Anytown and Public Service

  How does your organization demonstrate public service and/ or urban governance?

Any Town's main goal is to instill a sense of social justice within its participants. So the organization demonstrates public service indirectly because we are encouragin our participants to become agents of change within their community. We have seen graduates of Anytown go on to work in Nonprofits and government organizations.

We do so by having the delegates discuss their different experiences with discrimination and social injustice. They share their experiences so they can have a well rounded view of the kinds of things their peers go through. It is one thing to hear about the pain others feel but when you know the person you connect with the story in a much deeper way. Delegates leave camp with a newfound compassion for their peers. We also talk about how we can take what we learned from camp and apply it to the real world so that our young leaders can be empowered to become

agents of change.

Easter

Free Write: Easter

I can’t believe Easter is so early this year. Easter is one of my favorite holidays because coming from a big catholic family, we always plan something big on Easter. Our tradition is to go to the river each year, and this year we will be fishing for the first time. Last year, we rented a couple of Jet Skis and I was able to take some of the kids out on the water. It was definitely my favorite memory with them thus far.

I am extremely excited about seeing all my nieces and nephews.Since I am the youngest, I have the luxery of enjoying them as kids but without the responsibility of taking them home with me. It really is the best of both worlds. Since we are fishing, I am not sure if it will be more of a relaxed time this year but it is still bound to be a fun time. I do however, think the little ones might start to get antsy if we are not entertaining them as much as usual.  I actually have only been fishing once before so I am eager to try it again. I mean, how hard can it be?

Tucson

Free Write: Tucson

I am originally from Tucson and love visiting my family there. I am the youngest of six and all my brothers and sisters live in Tucson so I have a lot of neices and nephews to visit. I am really close to my family and being far away has been pretty hard. I especially wish I could be around more for my nieces and nephews. I really enjoy watching them grow up but when they are young it is too easy to see the passage of time since they grow up so fast.

I thought I would stay in Phoenix or even move away farther after graduation, but if I get into the Tucson PD I could end up living in Tucson again. I am excited about the idea of living closer to my family again but I have to say that I have enjoyed making a life for my self here in Phoenix. It is an interesting concept that in your first adult years you start to plant your own roots somewhere. I am not sure where I will be next year but I am excited to find out.

Leadership

Leadership

Even though leadership is in the title of “Anytown Leadership Camp.” The leadership that we instill in our camp participants is a non traditional type of leadership. Our camp sessions are not necessarily instructing the participants on how to lead a group of people by studying the different leadership styles, or whatever it is that other leadership programs do. Instead, we build leaders by making them socially aware of some of the injustices that take place in American’s daily lives so that they can become leaders among their peers and fight against them on a micro level.

In my role, serving as one of the camp counselors I specifically have to lead a group of young adults through workshops and discussions. However, as a role model I have to demonstrate leadership not just in the way that I lead these activities, but also in how I respect other’s opinions and express my beliefs. I also serve on the executive board and we constantly discuss how we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard because we are role models to these young adults. This means making choices even in our personal lives which role models would make. My co-workers take on the same responsibility of constantly acting as if one of our youth participants was watching. This experience has made me more self aware of the repercussion of my choices, not only in my personal life but how those choices affect others.

My Interview with a DPS Officer

Interview: DPS Officer

Last week I interviewed a friend of the family who retired this year from the Glendale police force. He had been a police officer since he was 23. He spent 30 years on the force and had a really diverse career. First, he started as a DPS officer on the freeway, he mentioned that most officers start monitoring the highway early in his career. He later spent time on the SWAT team and then spent 10 years as a sniper for DPS. At the end of his career he spent time on the Anti-Terrorist task force here in Phoenix. When I asked how much terrorism happens in Phoenix, I was surprised to learn that he had served on the task force when Phoenix hosted the Superbowl a couple of years ago and that there had been a lot of terrorist threats during that time. It was shocking to think about how many threats and behind the scenes police work is in place in our everyday lives. At the end of his career he had more of an administrative role and organized conferences while also serving as a SWAT instructor.

I have been lucky enough to have him as a mentor through my interview process for the Police force. I asked how the process had evolved since he had originally interviewed and he said that back then they would hire hundreds of recruits at a time. Now, the process is more drawn out and there are a lot of hoops to jump through. I also asked if he had ever considered any other career, especially since he had been so young when he joined the force. His response was that he enjoyed his job so much, he never had any reason too.

This is what I was really interested in! After all, I had my own interpretation of what being a police officer was like but this was my chance to hear it from someone who had actually experienced it. I thought it would be something about knowing that you are doing something noble with your life, serving others etc. Instead he talked about the brotherhood the men on the force experience and the sense of family he feels. I was invited to his retirement party and I felt it too, his friends were there telling stories of him as a young man and how much he was grown.

After our talk, I was even more sure that I wanted to become a police officer. When I was in high school I was captain of my football team and of my wrestling team, and what I enjoyed the most was the friendships I made while on those teams. To think that I can experience that again for my career is really exciting.

OrangeTheory

Free Write: 

OrangeTheory.

My girlfriend has been doing OrangeTheory fitness classes for the past couple of weeks. She keeps telling me to go with her but it seems that class type environments are traditionally mostly attended by women. I don’t mean to come from a sexist place, but in the past she has tried to take me to Zumba classes and it was definetly not my thing. I had heard JohnJay, a local Radio DJ personality from the JohnJay and Rich show talk about OrangTheory and how much he likes it. He used to be overweight and now is sitting at atound 11% body fat. So, I was a bit more inclined to try out OrangeTheory.

I am so glad I did! First off, this is not just for women. There were plenty of men in the class that I attended and some of them were obviously athletic. The class is actually really cool. Its all based on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and the class itself is circuit training. So, you spend a certain amount of time on a treadmill, then you rotate to a rowing machine and the weight room for strength training. The “orange” part ties into the heart monitor that you have to wear for the class. Monitors are placed in the room with everyone’s heart rate and your goal is to stay the “orange zone” for most of the time. What I really liked about it is that since you are only spending a short amount of time on each activity, it is easier to push yourself harder. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking to do a fitness class. My girlfriend really enjoys it and she has self-identified as non-athletic, so I am sure anyone would enjoy it. I am not sure when will be back but it was a good experience!