08/28/09: Going Gold

A few weeks ago, we had our second LEED charette, which is a congregation of everyone working on the project to discuss where we are on our LEED points, and what we can do to achieve more points. We are still well on track for LEED Gold, which is a priority of our project.

The charette lasted from 1 p.m. to a little over 5 o’clock! It was tiring for me, as I’ve never been in a meeting that long before, but it was interesting. There was a lot of language and abbreviations used that I didn’t really understand, yet it was a good informational experience. It was good to know where we were at, how much progress we were making, and what some of the next steps were. One of the big items that we talked about was a possibility to make a switch to the new LEED 3.0 rating system. We weighed the pluses and minuses and came to the conclusion that we should wait for a while, until after we do the adequate research. We also talked about how we can design the building to be modified for the future, which I felt was really important. All in all, there was a lot of good discussion and I think we made very good progress in planning the building.

08/17/09: Speaking Out for Education

Last week, the Task Force participated in a gathering hosted by Berkeley Alliance in the pre-constructed Teen Center to discuss the 2020 Vision. Various members from the education community in Berkeley congregated to discuss a very important issue – the academic achievement gap between races, what’s causing it, and how to solve it. This meeting was created to get the teen voice out, and teens from across the city participated. Every teen was allowed to say what they thought about the situation.

Some of the comments were: one of the reasons why there was a wide gap between the successes of students from different races is because their parents, teachers and the community don’t give them enough support or because the students don’t think that school is the most important thing. The thoughts of the teens were written down on a large piece of paper so everyone could follow along.

At the end of the meeting we all realized how much information we had given and what could be some of the solutions. The reason why I had so eagerly volunteered to attend the meeting is because of my perspectives on the education system. There are students, like me and others on the Task Force, who can’t work to their full potential in traditional classes. I’d like to see a change where students can learn about the same thing in different styles. Now the Teen Task Force is working together with Berkeley Alliance in order to change that large gap. We are following their steps and willing to contribute our thoughts to each of their meetings.

Find out more about the Berkeley Alliance and the 2020 Vision at: www.berkeleyalliance.org

08/13/09: Where in the World is Antonia?

From the Nicaraguan campo and back to the Teen Task Force desk, here I am, one week out from an amazing summer spent working on collaborative community development projects in Latin America. I said a brief farewell to the Teen Task Force in May, graduated from high school, and then took off for a two month adventure in Granada, Nicaragua.

I went there with an international community service program called Amigos de las Americas, whose mission is to promote youth leadership and multicultural understanding through service. I spent eight weeks living with a host family in a rural town in Nicaragua and working with two other Americans to teach classes on health topics such as dental hygiene, environmental health, and nutrition to first through sixth graders. When we weren’t busy teaching, you could find us working on an extensive community mapping project. By the end of the summer, we had identified all health risks of the 180 families living in the town and put them on a map for the doctor and nurses to reference when making house calls. The highlight of our project was facilitating a community-based initiative to build a bus stop by the town entrance. Thanks to the financial support of Amigos, and the tireless involvement of community members, El Menco now has a bus stop, just in time for the hardest summer rains.

After eating piles of rice and beans for eight weeks straight, waking up at 6 AM to the sound of crowing roosters, and getting caught in a few too many downpours on the way to teaching a class, here I am back in the air conditioned Association office ready to research lighting possibilities for the Teen Center. At the end of September, I’m headed to the University of Oregon, where I plan on double majoring in Urban Planning and International Relations. Off to the next adventure!

08/11/09: In the News

The Teen Center has gotten some good press lately. Just the fact that we have been in so many newspapers is wonderful. But to also have nothing but positive things said about us and the Teen Center, to me, is a blessing and it also shows that people from young to old are ready to see Berkeley have a center that’s truly for teens. So even for the ones that dislike teens, they will love the Teen Center for the simple fact that this will take more teens off the street corner, out of stores, etc, and put them in a place where they can have fun and also learn things that some homes and schools aren’t able to give them at the time or never could give them. So I thank freelance writer Doug Oakley and Riya Bhattacharjee of the Berkeley Daily Planet and every other newspaper that had/has something to do with getting the word out about how Berkeley will now and will always be teen friendly…

Check out recent articles:
The Berkeley Daily Planet
Berkeley Voice

08/05/09: Bringing Everyone Together

Summer is really tough. You know, showing up to 2:00 PM meetings only a couple hours after you’ve woken up. Ouch. It makes it a little hard to focus when you‘re still trying to analyze your crazy dream.

But in all seriousness, last Monday’s OAC (Owner, Architect, Contractor) meeting was actually quite interesting. It was the first of many OAC meetings to come, and funny enough, the architects couldn’t make it and the contractor was excluded from the first half of the meeting. It went well regardless.

The meeting was significant because our newest team member Suzanne Brown of Equity Community Builders came and was finally put to work, and a fine job she did. Since it was the first meeting there was a lot to cover. By ‘a lot’ I mean a lot of budgeting and scheduling. The meeting commenced immediately into a long, fast-paced, and meticulous discussion about the exact costs of the project. We marked down which items had already been paid and we explored ways to reduce the price of those not paid for. Following this discussion we brought our contractor Jim Coyle into the room and we began talking schedule. The main points were centered around getting the final construction documents and drawings to the city review board a.s.a.p. to begin demolition and construction a.s.a.p. or at least by December.

It seemed that the big acronym of the day was GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price). This is a bid that we need from our contractor to submit to the bank so we can obtain the much needed New Market Tax Credits, a giant government grant. With our sights set high but our time and money on the edge, we pushed through the pressing issues and set a plan to move forward. Forward to the second OAC meeting that is.

Equity Community Builders is committed to responsible development and management of property that contributes to the strength and vitality of neighborhoods and communities throughout Northern California. Check them out here.

08/03/09: The Other Side of the Table

To be interviewed I always…well not always… get nervous. When I get nervous I drag my words. My mouth gets real dry to where I’m dying for water. I get lost every few seconds.

But interviewing someone is way better then getting interviewed. The only thing I have to worry about is how to ask the questions, as in how to word what’s already written on paper. Other than that I learned that you try to notice different things – things like if the person gets nervous or how well they answer the questions or if they’re dressed right for the occasion.

But when I zone out – which is something that I’m not suppose to do – I think about what I did wrong in my interviews and what I should do differently the next time I’m getting interviewed.

So if you were to ask me which side of the table I’ll rather be on. I think that I’ll say hands down I’d like to be on the ‘giving the interview’ side. That’s way more fun. So in the future I’ll take that side.