Capstone 2025 and Orientation Day One

The groan of buses driving past. The whiz of bicyclists weaving through traffic. The dull hum of business people muttering into their phones. This was the scene as I approached Minneapolis Central Library early on a hot August day, wiping sleep from my eyes. As the vast shadow of the modern building fell over me, I couldn’t help but feel some trepidation. What would the rest of my day look like? What would the rest of my month look like? What would the rest of my year look like? Brushing these questions aside, I steeled myself and climbed through the many floors of the library to finally put real faces to the names I had only seen in emails leading up to that day. As I was greeted by the Civic Bridgers team, I snuck a look around at the people who I would call my peers for the next year. Young people like me, nervous, clutching coffee tumblers like lifelines. 

Strangers.

We quickly jumped into the programming for the day. Jill Carey led the session where every fellow introduced themself by telling the story of an object that was meaningful to them. Some fellows brought playing cards, and one passed around a rock. Another brought a political campaign pin, and others brought family heirlooms. In telling the stories of these objects that were important to them, I was able to connect to my cohort on a deeper level. Fellows commented on the similarities between their stories and connected the dots between similar experiences. With all of the connections being made, I was all at once quite shocked. How was it possible that we were able to see a peek into each other's history through stuff? Can an inanimate object represent the totality of one’s story? 

No, but storytelling can help reveal less visible aspects of one’s personhood.

With the ice broken and the caffeine finally starting to work, our cohort settled on some covenants that we would follow for all of our future gatherings. Hold space for positivity. Be genuine. Bring your full self to all meetings. 

We were able to settle on these covenants by reflecting on our own productive and dysfunctional past experiences in group settings. We all wanted to make sure that our future gatherings were supportive and fruitful. 

Before we knew it, the room started to fill with more and more people. In the same room where my journey as a Civic Bridger was just beginning, the graduating class of Fellows would be saying goodbye to their Host organizations.

Attendees were invited to listen to each presentation by a 2024-2025 Fellow. I enjoyed this opportunity to hear what graduating Fellows accomplished during their service. I also took a moment to reflect and imagine myself in their shoes. What would my presentation in a year’s time look like? 

After a celebratory closing sendoff for the 2024-2025 Fellows, it was back to training. I jumped into a car with my peer as we sped off to a retreat center in Farmington. To my midwestern horror, the Oregon native in the driver’s seat completed a zipper merge as we entered a construction zone. We laughed about the differences in regional road rules. 

Having arrived at the retreat center, we sat down for one more lesson with Libby Stegger. We learned about Civic Bridgers’ Theory of Change and the complications of a ‘well’ versus ‘fence’ model approach to community organizing. Most importantly, we discussed how we would apply these values to our own work.

As the day drew to an end, I took a moment to sit alone. An unsanded wooden bench that scratched my legs as I sat down. An overlook with only a partial view of the lake as foliage worked steadily to take over. The dim sound of a toad croaking as it hopped over a wet spot in the mud. A mosquito buzzing past my ear. 

A long day of celebration, learning, and building networks. Those people whom I called strangers just twelve hours ago had now become my colleagues on a year-long journey and my confidants for hard times. I understood that I was being prepared for a vigorous year of service, and to my surprise, I felt ready. As I returned to my lodging and finally tucked myself in for the night, only one thought prevailed in my mind: 

Let’s do this.