CGI U

Amazing! CGI U was an incredible experience and charged my batteries. I got there a little late on Friday night for the reception, but I was able to register and get my weekend package. I first checked into the hotel to drop my stuff off and quickly freshen up. Out of sheer coincidence I was able to catch a ride with one of the bus drivers over to the reception. I say that because just at the time I was leaving the hotel he was pulling up to drop off his last airport passengers and then make his way over to the reception. I hopped aboard and started asking questions. Turns out where I was staying was one of the only hotels open just after the flooding as the water stopped about 2 blocks away from it. The bus driver lost his house in the flooding and it was scheduled to be knocked down in a matter of days. It was the house he grew up in, and was in his family for a couple of generations. He told me he was lucky because he was able to afford another home but most weren't so lucky. I heard this sentiment once before when I was in Biloxi, Mississippi after the hurricane. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes such a horrible experience to help people realize the value of life. I am not saying that this man didn't but he did appear to have a stronger sense of life as a result of it nonetheless.

On the bus ride home from registering I met a few people who were also headed back to the hotels. We exchanged business cards and talked about our commitments that all of us were required to make in order to attend. I heard some really interesting ideas over the course of the weekend, and I am looking forward to hearing the progress many people will make towards their commitments over the coming months. One person I met, Ryan, was a masters student at Rutgers in Clinical Psychology. His particular interest was on the new area of Community Psychology, which out of sheer luck I knew a tiny bit about from my studies. He was creating a scholarship for a student from a conflict region to come over and take the program he is in. A number of students I met over the weekend wanted to do something similar.

On the Saturday morning I got up bright and early to partake in the core part of the weekend. I could and will write several posts on the different sessions I was in, because they each deserve special consideration. Each session I learned a bundle from and met interesting people throughout.

During the lunch we were separated into regions, with all the international students attending the same lunch, in order to discuss how best CGI U could continue to build upon the experience and how to facilitate keeping all of us in touch afterwards. We talked about several questions to get to these core questions. During the discussion many of the people in my group were talking about the value of integrating some of the experience of the staff of CGI as well as our 'adult' or global leader counterparts from the annual CGI event. After having Kevin, a friend of mine and the man behind the Kev Blog, in to speak to my classmates, (he spoke about the power of young peoples inexperience) I felt it was pertinent for any mentor relationship between us to be mutual in benefit. I feel very strongly that both our roles could be enhanced by combining forces and using our new ideas and willing to fail attitude with their resources and experience, we could see some ground breaking work occur. I will keep you updated as I continue the dialogue on this subject with CGI in the coming months ahead.

After 2 more afternoon sessions, a traditional crawl fish broil, and a bout of comedy, the day was over and I was asleep on my feet. When all was said and done I was there for 14 and a half hours straight. A lot to take in and absorb, and I am still going over my notes and thoughts to make sure I got what I could out of it.

On the Sunday we were all taken to the lower ninth ward to do a service project. We worked on the Make It Right housing development project spearheaded by Brad Pitt. The approximately 10 block development is based around cradle to cradle design which brings in products that have as little as possible environmental impact, often requiring the manufacturing of all new products, to create houses with as little to no environmental impact or carbon footprint. We went around and cleaned up the sidewalks, cleaned the grime and soot out of the gutters and unclogged the sewer grates and installed some natural filters so that when they start digging things up any run off will find its way into the sewers and not fill them up with mud. The morning was a lot of work but I managed to snap a few photos of President Clinton and Brad as they made their rounds through the development and meet a few more people I had not yet met over the weekend.

While this is a really brief overview of the weekend I will in the near future speak in more detail about each of the sessions I attended. If you are particularly curious though, there is a webcast of all the sessions available here. From the sounds of it it will become an annual event, and if so I encourage everyone to apply to attend. There is a lot to learn by participating in such experiences and I came away with an even greater belief in what I am trying to do. If I didn't think the Ideal World Book was a great idea before I certainly do now. When you surround yourself with people who have a sense of passion and that unique blend of realism and idealism, you can really absorb energy beyond that which you ever thought you could. It is like reaching the highest of highs and having the increased capacity and desire to stay there. Some times you find yourself in a place that brings out the best in you, and you bring out the best in other people. This was one of those places.