Blog 5: Overall Insight

Throughout my experience I have been given a number of different tasks. Although some were quite simple, others were much more complex and my time at U of M has provided me with problem solving skills to combat various obstacles. For example, I was in charge of dessert procurement for Living Yoga’s annual gala. This required contacting numerous bakeries and sweet shops and convincing them to donate desserts for the event. I had to reach out to places all over Portland to collect enough donations. This required working on my communication skills in a variety of different contexts including phone, email, and written letters. Writing is not one of my strong suits, but I had to develop this skill in order to convince businesses to donate to our event.

U of M has made me more resourceful and creative, which definitely influenced my overall performance at Living Yoga. In addition to dessert procurement, I was in charge of other facets including public relations in the community and the larger nonprofit sector.  I immersed myself in various tasks including, blogs, website management, data entry, teaching, and recently inmate correspondence. After receiving letters from inmates who are scattered across the United States I decided to answer them by creating a brochure filled with yoga tips, resources, and a yoga sequence for them to do on their own. Now even after I leave Leaving Yoga there will be a resource to send out to prisoners or other individuals who write to the office. I really enjoyed this project because it was a way for me to connect with a large part of the population we serve. Before the brochure, my boss didn't really have the time to respond to the letters he received. I took this as an opportunity to step in and devise my own assignment. In addition to the brochure, I wrote individual messages to each person. Although it was only a couple letters, I hope that they have some sort of impact on the folks who will receive them.