Zoya Qureshy
Before starting this blog post, I walked into another room (where a group of the DukeEngage NOLA crew was watching Princess and the Frog), desperately seeking inspiration on what to focus on for this post. When one of them said “talk about us,” I realized that I’ve been inspired in countless ways already since I’ve been here, mostly by the people I’ve met and heard. Writing about the people I’ve been inspired by seems perfect, given that now that we’re 4 weeks in to the trip, I’ve gotten to know the other DukeEngage students, my coworkers at Touro, and the high school students I work with a lot better.
Reflection sessions are always very eye-opening for me because I get to hear about all the organizations that everyone is working with and all the amazing things they accomplish. I often find myself so impressed and so touched by having conversations with everyone in this program and listening to them talk to me about their day. Seeing all of them so involved with their work (some of us have even put in time at work on the weekend!) and caring so much about the people they are working with and serving just makes me even more motivated to really reflect on my own experiences at work. Outside of work-related things, I’m also impressed with how caring everyone on this trip is—one example is when we all got together to meet about what time would be best to go to the zoo this weekend, working around all of our schedules so that everyone would be able to make it.
I’ve also been inspired at work—if we’re being honest, I thought that I’d be more of a role model to the high school students in the Junior Volunteer Program at Touro that I work with than they are to me…I’ve definitely been proven wrong. For example, one of the volunteers was telling me about how she’s going to be taking college classes next year in addition to her high school classes (with a bunch of AP classes as well). Every time I talk to her, she seems so dedicated to whatever she is doing, whether it be scanning and filing papers, to thinking about her career goals. Additionally, Volunteer Services at Touro is organizing a Health Career Camp for high school students who are interested in Nursing and Allied Health professions. Last Saturday I got to interview these students about what their goals are and why they wanted to do the camp. I was so excited to hear about their aspirations, as they ranged from nursing to physical therapy to trauma surgery. It was great to see some of these youth that come from different kinds of communities in New Orleans all being role models in their own way for their peers.
To wrap it all up, this past weekend, a group of us went to the Essence Festival to hear some of the speakers talk about empowerment. The speaker we listened to was Bishop J.D. Jakes. We heard him talk about instinct and intellect, focusing on the drive that motivates us to accomplish what we’re born to do, rather than solely on our intellectual prowess. He emphasized how the two go hand in hand to help us reach our ultimate goals. His talk made me reflect on my own goals, especially those that I have for my time here. He mentioned that while intellect can get us a job or position that we want, it is instinct that allows us to keep that and succeed to the best of our abilities. I could relate it with me currently trying to balance studying for the MCAT while trying to make the most out of my time here. Furthermore, it has taken a lot of conditioning for me to be able to adapt my instincts to this new environment, which is something he also touched upon. He talked about the different spheres of our lives and how we need to be able to use different skills to succeed in all of them. Since coming here, I think the most important thing I’ve been able to do is be more observant and a better listener, both in my work at Touro and when we listen to speakers tell us their stories and experiences in New Orleans. Bishop Jakes’ talk helped me reflect on how open I should be while I’m here so that I can learn from the city and the people here to the fullest extent.
Aside from meeting and listening to so many great people, being here in New Orleans has been so much fun—going to Audobon Zoo and taking a picture with my spirit animal was incredible, exploring the WWII Museum was wonderfully overwhelming, and watching the fireworks from Woldenberg Park was dazzling. I can’t wait for what’s in store over the next 4 weeks!
Reflection sessions are always very eye-opening for me because I get to hear about all the organizations that everyone is working with and all the amazing things they accomplish. I often find myself so impressed and so touched by having conversations with everyone in this program and listening to them talk to me about their day. Seeing all of them so involved with their work (some of us have even put in time at work on the weekend!) and caring so much about the people they are working with and serving just makes me even more motivated to really reflect on my own experiences at work. Outside of work-related things, I’m also impressed with how caring everyone on this trip is—one example is when we all got together to meet about what time would be best to go to the zoo this weekend, working around all of our schedules so that everyone would be able to make it.
I’ve also been inspired at work—if we’re being honest, I thought that I’d be more of a role model to the high school students in the Junior Volunteer Program at Touro that I work with than they are to me…I’ve definitely been proven wrong. For example, one of the volunteers was telling me about how she’s going to be taking college classes next year in addition to her high school classes (with a bunch of AP classes as well). Every time I talk to her, she seems so dedicated to whatever she is doing, whether it be scanning and filing papers, to thinking about her career goals. Additionally, Volunteer Services at Touro is organizing a Health Career Camp for high school students who are interested in Nursing and Allied Health professions. Last Saturday I got to interview these students about what their goals are and why they wanted to do the camp. I was so excited to hear about their aspirations, as they ranged from nursing to physical therapy to trauma surgery. It was great to see some of these youth that come from different kinds of communities in New Orleans all being role models in their own way for their peers.
To wrap it all up, this past weekend, a group of us went to the Essence Festival to hear some of the speakers talk about empowerment. The speaker we listened to was Bishop J.D. Jakes. We heard him talk about instinct and intellect, focusing on the drive that motivates us to accomplish what we’re born to do, rather than solely on our intellectual prowess. He emphasized how the two go hand in hand to help us reach our ultimate goals. His talk made me reflect on my own goals, especially those that I have for my time here. He mentioned that while intellect can get us a job or position that we want, it is instinct that allows us to keep that and succeed to the best of our abilities. I could relate it with me currently trying to balance studying for the MCAT while trying to make the most out of my time here. Furthermore, it has taken a lot of conditioning for me to be able to adapt my instincts to this new environment, which is something he also touched upon. He talked about the different spheres of our lives and how we need to be able to use different skills to succeed in all of them. Since coming here, I think the most important thing I’ve been able to do is be more observant and a better listener, both in my work at Touro and when we listen to speakers tell us their stories and experiences in New Orleans. Bishop Jakes’ talk helped me reflect on how open I should be while I’m here so that I can learn from the city and the people here to the fullest extent.
Aside from meeting and listening to so many great people, being here in New Orleans has been so much fun—going to Audobon Zoo and taking a picture with my spirit animal was incredible, exploring the WWII Museum was wonderfully overwhelming, and watching the fireworks from Woldenberg Park was dazzling. I can’t wait for what’s in store over the next 4 weeks!