Organizational Culture – Week 5
The 5th week at the Junior Summer Institute (JSI) experience was a little different because we traveled to Chicago Wednesday and returned Sunday morning. The purpose of this trip was to meet with the cohort at the University of Michigan JSI for a conference centered around preparing for a career in public policy as well as preparing for grad school. This was the first time in PPIA history that the two cohorts have been able to meet, collaborate, and work with one another. Interacting with the cohort from Michigan allowed us to observe their culture/group dynamics as a point of comparison against ours. For instance, through conversations with our Michigan fellows, we learned that very little of their program was centered around race and was more focused on economics and statistics.
Because of our cohort’s intense focus on race and sensitive issues surrounding equity, our group has become incredibly close and well connected with one another during these 5 weeks. This was manifested most notably on Saturday during team-building sessions which was incredibly powerful and undoubtedly one of the most emotionally draining experiences of my life. The group spent over two hours opening up to one another through activities which forced everyone to become publicly vulnerable unlike ever before. This session left nearly everyone in tears and in a deeply reflective state. However, this activity brought us closer to each other even further and allowed us to learn about each other’s stories, backgrounds and struggles associated with being a member of a marginalized community.
Interesting point of reference – to meet the Michigan crew – as it allows you to compare and contrast the experience in what is a relatively common program (JSI); obviously the thematic focus makes each more unique than one might have expected. So some of the values, attitudes, exceptions for JSI may be shared across the two programs, but clearly the themes make for values, attitudes, and expectations that are specific to each geographic location/program. Obviously there has been a good deal of trust that has developed among your cohort, otherwise the experience you shared during the team building would not have been as powerful/meaningful. So it seems that the thematic emphasis for the two JSI programs calls for leadership of each program to be more (or less) attentive to some issues than others.