The Prayer Which Started the Ball Rolling (December, 2003)

(Letter to friends and family about starting a new chapter in my life)

“For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether? … God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips… We cannot ask [God] for aught, for [He] knowest our needs before they are born in us.” – Gibran, from The Prophet

I’ve got the 2 year itch again! I’ve been in DC for just over 2 years now, and I’m once more craving adventure and exploration.

My 2 year contract with the AmeriCorps-NCCC, Capital Region campus will be fulfilled next week. I'm thinking of starting grad school by 2005, if not sooner. So I aim to do something fun and exhilarating in the mean time, without incurring more debt. I'll probably be here in DC until January 1st, but I'm outta here on the 2nd.

To do what, you ask? Well, that’s yet to be decided, but that’s where you come in. I think the ultimate would be a well paid job doing something like leading a group on a LEAPNow semester (www.LEAPNow.org). So I’ve applied to LEAPNow, but I’m also asking for your help in identifying other such programs that I should check out.

I’m thinking I’d like to travel, maybe write and/or study as well, but mainly explore and enjoy life. So if you have programs or ideas about what I should look into, please let me know.

I truly believe in AmeriCorps-NCCC (www.AmeriCorps.org/NCCC) and the good it does for the country on so many levels. But developing 70 8-week, full time community service projects per year for 140 AmeriCorps Members as my campus’ Projects Director has been more stressful than I ever could have imagined. I’m ready for something that feels less like work (youth leadership and experiential learning are more natural for me). My department was understaffed the entire 2 years, and much of what I built was from scratch. So the work was very time consuming, and was the main reason I was incommunicado for so long.

But all that is about to change now! If push comes to shove and I haven’t landed a job by January 1st, I will pack my apartment into a storage unit, load up Harriet (my silver Mazda Protege5), and do a cross country road trip to a ski resort where I will snowboard (and work) the winter months away.

Don’t ask me where I’m going to grad school because I haven’t quite worked out the details yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be studying Education. Maybe Education Administration, Human Development, Curriculum Development and the like. I’m still holding on to the dream of some day running my own school with a multicultural curriculum infused with major experiential learning (to include travel) and service learning components. So I’m seeking a graduate program that will help me fully realize that dream without sending me to the poor house. I’m just starting the research process, but I think I will apply to 1 – 5 schools and end up at the one that costs the least (or “pays” the most). I’m looking at earning a Masters or Doctorate at a School of Ed in CA, NY, DC, FL, PA or MA that USNews.com ranks in the top 50, but there are few places that I’d pass up a free ride.

The tentative plan for now: 1.) research grad schools, fun jobs, and study abroad opportunities; 2.) road trip in December & January; 3.) start with the fun job or study abroad in January; 4.) start grad school or teaching in the fall.

So if any interesting web sites come to mind or if you have info to share regarding grad school programs, interesting fellowships, or fun opportunities please let me know. I look forward to doing a better job at keeping in touch, and maybe I'll see you in a couple of months or so?!

As my time at my current job is winding down, I am refocusing my energies on re-connecting with friends and family, and trying to do a much better job of keeping in touch.

Take care, and let me hear from you.

Peace & Blessings,
Azikiwe