Big Impact for Brady Van Sickle

This past week I helped volunteer with the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative “Point in Time” Survey. Of all the things that I have done so far in Denver, this has had the biggest impact on me as a person. While doing the survey I sat down with a lot of great people that were going through a rough time in their life. I learned a lot about the varying reasons that cause a person to find themselves without a home, and it got me thinking about how easily it can happen to anyone.

The other thing that had a big impact on me was how positive almost everyone was. Being without a place to call home is probably the hardest thing a person can experience, and for the most part everyone I talked to were fairly positive, and highly optimistic. It just taught me a valuable lesson about finding joy in the hard times, and being appreciative of what you have because nothing in life is a guarantee.

Experiences in Denver with Admirable People by Chelsea Brown

I match stride with my supervisor walking next to me, while gazing above at the colossal white building with symmetrical pillars which is our destination. We reach the front door, ring the bell, and are allowed to enter. After signing in and receiving nametags, we head to the counseling center for a meeting full of concerned and dedicated parents and employees. This impressive building is actually a public school placed in the near northeastern area of Denver. The Cole Arts & Science Academy, known by the students, parents, and teachers as CASA, currently provides opportunities for 540 preschool through eighth grade kids.

However, when looking at the numbers more closely, you will find that the statistics transform into an animated portrayal of life in this neighborhood. Approximately 93% of the kids attending CASA receive Free and Reduced Lunch, 94% of the kids are minorities, and 50% are English Language Learners. These high percentages describing students at CASA reveal only a glimpse of the realities they face; yet it shows that these kids deal with more stress and obstacles than I have ever experienced in my small hometown in rural Iowa.

The outward appearance of this school is grand and elaborate, representing both the hope of a well-fought-for education and the despair of challenges faced by the students inside struggling to overcome the barriers put up by poverty, discrimination, and stigma.

You may be thinking that I am being overly dramatic; however, I feel that the amount of emotion that I put behind words can never present the actuality of the situation in Denver. The community members I have met through my internship would want me to tell their story with the same pain and passion expressed in the struggle of their everyday lives. Not because they want to be felt sorry for, but because they want to fight for change for their families and communities.

At my internship at Together Colorado I have seen a lot of diversity, fear, tears, and unjust situations. I have also seen incredible strength, hope for changed situations, and powerful new ideas. The most important thing I have learned thus far as a community organizer is this: it is our job to listen as a fellow human being and to encourage and empower.

(Statistics found from http://media.dpsk12.org/enrollmentsnapshots/ES188.PDF)

New Adventures Bring New Opportunities by Katie Reinhardt

The first week has almost come to a close here in Denver and I would have to say it has been a success. As I begin my internship placement at Comedy Works, I have so much to look forward to. I know the time will fly by while we are busy with schoolwork, internships, and exploring the city. The first couple days were a little overwhelming; all I could think about was that I will be living and working in this city for almost four months! Wow! What a change it is from small town Waverly, where I have lived all of my life. Since being here for two weeks now, I have begun to feel more at home. Thank goodness!

Denver is said to be a place with many opportunities that bring many different people together. As I walk down the streets, I have noticed that there are an abundance of homeless people asking for money while locals and tourists walk right on by. It just goes to show that there are so many different lives being lived here, from poor people to middle income to the wealthy. It is all here. That is what I find interesting about this city is that you can literally find whoever from block to block. One might say that Colfax, the street we live on is one that you don’t want to travel by yourself; I would say it is one of those streets where you can find everything; modern buildings, dirty parts, poor stores, etc. Just walking this street truly opens my eyes to what else is out in the world that I have been naïve to.

I am so excited to what this experience here in Denver will teach me. I am ready for new adventures and new opportunities that will help me grow as a student and person. Bring it on Denver!

The Denver Synagogue by Summer Anderson

            Recently, Rachel and I attended BMH-BJ: The Denver Synagogue. We arrived a little before 9:00 a.m. because that’s when the service started. We found it a little odd that it was just a few others and us. A Layperson, someone that is like a deacon, came to us because he could tell we were not Jewish and informed us that most of the congregation doesn’t show up until 9:30-10:00, but he, Jay, was very willing to help us learn about what went on during the Shabbat service. He described the siddur, which is a book that contains the prayers that are recited during the service and the chumash, which contains the five books of Moses.

Jay had one of the synagogue’s teachers sit by us and explain what was happening during the service. She also gave us a tour of the synagogue and showed us where they have the traditional services with men and women seated on separate sides and the classrooms where the children spend their time during the services.

Jay invited us to read the nation’s prayer in front of the congregation, so Rachel went up and read it and did a great job. It was very nice of him to ask us to do that. He also let us look at the Torah when it was being read, which was very fascinating. He explained that they have to insure the Torah for thousands of dollars, because they are all handwritten with duck quills and it takes almost a year to finish one.

My favorite part of the service was when the Cantor sang the prayers. Jay informed us that he was a Holocaust survivor and that they had several in the congregation. Cantor Zach was actually retired, but the present Cantor was on vacation. The prayers were all sung in Hebrew and it was very beautiful. He was also the cutest old guy ever!

The Denver synagogue is the largest conservative synagogue, not the only one in Denver by far.

Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Cathedral by Simon Sager

This experience was different than I expected. In all honesty, I had never heard of Greek Orthodoxy before my time in Denver. Going into this experience I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t picture the service being held in a dome or for it to be so Greek infused. I didn’t anticipate much of the service being spoken in Greek. I was also surprised to see the service so well attended.

Maybe it is because I have my final paper topic at the front of my mind or maybe it is because music truly is the way I communicate and grow spiritually, but the music in the service was really what struck me. The vast majority of the service had some sort of musical quality to it. In fact, there were no spoken words until 45 minutes into the service. Everything before that, be it scripture, prayers or other readings, was either chanted by them men standing near the Alter in front of us or sang by the choir standing on the balcony behind us. Because the acoustics of the room were so great and often times the singing happened from the balcony behind us, I sometimes couldn’t tell who was singing. This was a little off putting at first but after a while I grew to really like not knowing who was singing. It allowed me to really focus on the words that were being sung/chanted instead of focusing on the person who was singing. I was able to hear the message without any distractions and take the words to heart.

The whole point of my final paper is going to be that music, in a religious sense, provides something special. Music is a medium that allows us to communicate with God. The fact that the majority of this service had music ingrained into it proves this point. Obviously, the people who attended this church feel that music helps us to communicate with God and that music allows us to hear God’s voice. I am very glad that I got to have the experience of going to this Greek service before writing my final paper. I think that it affirmed my belief that music is one the most spiritual practices in existence. Even though I did not always know what was happening throughout the service, I could still feel God’s presence throughout. In my opinion, this is because of the music. Music has power and going to this service just reaffirmed my strong belief that God uses music to speak to people.

Mizel Museum by Emily Preussner

 I did not know exactly what to expect when I walked into the Mizel Museum. I knew going into it that it would take a look back at Judaism but never expected the vibrant colors and modern art. I have visited many museums in my lifetime but most of them are the same. The Mizel Museum took me by surprise. It captured my attention and displayed artifacts in such a way that would interest any visitor. The creators and designers definitely took into consideration the guest and wanted to make sure they had a good time while visiting the museum.

The Mizel Museum is a small place with a lot of history about Judaism. It only has four rooms with lots of artifacts and descriptions about what Jewish people went through the last 4,000 years. Next to each artifact, there is a description of what it is and what it is used for. I wish that we were there a little bit longer so I had time to actually take a look at all the artifacts in each room. Looking at those pieces helps people understand the Jewish way of life, not just their religion.

As for the religion, I went into this visit feeling pretty good because I knew some things about it. Judaism and Christians have many connections so I knew some of their beliefs before I read about the religion in the book. I also learned a few things, like the Torah, in my introduction to religion class at Wartburg. When the tour guide talked about the Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, and the sands of time, I knew what she was talking about. I have read those stories from the Bible so I didn’t feel lost when she was talking. When visiting the Buddhist monastery, it was hard for me to understand their religion since I haven’t been exposed to it.

The lady who gave us a tour was a great speaker and knew a lot about the history of Judaism. She articulated that Judaism is about trying to figure out the answers and interpreting the Torah, which is different from other religions. When I spoke with a Muslim man, he talked about the Qur’an tells them how to live. It has an answer for everything so they do not have to interpret the words. This differs from what the Jewish believe.

Even though there are differences between Judaism and Islam, I noticed some similarities. The main one is the treatment of both religions’ followers. Everyone knows about the Holocaust and how many innocent people were killed because of their religion. They were blamed for the bad economy and people turned against them. They still have a lot of bad publicity but the religion has remained strong. Since 9/11, Muslims have been looked down on. Many people have blamed Muslims for the attacks on America soil. Islam is still trying to fight those critics by educating those to see that it is not a violent religion. Even though the attacks were 12 years ago, Islam is still trying to fight all the negativity that is around the religion. Even with that, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. 

A different look at America for an international student.

Mauricio Gutiérrez

Wartburg West Experience

It has been already two months since we got here but to me this experience seems timeless.  It is good to see a completely different city, to get a sense of the diverse places that this country has. In my experience, we have had many opportunities to get involved in different activities that demonstrate the wide diversity in the city. With class and extracurricular activities, the experiences at Denver have included festivals, concerts, climbing, hiking and many other activities. Sometimes it could get overwhelming for people that are not used to have a busy schedule with a lot of activities, but to me, the amount of activities has been satisfying and we always have enough time to rest and “reflect”.

In my internship at Colorado Progressive Coalition, I have been working in campaigns designing some images for social media, and learning a lot on how to manage the communication of a member-driven organization that works with social justice issues. At the same organization I have also done some work in community organizing, helping people in different issues that sometimes are not addressed. These issues affect mainly minorities, therefore for others it is not relevant because they think it does not affect them but at the end those are issues that concern to everyone as they would determine the new direction that the city would take in different areas. Some of the work that I have done is related to Health Care, some people do not consider it important but according to the new reforms it is necessary. Through these and other volunteer actions I have seen a different façade of the city, a part that helps me to get connected to the community and understand more current political and anthropological issues.