As an Open Buffalo Civic Engagement Fellow, Byron Chavis (back row, gray shirt, center) helped to host an intergenerational conversation on voting rights.
Reflecting on my civic engagement fellowship with Open Buffalo
Published November 13, 2022
By Byron J. Chavis
Joining this fellowship was a great accomplishment for me personally, and it has been nothing but amazing. The youth activism on our part has been tremendous and aspiring; the leaders of tomorrow are here to make change for the better. The fellowship has been great for advancing my skills in the work environment, with skills such as networking and social interpersonal skills. These two miniscule things have been tremendous insights into what I need to do to progress further in my livelihood and career. I am grateful for the opportunities and skills that I have picked up within this fellowship by Open Buffalo. I would love to do it again whenever they may have it and do what we have done on a bigger scale. This was a golden opportunity to build upon myself.
Through this fellowship, we have met some of the other youth organizations around the country, including at a CAT (Community Action Team) convening in Miami. It has impacted me beyond measure. It has opened my eyes to new ideologies and so much more. I thought I was very open-minded before, but now I feel I have so much more to gain with the new friendships I have made with different CATs that we had the privilege to meet. They were some of the most engaging and thought-provoking people from all over – from Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Texas, Arizona, and many more cities. The ideas that were shared and the new doors that could be opened for the community we serve gave me hope for being a community engager. Partners from different parts of the country are congregating and leaving an impact on me and, hopefully, I hope I made an impact on them as well. The powerful thoughts, speeches, poetry, and passion moved me to want to become stronger and sharpened in this field of work. It made me hungry as we came back home to keep my foot on the gas for my own city and community I was serving.
During my time with this fellowship, we also created amazing events that promote voting and registering to vote, renovated parks to make them more accessible and safer for the community, and even hosted an Intergenerational Conversation about the importance of voting. The fellowship has given me skills in organizing, networking, and being detail-orientated. These skills will follow me forever as this opportunity allowed me to see improvement on my end and what needs to be done from my development. Open Buffalo has been a whirlwind of greatness towards me and my betterment, but this fellowship gives me the push to keep on becoming better.
All of this brings me joy to keep furthering my journey beyond the fellowship and seeing the new heights we will achieve. We still have more to learn and that’s the best part of this. I'm grateful and happy to keep pursuing the nuances the fellowship brings. Thank you to everyone at Open Buffalo. Never have I experienced so much in a short period of time. To all who may come after me, don't take this opportunity for granted. What an amazing time it has been and I have learned so much. Thank you, Open Buffalo.