Blog

Summer of MCN

Friday August 28, 2009

It’s nearing the end of my first summer working full-time for the MCN. What a summer! We’ve been able to accomplish so much, and on top of all that, still managed to have a great time. Special thanks to Sam Vaghar, Allyson Goldsmith, Nicole Theobald, Joshua Wright, Adam Patterson, Tony Ivanov, Alex Alvanos, and Claire Wagner for all their work this summer.

Before we close the door on a summer of “getting ready” and start a school year full of activity, I thought it would be good to look back at some of the highlights of the summer. Here’s a little list for you:

  1. Meeting with Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: At the beginning of the summer, I was fortunate enough to meet with Prof. Sachs. This was special to me personally—for a few reasons. First, it was The End of Poverty that inspired me to get involved in the fight against extreme poverty. Reading that book has had a huge impact on the direction that my life has taken in the past few years. Second, this wasn’t the first time that I had met with Jeff. I had asked him to join the MCN Board of Advisors at the Millennium Campus Conference in 2008, but he politely declined—hoping, I assume, that we would continue our develop and ask him again when we were a fully-formed organization. Sure enough, this time around he accepted, and I couldn’t have been more pleased. He has been an excellent advocate for us so far, and has helped to spread our mission to development practitioners and students alike.

  2. Meeting with Dr. Paul Farmer: Another meeting with one my heroes. Dr. Farmer serves on the MCN Board of Advisors. Claire and I met with him to check in and get his feedback on the MCN. I wasn’t sure what to expect: would he simply smile and nod? Or would he challenge us, and force us to find ways to improve our organization? He didn’t disappoint. Paul challenged us at every turn, asked insightful questions, and offered to help in a number of ways. It’s great to know that two of the “rock-stars” of international development see a clear role for students in the fight against global poverty.

  3. Brainstorming with Sam, Alex, Claire, and Allyson: The MCN entered the summer as an organization without a clear path forward. We were denied the Echoing Green Fellowship in large part because we hoped to do TOO much. Afterwards, we all came together and decided that instead of doing a bunch of things “so-so”, we would do a few things very well. Hence, the need for these brainstorms. They got heated at times, and were mentally exhausting, but at the end of the day we emerged with a product that we’re very confident in, a system to measure the impact of our work, and a staff that is tailored to our programs. Any of our successes this year should be partially attributed to these brainstorms.

  4. Show Me Campaign Fellowship: The most transformative piece of the summer for me personally was being awarded a fellowship from John Legend’s Show Me Campaign. Their support allowed me to work full-time for the MCN for most of the summer. Thanks again!

Well, I’m sure I missed quite a few things. This summer has set us up for a dynamic year for the MCN. I can’t wait to share it with all of you. Talk to you soon!

— Will