scheduled the initial meetings with the fellows, I was hesitant that these interactions would be productive. I imagined stiff conversations with individuals who were just a bit younger than me. Interestingly enough, these meetings made me realize that not only was each individual incredible, but the DFA program they were in actually managed to change their lives. One fellow in particular mentioned that he was an aggressive kid, with several suspensions under his belt until he joined DFA. Not only did the after-school program take up his time, which prevented him from getting in trouble, but he also became interested in his education again, as he found passions in baking and entrepreneurship. The idea suddenly came to us that a video series would go beyond a powerful marketing tool for Small Batch products and inspire individuals that other Detroiters who may be very similar to them were able to find passions and learn somewhere outside the classroom setting. This, as well as the individual projects with the fellows have allowed me to understand that you cannot fix the problems of Detroit without first tackling education, and you cannot fix education without addressing the needs of the students. Similarly, our work at the production facility, attempting to make production and records more efficient, as well as creating “Post Small-Batch plans” with every employee ideally will improve the culture and output of the company. This in-turn supports more production and revenue for DFA to utilize in expansion, making programs available to more students in Detroit. Our projects are not only improving marketing, production, and efficiency; rather, we are aiming to improve the individual lives of the students of Detroit by raising awareness and availability one unexpected moment at a time.
The question of how I am specifically serving the Detroit community, however, is more complex to explain. By no means do I completely understand the scope of my project, for I have yet to understand Detroit in its entirety. I have begun my search through unexpected moments that have spurred self-reflection, curiosity, and understanding. When I scheduled the initial meetings with the fellows, I was hesitant that these interactions would be productive. I imagined stiff conversations with individuals who were just a bit younger than me. Interestingly enough, these meetings made me realize that not only was each individual incredible, but the DFA program they were in actually managed to change their lives. One fellow in particular mentioned that he was an aggressive kid, with several suspensions under his belt until he joined DFA. Not only did the after-school program take up his time, which prevented him from getting in trouble, but he also became interested in his education again, as he found passions in baking and entrepreneurship. The idea suddenly came to us that a video series would go beyond a powerful marketing tool for Small Batch products and inspire individuals that other Detroiters who may be very similar to them were able to find passions and learn somewhere outside the classroom setting. This, as well as the individual projects with the fellows have allowed me to understand that you cannot fix the problems of Detroit without first tackling education, and you cannot fix education without addressing the needs of the students. Similarly, our work at the production facility, attempting to make production and records more efficient, as well as creating “Post Small-Batch plans” with every employee ideally will improve the culture and output of the company. This in-turn supports more production and revenue for DFA to utilize in expansion, making programs available to more students in Detroit. Our projects are not only improving marketing, production, and efficiency; rather, we are aiming to improve the individual lives of the students of Detroit by raising awareness and availability one unexpected moment at a time.
Detroit Demo Days, where DFA won $50,000 in the Young Entrepreneurs Category!
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