As a result of their hard work and dedication, the consulting team was ranked in the top six out of thirty-one teams enrolled in the program through the Kelley School of Business, earning them a finalist spot in an awards program sponsored by BKD LLP.

We are very grateful for the work of this consulting team and hope to continue partnering with the Kelley School of Business in the future!

The Books & Beyond Consulting Team with Student Director Caitlin Ryan

Citgo fueling good campaign image.

Hello, everyone! Books & Beyond needs your help. Please  donate 20 seconds of your time… for the next 20 days… to get us 20 votes in the Citgo Fueling Good contest. The prize is $5,000 dollars!

Voting is an easy process, just follow the instructions below.

1. Visit this page: http://www.fuelinggood.com/rewardinggood?id=805323
2. Click “Vote” and enter your e-mail.
3. Repeat tomorrow!

After a weekend of bonding, writing, and learning, it was time for a day of fun.  It was time for New York City.  As we drove the bus into the city, I couldn’t help but notice something different about New York.  Living near Chicago, I pride myself in being able to go into the city with ease—I prided myself with being familiar with city life.  But New York was different.  For me, it was a wake-up call.  I didn’t know city life.  I hadn’t been to New York.  New York was bigger, louder, flashier, brighter…It was everything times 10.

Dakota Henninger (center) and other participants show excitement upon arrival in New York City.

When we got off the bus, we separated into groups.  Our group first went to Central Park, where we reminisced about different movies we had seen filmed there.  We saw New York joggers in their running attire: tight spandex body suits.  We even were fortunate enough to witness a Quidditch match while at Central Park.  After, it was off to what Caitlyn Ryan called, “The greatest pizza place ever.”

Grimaldi’s was amazing! It was a quaint pizza parlor in Brooklyn.  When we first arrived, we had to wait in line outside with the other eager customers.  There was a rope blocking us off and the manager who had a God-Father-esque personality came out to yell at us to stay back and wait.  Despite the cold and the wait, it was totally worth it.  The pizza and our waiter Champiano were delicious!!! The rest of the day was spent touring the city.

My group went to explore a neighborhood of New York City called Greenwich Village.  The neighborhood was very artsy and bohemian.  There was no doubt a sense of gay pride there.  Many boutiques lined the streets and beautiful cathedrals seemed to come out of nowhere.  To find warmth, we went into a market place, where the boys bought beers and Brie and I bought cookies.  At the market place there were various musicians, one of them a cellist who winked at me as I walked by.  After warming up, we went to a garden that used to be an old metro turned into an environmentally friendly attraction.  Old, recycled materials from the train were turned into chairs, and plants came up from where there used to be tracks.

Caleb Kurowski, Brie Petty, Hannah Kurowski, Kristiana Moore, Jeff Wise, and Caitlin Ryan pose in front of a fountain at Bryan Park.

The old train metro was cool, but something better awaited us.  Taking subway after subway, we finally made it to a place called “5 pointz.”  5 pointz was a place where people were permitted to make art graffiti.  But this wasn’t just any art graffiti, this was better than some of the art one sees at the Chicago Art Institute.  This art was deep.  It reflected the city, the people, the atmosphere.  It was colorful, loud, big.  One of the graffiti pieces that caught my eye was one of a Latina woman.  The picture showed her beautiful curves and long black hair that wrapped around her face.  Her eyes, as cliché as this sounds, spoke to me.  They were sad.  For me, this woman had been through a lot and had seen a lot.  I believe I felt what the artist was feeling at that moment.

Strategic Planner Caleb Kurowski, Documenting Team Lead Brie Petty, Fund Developer Hannah Kurowski, Mickey Mouse, and Student Director Caitlin Ryan

A day in New York City can be exhausting.  The city is big and has so much to offer.  In 5 hours I spent there, I was able to see what seemed to be so much.  Yet what I enjoyed most was the overall atmosphere.  I thrived on the hustle and bustle of the city, the big lights, the honking horns, and the flamboyant, flaming neighborhoods.  It is official: I love New York City.

The writing partners worked on completing their stories this morning in the gym at TEAM schools.  Each team of writing partners met with three different teams of collaborators in order to get their story approved. The first table of collaborators was responsible for checking the stories for words that should be put into a glossary.  The second table of collaborators was responsible for checking the content of the stories as well as the layout of the stories in Publisher.  The third table of collaborators was responsible for checking the content and layout of the stories as well as the pre-reading questions for the Rwandan students.  After all of these steps were complete, the writing partners had finished their stories for this year’s anthology.

Josh and Elijah work on their story.

Each team of writing partners had to write a short biography about themselves and ask a question for the Rwandan students to answer that is related to their story. To get their stories approved for publishing, each team of writing partners had to get specific items checked off by collaborators and then approved by the writing partners’ team lead, Jeff Wise.  At the end of the session, two teams were completely done with their stories.  Caitlin Ryan took profile pictures of the writing partners for the book.

Kaylyn and Kiara work on their illustrations.

After dinner and a strategic planning meeting, all of the unfinished stories were completed. Christopher Robbins and his writing partner Samir Rice were distracted by the commotion during the workshop, but were able to focus on finishing the task at hand later that evening. Chris recalled the haste of the situation: “You have to finish by tonight. That’s your deadline. There’s nothing else you can do.” The next morning, Samir commended Christopher for being a great mentor and staying calm and collected despite the various obstacles they encountered.

Saturday has proved to be another exciting and productive day for the volunteers of Books&Beyond! Even though we were a bit tired in the morning from travel and the exercise we got during free time last night, we managed to pull it together and get a lot done. The day started out with everyone eating a healthy breakfast together. After that, the gymnasium was quickly transformed into a Writing Partner Workshop. There were laptops, notebooks, pencils, pens, cameras, and people everywhere! It is really incredible to sense the energy in the room of a writing workshop- like a hive of buzzing bees. Each team was busy doing their own work, but also accomplishing a common goal.

Cam Kelley and Dakota Henniger work together at the Writing Partner Workshop.

While writing partners were finishing their stories and illustrations, some members of the fundraising, PR, and documenting teams attended a fundraiser for Books&Beyond in which they presented to people interested in learning about the project. It was a great way of spreading the word about Books&Beyond…wish I could have seen the presentation myself!

Books&Beyond volunteers speak with Michael Uslan before the presentation.

After a writing workshop, Caitlin Ryan and Caleb Kurowski gave a presentation about the genocide in Rwanda and held a discussion between IU and Newark students. I’m really glad this was included as part of our day, because it is important to remember the cultural background of what we are doing. Even though it was a difficult time in Rwandan history, we look forward to a bright future for the country itself and the Books&Beyond project.

Caleb Kurowski and Caitlin Ryan lead a discussion on the Rwandan genocide.

We then ate a delicious lunch from Subway and got ready for ice skating in Bryant Park! It’s so exciting driving into the city with all of Times Square lit up so bright it looked like day time. After a lot of fun ice skating (and a few slips and slides), it was time to head back to the TEAM academy. We had an evaluation workshop where we discussed the IU weekend and also the future of Books&Beyond and any changes we could make. Although Books&Beyond is a project I have enjoyed being involved in the past two years, it is important to reflect and look for opportunities for improvement.

Emily Keesling and Emily Schad enjoy ice skating in Bryant Park.

Right now, we are all in the gym having a big sleep-over.  Tomorrow will bring reflection activities, kudos, good-byes, and a trip to New York City for the IU students.  It’s been a great weekend in Newark, New Jersey and we look forward to ending on a positive note!

From morning to evening there has been curiosity and excitement. Being one of the first ones done with my story it feels like I have already helped someone. It was also nice to have extra time to chill with my partner. Getting to know my new partner was a more challenging issue because he was not my original partner, but meeting new people is what this is all about. The most exciting part of the day was when we traveled into the city. My partner Alex was so amazed to see New York City and all of the lights just like you would see on TV. For some people who never see what we see everyday to be so amazed makes this program worth helping every year.

Going to New York, going ice skating, seeing tall buildings, seeing wide smiles, trying new things, and meeting new people made today this day more exciting. Talking to new people and getting to know them on so many levels makes us better people. It is hard to explain how enjoyable everyone has been. Every inch of the day, everyone had a smile waiting at the end of each minute to show their appreciation for this program and for this trip. The only way this day could get better is if I knew I was leaving back to Indiana tomorrow with the IU students.

Participants show their enthusiasm on the bus ride

Twenty minutes before the bus was scheduled to depart from IU, I realized it was time to get ready. I threw three changes of clothes and the necessary toiletries in a backpack, grabbed my laptop, and ran out to catch the bus. I found my place among familiar, friendly faces and settled in for the 14 hour ride. We entertained each other with stories, watched movies, and tried to catch some sleep. Next thing I knew, we were pulling up in front of TEAM Academy.

Development operations manager Jen Shetsen and director of recruitment Shennell Barnes greet B&B participants at the TEAM Administrative Building in downtown Newark, NJ.

Classes were in session, so we quietly dropped off our luggage in a hallway and headed downtown. Writing partners of TEAM students stayed behind in order to spend some quality time with their partners and visit their Newark homes. The rest of us split up into two groups downtown: a small group went to the Newark Collegiate Academy (TEAM’s preparatory high school) in order to observe the school and help with a drama project while the remaining participants enjoyed lunch at a local eatery of their choice and gathered at the TEAM Schools Administrative Building for a panel presentation. At the presentation, we listened to a motivational story about a student who has reached previously unforeseeable heights of success because of the unique structure of the TEAM program and the dedication of its diligent teachers.

Director of Development Ben Cope sets the bar high at TEAM.

Around 2:00 pm, we returned to TEAM Academy for assorted activities, including team meetings, interviews, showers, homework, and creation of a bulletin board answering TEAM Academy students’ questions about college. I spent the time managing the various social media of Books & Beyond: our first day yielded 83 Facebook pictures, two blog posts, two articles for our newsletter Amakuru, and several tweets. I was charmed by the dedication of our volunteers; everybody seemed to be passionately committed to completing not only their own projects but also helping others wherever help was needed.

The birthday cake was delicious.

After touring the building and reviewing our weekend goals, we gathered in the gym (which also serves as the cafeteria and the auditorium) for an Italian dinner featuring salad, garlic knots, tortellini Alfredo, and baked ziti. Dinner was followed by an inspirational story from our student director Caitlin Ryan, who reminded us what an important role this project can play in the lives of people from different walks of life. After eating cake in celebration of the weekend birthdays of four of our members, teams held individual meetings while the writing partners brainstormed with our strategic planner Caleb Kurowski.

Zaire Culver handles the basketball.

As many of our volunteers prepared for bed, five TEAM boys and five IU men met in the gym for an important community building exercise: basketball! Playing in thermal socks, hiking boots, jeans, and/or brown leather slippers, we dribbled, passed, and dunked our way to new level of camaraderie while a few fellow project members cheered us on. After a quick shower, I joined some friends watching the comedy show How I Met Your Mother. The day ahead was to be fun, demanding and action-packed as always, so I soon drifted off to a much-needed sleep.

Today, my writing partner Josh Medlock and I went through my last two classes, Math then Science. Then we ate lunch and went to a movie in the afternoon. We watched Akeelah and The Bee and ate pizza. After the pizza we watched the rest of the movie. Then finally we had free time.

In free time we went to the gym and played a couple of games. We played catch with a football, Badminton, a little basketball, and we hung up posters too. Then after hanging up posters, we came to the tech room and used a laptop. First we went over some of my school projects. Then we watched YouTube videos that the school made. That was pretty much our day.

Our valued volunteers gracefully endure the overnight, eastward voyage.

Thursday, Jan 12th

• IU participants currently en route to Newark, New Jersey!

Friday, Jan 13th

• 9:30 am: arrive in Newark, luggage drop at TEAM academy
• 11 am: tour Newark and lunch on the town
• 12:30 pm: NCA drama project & panel presentation about TEAM schools
• 2 pm: team meetings & answering questions about college
• 2 – 6:30 pm: interviews, showers, homework, nap/free time
• 7 pm: tour TEAM academy & group meeting (weekend goals, logistics, & questions with Caitlin)
• 7:30 – 8:30 pm: dinner (Italian)
• 8:30 – 9:30 pm: team meetings, strategic planning with Caleb (writing partners only)
• 9:30 pm: sleepover at TEAM academy (IU + TEAM students)

Saturday, Jan 14th

• 9 am: breakfast
• 10 am – 12 pm: intensive writing workshop & periodic reflection activities
• 12 pm – 12:45 pm: Rwanda genocide discussion with Caitlin, Caleb, and Lana
• 12:45 pm – 1:15 pm: lunch (Subway) & break time
• 1:15 – 4 pm: story completion
• 4 – 4:30 pm: snack
• 4:30 – 7 pm: ice skating at Bryant Park in Manhattan
• 7:30 – 7:45 pm: icebreaker led by Evaluation Team
• 7:45 – 8:30 pm: dinner (Chinese) & presentation by Evaluation Team
• 8:30 pm: sleepover at TEAM academy

Sunday, Jan 15th

• 9 am: breakfast
• 9:30 am: final reflection and goodbyes led by Ali & Lauren
• 11 am – 7 pm: IU participants visit New York City
• 7 pm: depart for Bloomington, Indiana

Monday, Jan 16th

• 10 am: arrive at IU