Blog
Mar 16, 2012
Julie Paul represented the Innovator quadrant at the 2011 ReCharge! Retreat. She is in the graduate program at Tufts University, studying chemical engineering. Below Julie shares her reflections on the retreat, and how the lessons from ReCharge! resonate throughout her life six months later.
As the name suggests, the ReCharge! Retreat was truly revitalizing for me. Experiencing the large scale magnitudes of a coal plant, a wind farm, and a low impact hydropower plant up close and personal covers only a fraction of what I have learned on Mt. Hood. I discovered the importance of rest and reflection. The exhilaration from being surrounded by people who come from different walks of life and can be brought together and united by a single cause. I was taught to tell my story in a way in which I would be able to truly connect with my audience. Above all I learned to get my hands dirty with work that needs to be done, to follow my passions without reservation, and that true commitment means giving for the sake of giving. I have been grateful enough to apply these lessons in my life since the retreat seven months ago. I followed my passion of singing by being in a Christmas concert choir, my interest in clean energy through my involvement with the Tufts Energy Conference 2012 and my MS thesis topic, and desire for rest by choosing to take my spring break off in the Grand Canyon. My life has been enriched by my experience with Focus the Nation and I look forward to what the future holds.
Julie Paul, 2011 ReCharge! Retreat Delegate
Mar 05, 2012
"Bringing the Collaboration Quadrants to Academia" by Alicia White, 2011 ReCharge! Delegate
Before I went to FTN’s Recharge! Retreat, I struggled to combine my passions for chemistry and politics. As chemistry major at Northwestern University, few of my peers were as interested in the politics of clean energy as I was. On the other hand, my interest in environmentalism kept drawing me back to the world of politics. I knew that I was good at both politics and science, but I thought they were separate fields.
All of that changed when last May, I applied on a whim to FTN’s Recharge! Retreat. I thought that it could be a fun week in a beautiful place, and, hey, I wasn’t about to turn down the chance for some free shoes from KEEN. It turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life. Never before had I been surrounded by so many young, smart, and motivated leaders in clean energy. There were policy wonks, engineers, writers, and thinkers, and they all cared about bringing clean energy to the world.
Our retreat facilitators used the model of Collaboration Quadrants to represent the four areas that the delegates came from: Politicos, Technicians, Innovators, and Storytellers. Throughout the week, we explored what strengths each Quadrant brought to the table. We looked at how each Quadrant was essential to the success of clean energy. Then, and most importantly, we discovered that an individual Quadrant could only succeed if they all worked together. In a valuable exercise, we got together in groups of four (one from each Quadrant) and created an ideal solution to the energy crisis. It was a chance for all of us to bond as friends and colleagues.
When I came back from the retreat, I knew I had not only made lasting friends, but that my perspective had changed. I didn’t know how yet, but after a few months, I began to realize that experiencing the Quadrants at the retreat had shown me just how I could combine chemistry and politics. One of the biggest issues we focused on was how to encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration in the real world. Often politicians and scientists aren’t good at communicating, resulting in ineffective policies that don’t encourage the implementation of clean energy. I realized that I didn’t need to choose between chemistry and politics; I could combine them into a career as a science and energy policy adviser to promote clean energy solutions based on accurate science.
The Recharge! program had such an impact on my perspective that I was even inspired to write an academic paper on it. In my paper, I discuss the educational implications of the Collaboration Quadrants and suggest that they should be an integral part of higher education. The Quadrants give students a better analytical framework to make progressive, positive change towards a clean energy solution. Academic structures, like capstone courses and honors courses, already exist, and would be an excellent place to incorporate the Quadrants.
My paper was accepted by Ball State University’s Greening of the Campus Conference, which is a bi-annual conference focusing on sustainability in higher education. With the conference coming up in March, I’m looking forward to spreading Focus the Nation’s message of collaboration through my paper. I’m excited to talk to professionals and educators from all four Quadrants who also want to bring clean energy solutions to the world.
And I can’t wait to see the awesome solutions that my fellow delegates are going to come up with for clean energy!
Jan 03, 2012
Houston, Texas may not conjure up images of clean energy, but there are rising stars emerging from the steamy streets of the big city. Jennifer Amelang, a senior at University of St. Thomas, has been connecting people all around Houston to work on clean energy as a 2010-2011 & 2011-2012 Focus Coordinator as well as a 2011 ReCharge! Delegate. Read on to hear from Jennifer about her experience moving forward from ReCharge 2011.
As a 2011 Recharge! Retreat Delegate, with the guidance and help of Stephanie Pollack and Enrique Salmon, the retreat facilitators, I came to acknowledge the importance of saying “yes.” One sunny day on the south side of Mt. Hood, all twenty delegates stood in a circle. Stephanie encouraged us to yell out commands. In response, the group would reply with “YES!” while performing the task. “Whip your hair back and forth”…”YES!” *whipping our hair back and forth* The activity was fun, and saying yes is fun, but more importantly, I found that it was essential for me to let go of my insecurities and inhibitions and accept this affirmative philosophy. This exercise is especially true for educational experiences outside of the classroom, such as the retreat itself. Service-learning, hands-on experience, community activism- call it what you want; it’s authentic learning and has helped me to appreciate the words I might read on the pages of a textbook.
Returning home and returning to school, with the occasional exception of daydreaming of sunny faces and sunny places, I was amazed how easy it was getting back into my routine. However, I tried to periodically reflect on the experiences I shared. This semester I have continued to try to say “yes” and continued making connections in my local environmental community. I am a second year Focus Organizer with FTN, and I recently became an intern with the Council for Environmental Education. Within my school and community, I am attempting to engage various quadrants of students and faculty. I have teamed up with a politico and fellow student to put on an Environmental Week in conjunction with the FTN Forum. Also, I have contacted Technicians and Innovators from my school’s American Chemical Society (ACS) to present their biofuels research. To bridge the gap between Houston-based Universities, I have invited professors to speak from various schools. So far I have confirmations from two major universities in the area: Rice University and the University of Houston.
Throughout the semester I have come back to one memory and feeling. On the last day of the Retreat, in a moment of emotional catharsis, I realized and told the group, “I’m still such a baby.” We are all babies. We, perpetually, have the potential to grow, and saying yes to constructive experiences is one facet to building a successful and fulfilled life.
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