Owen Duckworth Log 1

I’m learning through the fellowship that as I do a lot of the activities in my fellowship I have to let go of what I might have expected to gain or learn from them and embrace whatever comes up in the process. I’ve found that some of the most beneficial pieces of my fellowship haven’t been necessarily the more “hard” learning activities such as trainings, workshops, or conferences (these have all been great and impactful to be clear) but I’ve found immense value and learning in, for example, just having a coach to work with for the first time in my professional career. Having a coach has been huge for me to bounce ideas and learning moments off of, help me execute pieces of my fellowship, and affirm that my learning goals and activities are aligned.

Another example is, through the encouragement of my coach, I’m writing out aspects of my leadership style and the general philosophy of my organizing work. So, I gave myself a personal retreat in a small getaway cabin in March to do some writing, reflecting, and planning. I had never invested the time or money to do a retreat and it allowed me to take a break from work and family and simply focus on reflection and writing. I found the exercise of writing immensely valuable in putting concepts that have been in my head and in my practice into writing, both for me to be clearer on, but also as a way of articulating and documenting some of my approaches with my staff and other partners I work with. Beyond that, the time to be by myself was much-needed and very restful.

I would encourage new fellows to pursue and invest in experiences that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do without the resources, time, and access that comes with the fellowship. Some of the most impactful things I’ve done have been things as simple as doing 1-1s with people locally and outside of our region that I either wouldn’t be able to prioritize and/or have access to. Similarly, travel has continued to be valuable to relationship building, gaining important perspectives, and learning in general. For me, this has included travel for conferences and trainings, but, most recently, I traveled to the UK and connected with some family members who are engaged in movement work on the other side of the Atlantic. Getting to connect with them and learn about the context of social justice and climate justice work in the UK was fascinating and important for expanding my concepts of how change happens in different places on the planet, and how interconnected we are, even across significant distances.

Finally, I’ll say that for new fellows, the imposter syndrome can be really real, especially as you meet some of the other fellows and hear about the work they’re doing and their plans for the fellowship! I’ve learned to embrace my place as a deserving fellow and to trust the process that I laid out in my plans and to trust my instincts to make adjustments and try unexpected things as I go through the fellowship. The different learnings and points of growth, as I mentioned above, have often come in surprising places and moments but they have been impactful and I hope and expect them to continue to be.