Teamwork, Fireworks, and JFK
Happy belated 4th of July! It was very interesting to celebrate in Washington D.C. and to observe what America and independence mean to different people. Despite the holiday, it was not a slow week at the Ayuda office.
This week, our team was very busy working together to prepare a report for the Office of Victims Services for grant renewal purposes. All the projects at Ayuda require teamwork and our work environment is very collaborative. Each team member brings different but extensive knowledge that is useful for all tasks. The way we approached the report is a great example of how teamwork is vital to completing tasks in an efficient manner.
Before starting the report, we met as a team and divided the report outline among our team members. I was responsible for answering questions about feedback given to us by victim service providers we provide language services to. Because I was working on the report, I was able to access a lot of demographic information on victims we have served in the past quarter. Though I was proud of the diverse range of victims we serve, it was difficult to see the number of people who suffer from domestic violence and other forms of abuse. The report required very detailed responses and extensive qualitative and quantitative data. Without collaboration as a team, the report would not have been completed on time or would have been completed without vital pieces of information.
Because so much of our work involves meeting, working, and traveling together, the members of our team are very close. While this is comforting, there is an additional pressure to do your job well because you feel a responsibility to your team mates because you care for them and because the work is very interdependent. For this reason, the work we do independently is just as important as the work we do as a team.
The highlight of my work week was our “Happy Jar” meeting. In my office, we have a jar where we put thank you notes and notes of appreciation for our coworkers. Regularly we sit together and read the notes as a group. The highlight of my week outside the office was celebrating the fourth of July with friends. We went to a concert in front of the Capitol, attended the parade on Constitution Avenue, and sat by the Georgetown waterfront. The highlight of my weekend was visiting the Smithsonian American Art Museum where there was a special exhibition on President Kennedy. Time is flying but every minute has been special in some way.
– Sophie Leruth (Class of 2019)
