Danny during his ARC days.
Year of Graduation: 2013
Major/minor: Environmental Studies and Hispanic Studies (majors)
Current address: Canberra, Australia
How were you engaged with ARC? Not just the seminar/internship/fellowship but describe the type of project.
I started with ARC in my freshman year, looking at issues of “green” printing on campus and possibly trying to establish a printing quota. That was my introduction to ARC and Deborah, and I was hooked. I did the Community Partnership Program, looking at green business practices with the Ecology Action Center, and establishing a drought contingency plan with State Farm. I worked on establishing the IWU Peace Garden through the Weir Fellowship and as a Field Coordinator for Deborah the following summer. I took the ARC Grant Writing Seminar as well, to seek grant opportunities for the Peace Garden and the Washington Elementary Garden. I think that was it, but I tried to get involved with ARC and Deborah as much as possible because of the amazing opportunities created.
Where are you now?
I am studying for my Master’s of Environmental Management and Development at the Australian National University.
Where did ARC take you professionally? Are you doing work that connects back to ARC in some way?
Right now, I’m just taking classes but I try to tie my studies into Participatory Action Research whenever I can. So I’m doing a little bit more of the academic side of the principles ARC taught me, working with communities, empowering members to participate and to be involved and avoiding the “hero on a white horse” mentality always.
Where did ARC take you personally? Are you engaged in community work that is ARC-like?
Just finished up a project working with the Food Co-Op at the university here, looking to expand their customer base with students and non-university consumers. We discussed their mission statement, their values, and how to maintain the integrity of their business in their involvement in the community. Learned all of that from ARC.
Did ARC teach you what we were supposed to teach you? Did we teach you anything that was a surprise or outside of the learning objectives?
ARC taught me many of the most important lessons I took away from IWU. Be involved in your community, recognize the contributions of the community you are working in, put aside your assumptions, be creative in applying your passions to community needs, and food is a great connector. There were other lessons, but I’m saving that for my biography on Deborah Halperin and her “GSD” disciples.
Working with ARC was always a surprise and always something new and all of it was valuable, even if it was uncomfortable or unpleasant. My project with the Ecology Action Center for the CPP program bombed hard, but that was an incredibly important experience for me. ARC taught me the only failure is when you give up and stop trying to adapt and maneuver and keep trying to find a solution because there is one out there.
Share a great memory about ARC/IWU.
Too many to consider. The bajillion meal time brainstorm sessions with Deborah and other ARC disciples, digging in the garden for what seemed like years in the blistering heat, putting up the first hoophouse with Professor Simeone and the Travis family from Spence Farm, exploring the many restaurants of Bloomington-Normal, watching the Tool Library grow.
The best part has probably been watching ARC and its footprint and its family continue to grow. So many awesome people doing amazing things that never cease to “wow”.