On Becoming a New American Part 2

Tomorrow, February 11, at 3 pm I’ll be heading to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office to “appear for an interview on [my] Application for Naturalization” (aka take my test for American citizenship).

I can’t exactly put to words how I feel about this impending moment. Imagine patiently (and sometimes impatiently) waiting, wishing, wanting, praying for something to happen for 19 years.

Nineteen years I’ve waited for this moment.

Even though the test itself is going to be cake, I can’t help but feel this overwhelming sense of anxiousness, nervousness, sleeplessness, giddiness. I think about all of the bumps on the road that my family and I traversed to eventually lead me (to lead us) to this day, this test, this final formality, and my heart feels an overwhelming sense of desire to breathe a deep and ancient sigh of relief. Like I had been holding my breath for nineteen years, waiting for someone to pinch me and tell me that it wasn’t all a dream.

I feel eight years old again. Open, curious, excited, happy. And falling-over dizzy because I can finally see that the world is truly full of endless possibilities. There’s so much possibility and love that I can hardly take it all in.

My heart is full. Has been full for a few weeks or maybe months now (maybe even years?). I’m thankful for my beautiful family who endured the struggle, who never gave up, and who constantly teach me about the true meaning of family–now I can rightfully join you all! I’m thankful to my coaches, mentors, team, you know who you are–constantly pushing and challenging me to shine. I’m thankful for friends new and old, for walking with me and sometimes carrying me when all I wanted to do was slap you away.

When I walk into that sterile government office tomorrow, I’ll be bringing you all with me in my heart, mind, and soul, because you’ve always been with me.

Here’s to releasing, nay, exhaling the last 19 years and starting a brand new chapter–a chapter from an eight year-old boy’s dream, from a mother’s wish, and from a father’s determination.

Related Post: On Becoming a New American

Bill Gates Released Swarm of Mosquitoes on VIPs

Bill gives a talk on world health and education at this year’s TED conference! He says, “There’s no reason only poor people should have the experience [of malaria]” after he set the mosquitoes loose on the crowd of some of the world’s most prominent thinkers. Brilliant.

He then goes on to discuss his foundation’s focus on making great teachers: “Even though I was a college dropout, I had great teachers.”

“How do you make education better? Having great teachers was the key… If the entire US had top quartile teachers, the entire difference between us and Asia would be gone in a year. It’s simple, all we need is the top quartile teachers.”

But how do you shift the culture of teaching to focus on improvement and to be data-driven? Well watch his 20-minute TED talk here:

Creation of the Obama ’08 Logo

Obama Logo Concept

Obama "O" Logo Lapel Pin

I can hardly contain my excitement for Obama’s unprecedented campaign, historical win, and forward-thinking plans. I celebrated the big inauguration in Chicago, Obama’s “hometown,” after College Summit Rap Director training, which I will get to in a later post. And the city was awash in the the now-iconic “O” logo.

Watch the following videos of the creative process behind the brainstorming and eventual creation of the Obama ’08 logo from VSA Partners. The design strategy was so artfully done, and the impact is clear–as we all can see from the many “O” marks on paraphernalia ranging from bumper stickers to t-shirts and even tattoos.

Bill Gates Talks Successes & Failures in First Annual Letter

I feel like a Bill Gates fanboy. He’s one of the few public figures that I seem to continually bring up in my posts because I think so highly of his move from Microsoft to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation six months ago. When he first made the announcement that he had planned to do that, it was an acknowledgment to the entire world that we are facing extremely grave social problems, and that it was going to take commitment from talented people to solve those problems. And it was like a high five for the nonprofit sector. Thanks Billy.

Recently, Bill released a public letter about the foundation’sÂ efforts to improve education and global health, as well as the impact of the economic downturn on those efforts.

What I liked about the letter was Bill’s candid review of the foundation’s successes and failures, particularly in the education field. He discusses that even though they’ve made over $2 billion in grants to create better high schools over the last nine years, “Many of the small schools that we invested in did not improve studentsâ€™ achievement in any significant way.” Rather than investing in existing schools to improve their systems, the foundation will focus on creating new schools out of radical charter school models that work, like KIPP, and invest in systems that will foster the creation of better teachers. He said, “If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school.”

Amen.

He also praised the Obama administration for committing to education despite the recession and dwindling tax revenues, as we saw with the education portion of the stimulus plan.

I also wanted to point out that the foundation’s website says “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation BETA.”

Seriously? BETA? Come on… What’s up with this beta culture spreading to the nonprofit sector?

Check out the lengthy letter at this link or by clicking the pic above. If you don’t want to read all 20 pages of the letter, I’ve picked out a few choice excerpts from the U.S. Education page after the jump:
Continue reading Bill Gates Talks Successes & Failures in First Annual Letter

Are We Entering a New Era in Federal Education Spending?

Â According to this New York Times article, “The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nationâ€™s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Educationâ€™s current budget.”

The bill would increase 2009 fiscal year spending on Title I, a program of specialized classroom efforts to help educate poor children, to $20 billion from about $14.5 billion, and raise spending on education for disabled children to $17 billion from $11 billion.

Those increases respond to longtime demands by teachers unions, school boards and others that Washington fully finance the mandates laid out for states and districts in the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, and in the main federal law regulating special education.

â€œWeâ€™ve been arguing that the federal government hasnâ€™t been living up to its commitments, but these increases go a substantial way toward meeting them,â€� said Joel Packer, a lobbyist for the National Education Association, the nationâ€™s largest teachers union.

The federal stimulus plan’s implications on education are massive and will probably change the course of history for countless young Americans. I’m glad that we, as a nation, are starting to make education a high priority.

Click here to read the article at NYTimes.

BUILD on ABC News

Watch Barbara Bellissimo, our director of development, give her best BUILD elevator pitch and then some. Click on the image to watch the video!

Or follow this link.

Book List: Giving

Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton

Just finished reading Ex-President Bill Clinton’s latest book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. I appreciated that he attempted to shed light on the topic of everyday philanthropy, and it comes in a very timely manner. With billionaire Bill Gates shifting his focus full-time in the social sector and new President Barack Obama renewing the meaning of public service for America, the seeds of service have been planted. Many Americans are starting to wonder how they too can get involved in making the world a better place, and Clinton’s book provides an inspirational “how-to.”

However, for people who are already involved in the social sector, the book reads more like a refresher of sorts. I found myself several times throughout the book thinking, “Oh, I’ve heard of this organization,” or “I’ve already read a lot about this cause.” Additionally, the book was almost too jam-packed with information. It read more like a series of blog posts with absolutely no transitions.

While I appreciate everything that the Clinton Global Foundation is doing and everything that all of the highlighted organizations are doing to eradicate some of the world’s most pressing social problems, the book also sounded more like Bill bragging about his foundation’s work and the work of his best buddies’s organizations.

I suppose that’s fine, but for those of you really looking to read a substantive book about social change causes and organizations, this is not that book. The most he devoted to an organization/cause is probably about 3-5 pages, and the least was one paragraph.

Bottomline: It still is an inspirational read especially for the “beginners” to the social sector and those who are interested in learning about how to give (time, money, talent, etc.). Those who are more seasoned in the social sector may find this book too fluffy, flat, and full of name-dropping.

Hit the jump for some excerpts:

Continue reading Book List: Giving

New Years Goals 2009

I hope the world is ready for me in 2009. Seriously.

It’s going to be a year of change, hope and love, and I want to play a huge part of the collective awakening of the world. For the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year in conjunction with what’s on my plate personally and professionally. After four years of working at BUILD, I’m entitled to a three-month sabbatical (which is awesome in any profession, but a dream-come-true in the nonprofit sector!). I’m still solidifying what I want to do during that time off (and all of the logistics involved), and I’ve got lots of ideas already. And with this tremendous luxury to not have to worry about my work for 25% of the year, I have the capacity to focus my life in other directions and expand in other ways.

As I do every year during my reflection time, I started by re-examining my goals and values from last year and then brainstorming new goals that fit with my revised personal values. I’ve largely kept my personal values unchanged, except for a few semantics, and created eight challenging goals.

Personal Values

Challenging Adventures – I live for new and challenging experiences, whether that’s professionally or personally, with others or in another country. The thrill of adventure stimulates my soul.
Contribution to the World – I live to make lasting, positive impacts on society’s most pressing problems.
Expressing Creativity – Being able to express myself artistically, musically or professionally keeps me inspired.
Lifelong Learning – I love to learn. I am energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence to mastery.
Quality – I choose to live a full and quality life, which is neither excessive nor is it below my standards of excellence.
Family & Friends – Above all, my life is about the people I choose to journey with. They are my heart.

New Years Goals 2009*

Spend more time with family members
Improve my Tagalog comprehension and speaking abilities so that I can hold a conversation with my grandmother
Get more involved and make a positive impact in the gay community by doing gay rights advocacy work
Improve my singing abilities and sing a solo at a concert
Do relief work in a developing country
Fall in love and be in a committed, loving relationship
Strengthen myself spiritually, mentally, and physically by practicing yoga more deeply and seriously

*I actually can’t display one of my goals because it contains sensitive information.

So there are my new goals for 2009. As a sneak preview for what’s ahead in 2009, it’s my grandmother’s (dad’s mom’s) 80th birthday, the first big family wedding is happening in Australia (I’ll be a groomsman for my cousin Michael), it’ll be my fifth year working at BUILD and third year with SFGMC, and I’ll probably be getting my American citizenship (FINALLY!) sometime in the first quarter.

I’m extremely excited about 2009, and if you’ve got goals for 2009, I’d love to hear about them!

Happy New Year and Happy New World!

End of the Year Check-in 2008

I love the transition from one year to the other because it’s the best time for reflection. 2008 has been an amazing year, and part of me is sad to see it go. I recapped with Karla about some of the greatest things that happened in 2008:

Applying for my citizenship!
Getting my DAD, mom and brother to come to my SFGMC concert!!! Huge step.
Becoming site director at BUILD.
Rap directing with BFF Karla at USC and then the spiritual events at UNC Asheville with Zenia.
Witnessing my first (and not last, damnit) gay wedding, along with 4 other regular ol’ straight weddings.
Miami! And the liberation that ensued.
Mmm… savoring my birthday bacon brownie cake surrounded with love…
And so much more…

Here’s my annual update on New Years Goals from 2008

Save enough money to have 3 months worth of emergency funds by June 2008 – Yes, with extra to boot during this economically challenging time period.
Hold a full-length conversation in Spanish, in a Spanish-speaking country – Yes, sort of. I get a B for holding minor conversations with a few folks in Mexico.
Be in a quality relationship for longer than 5 weeks, if the opportunity arises – Yes, sort of. Again, I get a B in this.
Continue spending quality time with my family – Yes, but I could have done a better job.
Invest in and build deeper friendships (with special emphasis with friends in the Bay area) – Yes! I think I built a really supportive network of new friends here in the Bay Area, and it seems to be getting stronger each day.
Visit another country – Yes. I went to Cancun for Shanif’s wedding.
Get more sleep – No. Big fail. Although, I sleep a lot when I’m not working… =P
Do a handstand – Yes, sort of! With an assist!
Get a new job at an organization that I am passionate about – Yes! Yes! Yes! This was my secret goal, which I didn’t want to post at the beginning of the year, but I did move into my new site director role at BUILD, which are both an organization and position that I am passionate about.

Out of the nine goals, I accomplished eight of them, which is a far cry from my eleven out of twenty last year. It really helped to focus my goals and really send out my intentions to achieve them.

Again, 2008 was truly a blessed year, and I cannot wait for the challenges and gifts in store in 2009.

Best Posts of 2008

Here’s a round-up of my favorite posts of 2008: