Altruism

Moving to Minneapolis I expected to study print journalism at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. Along with the fact Minneapolis is a major metropolitan, it was the main reason I picked University of Minnesota over Uhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifniversity of Oregon. I never expected that a semester in I'd give up my dream to be a journalist and instead concentrate on a degree in strategic planning.

Strategic planning is the technical term for public relations. I have years of similar experience running my own production company in the Bay Area. Strategic planning is a track within the journalism school, so the variation is not that far from my original path. Everyone needs PR. However, not everyone can afford to pay an individual to work only on public relations. This holds true with especially true with the direction I want to take my career.

Instead of working for "the man" I intend on working in the non-profit sector. There's no doubt my time in Minneapolis has affected this decision. I have friends who run their own non-profit, those who work for non-profits and those who volunteer at non-profits, but Minnesotans are truly the most altruistic people in the country.

The level of non-profit organization community involvement is truly amazing. The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits is an excellent hub for the organizations across the the state. This semester I'm volunteering at a local non-profit for an English literature class. We'll learn Thursday which organization we've been assigned to. My #1 choice was the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in north Minneapolis. I've seen what the PWCC does for north Minneapolis and I"d love to be a part of that organization.

I'm looking forward to being more involved in my community. How weird is that? Minneapolis has become my community, but it has, and I'm looking forward to finally working in the time to be active and give back. I've been volunteering for the Barrack Obama campaign (more on that in another entry), but that's about being active in a much larger community. Maybe this direction is coming with age, as I mature. Maybe my eyes have finally opened up to the opportunities to give back, but I do know that observing the community around me has had a major influence on these decisions.