Reflections

During the fall of my junior year in college my education policy professor (and mentor) handed me a book he wanted me to read: How to Change the World by David Bornstein.  I remember taking the book in my hands and staring at the bold title.  I thought to myself, “Did my professor really think that I could change the world?”  I felt extremely honored.  That might seem like a strange way to describe my emotion at that moment, but the act of someone I so deeply respected believing in me to CHANGE THE WORLD, quite

Over the course of the year I will be coordinating the Fellows Forum, a space where ideas will be shared and conversations constructed around the ASU Foundation‘s “Challenges Before Us.” These ‘challenges’ are in the same family as the global challenges that our society faces, such as climate change or social equity, yet they are also distinctly indicative of the demands placed on ASU as an institution and its unique pursuits.

I met my neighbor’s dog while trying to hike over my front yard’s 6-foot high retaining wall. I hadn’t planned on changing my fitness routine that day but had locked myself outside of the gate, and the only option at that point was to scale the cement-block barrier. While walking her dog, my neighbor Irma noticed my plight and (kind soul that she is) lent me a stool so that all 5 foot 5 of me could have a fairer chance.

I’ve been in love with Africa for as long as I can remember.

Nearly one out of every four women between the ages of 15 and 59 are currently infected with genital human papillomavirus (HPV), and about 50% of sexually active men and women will acquire HPV at some point in their lives. HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), which can lead to the development of cervical cancer among women if left untreated. Cervical cancer, in addition to causing tremendous pain, can also result in sterility and (ultimately) death.

Around here, we talk a lot about personality – how people think and what makes them the way they are. Since we work collaboratively in a team environment, it makes sense to spend time understanding each other and ourselves. In doing so, we are best able to work as a group and produce a high-quality product amicably and efficiently.

Fellow’s training was last week and for the first time all five of us were working together—an experience that (for me, anyway) was challenging, inspiring, and at times, downright exhausting.  We are all so very different—not only in our personal backgrounds and areas of study, but in the ways that we think, how we view the world, and how we approach problems and brainstorm solutions.  I learned so much about each of us (myself included) and I realized that it might be precisely along the lines of our differences where some of our most exciting work will be found this year.

Last Friday I was on a conference call with colleagues in my office and two researchers from the Student Experience Lab, a project launched by the Business Innovation Factory and supported by the Lumina Foundation.