Group Study Exchange

Back in December of 2009, I decided to submit an application for the Rotary Club's Group Study Exchange Program. For those of you who don't know what the Rotary Club is, click here .

The Group Study Exchange(GSE) program sends young professionals from a Rotary Club District in one part of the world to a Rotary Club district in a completely different part of the world, to complete a 4 to 6 week vocational and cultural exchange. At any given time, there are probably hundreds of people participating in this program. The Rotary Club in Los Angeles decided to send 4 young professionals and a team leader to Sao Paulo, Brazil this year. The trip (airfare, lodging, meals) are completely covered by Rotary. GSE participants stay in the homes of "host families" (also Rotarians) for the 4 weeks while in Brazil.

I jumped at the opportunity to apply for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even though I approached this opportunity very seriously, I didn't really think I had a chance at being selected. Over 100 of the most talented, accomplished young professionals (ages 25-39) in Los Angeles applied for this opportunity. Well, one way or another I was one of the 4 participants selected. Allow me to share some background on my GSE team leader and fellow participants:

Team Leader- Monika White is one of the world's most respected voices in the field of Gerontology. In her 60's now, I think, she received her Masters and PhD in Social Work from USC many years ago. She was the CEO of a senior services organization for many years, then retired, and began to teach graduate courses in gerontology at USC. She has written books about, and been flown around the world to lecture about gerontology. She is one of the most charming, articulate, and intelligent people I have met in my life. (And being that I am on the most charming, articulate, intelligent people I have ever met, that is saying something!...I kid)

GSE Team Members
Mindy Steinberg graduated from UC Berkeley as an undergrad, and is now a cultural anthropologist working for UCLA. She recently received her Master's degree from UCLA and is deciding between UCLA and Oxford for her doctorate study.

Cynthia Alexander received her undergraduate degree from UCLA in Economics and then went on to Harvard Law where she received her J.D. She now works as a District Attorney for the City of Los Angeles.

Ximena Fabian is an LA County Sherrif's Deputy. Originally from Colombia, she decided she wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement after witnessing the corrupt police force in her home country. I've never been the biggest fan of the police, but she is one of the "good" ones. That, and I'm sure she would whoop my ass.

And me? I graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science. I wanted to be a lawyer, and while I have no doubt that I could kick the LSAT's ass, its not really what I want to do with my life. What do I really want to do? Well, I'm not 100 percent sure. I work for the YMCA of Los Angeles (specifically the Westside Family YMCA branch) as a Director of Membership and Healthy Lifestyles. I volunteer as the Lead Advisor for the Westside Family YMCA's Youth and Government Program. In my limited free time, I dedicate myself to making the illest hip-hop you will ever hear (I'm not kidding) as R-Sun (the MC) .

I'm not a bum by any means, but I'm not too sure how I was selected to be a part of such an amazing group. Nonetheless, the opportunity came, and despite the fact that I had to leave my beautiful girlfriend Liz, as well as my wonderful family and friends back home for a whole month, I knew I could not pass.

For those of you who don't know much about Sao Paulo, Brazil, please click here.

What exactly made me want to visit Sao Paulo? Well here goes:

1- I wanted to go on an adventure.
2- I've always been fascinated by the Brazilian culture.
3- City of God. (Hey, I'm being honest)
4- I want to begin my quest to become more worldy and cultured.
5- How cool will it be to be in Brazil when the World Cup begins...

and most importantly:

I wanted to see, first-hand, how a society with such pronounced social disparity operates. From what I understand, the wealthy and privileged live in beautiful apartment and homes, within eyesight of the favelas (slums). Now, having grown up in McArthur Park, I'm no stranger to despair. But I know that it takes at least a few minutes to get from McArthur Park to Beverly Hills. You can't really see one place from the other.

Also, because I work for the YMCA, I felt this was a great opportunity to see what kind of change the YMCA is really making around the world. I grew up within the YMCA and have become well-aware of its important work promoting social change and well-being. But I've never seen it first hand. My professional career with the YMCA involves marketing memberships and increasing business, designing wellness centers, and managing staff to ensure that they are meeting the needs of our members....at a YMCA that operates well in the black (unlike most urban YMCAs)

However, my current line of work can be frustrating: On one hand, I get to serve the community's needs. I help people on a daily basis, and see my work change lives. However, working on the Westside of town, I have to deal with the following:

1- privileged, wealthy snobs who care more about whether or not our jacuzzi is at the right temperature than they do about our mission and our annual community support campaign (where we raise hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support our commitment ot the community by ensuring the affordability of our programs to applicants with limited income)

and

2- pretending-to-be underprivileged, financial assistance applicants who feel entitled to a discount, and are willing to lie and cheat our system to get a reduced cost, all while driving into the parking lot in a Beemer, Benz, or Bentley, clutching a Louie V bag that must've cost more than an annual membership, presenting tax returns that very conveniently do not include the main breadwinner's income.

Now, should I stay with the YMCA, my goal is to become the CEO of a large YMCA association in the United States. However, unless I become convinced that my work is truly meaningful, my YMCA career may go off the tracks. Hopefully, this experience helps me make that decision correctly.

With all that said, I am very excited to see what this trip holds for me. So I'm putting this blog up so that you can come along on the ride with me. Enjoy!