Alumni of the Month

What were some of your favorite memories and activities while attending Midwest Academy session or Internship?

Steve Max's bus tour of famous labor and community organizing sites in Chicago, complete with singing. Meeting wonderful people like Carl Shier, who continued to inspire me through the rest of his life. Paul Booth's terrific sense of humor, timed just right, kept everyone from taking themselves too seriously.

How has the training at Midwest Academy prepared you for your current position?

By providing a systematic way of looking at strategy development and teaching some crucial basics like organizing skills. (Day Piercy, who founded Women Employed, was my "professor" for Organizing 101.)

Do you currently use the Midwest Academy Strategy chart in your current work?

I'm sure we use the concepts.

Do you have a success - that in part is due to your training at Midwest Academy?

Well, I think the Academy helped me find the work I really wanted to do and gave me some key skills to pursue it. My time at the Academy (it was a two-week session then) really expanded my thinking and encouraged me to make a commitment to this work.

Anything you'd like to say to future Midwest Academy students?

We need more of you to take up this work and try to get this country to live up to its ideals.

Final Thoughts?

Congratulations on your 35th! Bravo to Jackie for her leadership.