What Makes a Successful Fellow
Our central goal at Blue Engine is to ensure that each fellow has a productive and rewarding year of service. “Success” as a fellow is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, but fundamentally, the most successful fellows are those who will help students achieve dramatic gains in academic achievement while positioning themselves to enter careers that serve the greater good. Blue Engine has built support structures to ensure that fellows are engaged in professional development all along the way, but those who possess the following characteristics will be better positioned to succeed when—inevitably—the hill gets rough and the track gets tough.
Flexibility: As a Blue Engine fellow, you will be working in an urban public school with students who need your consistent support under circumstances that will fluctuate from day to day. Being flexible will make it possible to maintain your composure and pursue results in the face of unforeseen challenges. Your ability to adjust will pay dividends with your students, your peers, and the wider school community in which you serve.
Patience: While you’ll likely serve as a Blue Engine fellow for a single year, the fundamental changes your students will undergo will take much, much longer. As a member of Blue Engine’s inaugural class of fellows, you’ll be working with high school freshmen, guiding them to achieve goals that will ultimately help them succeed in college –many years down the line. You’ll need patience and a constantly renewing sense of the big picture to help you connect your efforts in the short term with our collective efforts in the long term.
Positive Attitude: Building relationships with adolescents who face daunting life challenges, living on a budget, and sharing an apartment with colleagues from different backgrounds will require an upbeat outlook and a tenacious sense of optimism. Times will get tough, but those with positive attitudes and a “can-do” spirit will be better able to weather the storms and emerge from their fellowship year with a record of accomplishment.
Professionalism: While you may be only a few years older than the students you work with during the day, you must maintain appropriate professional boundaries at all times. Your roles as instructor and classroom assistant will require that you stay organized, dress professionally, and pay close attention to the language and content of your conversations with both students and peers. As a role model in a school setting, all eyes will be upon you.
Resourcefulness: Your host school, your students, you — you will all face the challenge of achieving the “impossible” — often with limited material resources. Your creativity and ability to use supplies and money wisely, as well as to connect with community support, will ensure your success during the fellowship term.
Self-Reliance: While the Blue Engine experience incorporates many team-based elements, and you’ll have the abiding support of our staff and that of the host school, you will spend the bulk of your time as the sole instructor of groups of three students. You’ll need confidence in yourself and in your own creative problem-solving abilities to handle challenges as they arise in your tutorials.
Perspective. Maintaining an upbeat outlook in the face of your own foibles as you make your way as a Blue Engine fellow will keep you healthy and happy. Laughing at yourself, and at the unexpected twists and turns of your fellowship year will help you thrive in the face of adversity and maintain a balanced perspective.
