Blog Post #5: One-on-One

For the first time this semester, I was able to have a one-on-one conversation with one of my Chat Cafe group members. It just so happened that the other members were not able to make it, so I had the chance to get to know more about the educational goals of one of my members. With the idea for my creative capstone project in mind, I sought to delve into the reasons behind his chosen career path. I hope to ask all of my group members about their passions and their reasons for studying at the University of Michigan. Through this personal conversation, I was able to experiment with how I would frame certain questions and record responses. I decided that typing notes was effective, but in retrospect I wish I had recorded his answers. I wanted to capture his phrasing of ideas because throughout our conversation, he shared solid ideas with me that I have constantly struggled to understand myself. Honestly, this conversation was probably the most uplifting experience I have had so far as a facilitator, because I was able to see a direct manifestation of the aims that the Chat Cafe program aims to promote. Bridging cultural gaps, we conversed about the reason why people have certain jobs and invest so much time into education. We agreed on a majority of things, even though I am a pre-med student and he is studying business. Overall, as a result of this conversation, I was able to better tailor the goals of my creative capstone project in order to suit the potential responses of my Chat Cafe group.