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U-Londa Hicks, Director of Meal Ministry at Refuge of Hope
Sounds of gun shots in U-Londa Hicks’ Chicago neighborhood. Everyday someone pulled the trigger. She was scared to walk outside. Catch the train. Take her kids to school. She didn’t finish high school. Baby at 15. She quit school and worked. Had two more babies. She worked to feed her kids.
She never travelled. Only visited Milwaukee a few times. And lived in Chicago. What other options did she have? Always hustling. Taking care of her kids. Paying rent. Keeping the electricity on.
Twenty-three years passed since she had the first baby. U-Londa’s cousin called from Ohio and told her she would have a better life there. A better life for her kids. She quit her job. Left her apartment. Left everything behind. Only took what she could carry.
That’s when the drinking started – in Ohio. She didn’t have a job or any friends. U-Londa lived in a lonely world and found comfort in a bottle. When her two younger kids left for school in the morning, she walked to the grocery store to buy her daily beer. She drank all day until they came home. Made dinner. Helped them with homework. Then drank all evening.
Until she got involved with Refuge of Hope and served hungry men, women and children.
U-Londa started working at Refuge of Hope in order to keep her benefits through welfare. She worked during the day and drank at night. Two years passed and she kept the same routine. But heavy drinking has a way of catching up with you. On Sept. 6, 2013, a blood clot burst in her throat. Doctors told her she had five minutes to call her family. She prayed instead. After five days, she woke up from a medically-induced coma and never touched alcohol again. That was seven years ago.
U-Londa has been on staff with Refuge of Hope since 2014, working in the kitchen. “My coworkers are like my family. I’ve had some battles that I probably wouldn’t been able to handle if I didn’t have them to come to,” she said.
Three years ago her supervisor walked into the kitchen. Offered her a promotion: Director of Meal Ministry.
U-Londa Hicks, Director of Meal Ministry at Refuge of Hope, prepares to-go meals for the homeless community of Stark County. Refuge of Hope’s dining hall was closed from March 16-Aug. 31 due to COVID-19.
U-Londa oversees the meal ministry operations, manages the kitchen staff and recently moved into a bigger home for her and her sons.
Meal ministry assistant Melva Milberry has worked in the kitchen with U-Londa for almost one year. “We have a great team … we’re all multi-transitional in-regards to the positions and things that we can do. If you take one of us out, we know how to pick up the pieces and run with it.”
U-Londa Hicks, Director of Meal Ministry at Refuge of Hope, helps lunch guests with to-go meals. Refuge of Hope’s dining hall was closed from March 16-Aug. 31 due to COVID-19.
U-Londa shared her story at a recent Refuge of Hope banquet and talked about Faye, a Refuge of Hope regular. Faye lost her husband five years ago and went through some hard times. U-Londa embraced her with a hug and gave her a bus pass so she could get to her new job.
“Seeing the faces of these people that come in every day made me feel like I was needed,” she said.
First-generation college student becomes Kent State professor
Published in KentWired
Last semester I was sitting in the second row of my media, power and culture class while professor Chance York, Ph.D. taught on that week’s chapter: portrayals of economic class in media. And I learned something.
Professor York and I have more in common than I thought.
I began taking notes.
He lectured from chapter seven: poor and working-class stereotypes depicted in family sitcoms. The descriptions were less than appealing: incompetent, redneck and white trash. Professor York shared about his upbringing living in a low-income and single-parent household. He talked about being a first-generation college student.
I sat down with professor York a few weeks ago through Zoom and talked about his childhood, educational background and where he is today.
As a child of the '80s and early '90s, professor York and I both watched the original "Ghostbusters" movie dozens of times. "MacGyver" was on TV in the background while my brothers and I tried to figure out the mechanics of rigging a lock on our bedroom door. If MacGyver can create magic with the few tools he had, why couldn’t we?
Eating pizza while watching Steve Urkel, the Tanners and the favorite siblings of "Step by Step" on TGIF Friday night was the best part of the week.
Professor York and I grew up during the same era.
But his story begins in Wamego, Kansas.
Job opportunities were rare in the flat, open prairie landscape of Wamego. York’s mother cleaned houses and worked as a custodian at various places during the week. On the weekends, she grew vegetables to sell at a local farmer’s market. And she figured out other ways to make money during the off season.
“I remember several times getting in the car and we would get on the interstate with a few valuable possessions we had going off to sell them so that we could pay a monthly bill,” professor York said. “And my mom was crying the whole time."
York went to bed many nights not knowing if the power would be on the next morning, he said. But after long days and working multiple jobs, his mother read him a story every night. Classic novels, like those by Mark Twain, were her specialty.
He went off to college many years later to study film and English literature at the University of Kansas. He had goals to pursue screenwriting and directing, but he changed his major to anthropology alongside English literature.
College wasn’t the same experience for York than it was for his peers. “I was sending cash and some of my tuition check back home and working a lot while in school. It was brutal,” he said. He described his experience as if he were walking on a tightrope with no safety net.
While in his senior year, some of his classes focused on mass media. The textbook readings were interesting and engaging to him in a way he never saw before, he said. “Media is so fundamentally intertwined with culture, and media is so critical to how cultures operate; that was fascinating to me.”
He went on to study mass communications in graduate school at the University of Kansas and received his doctorate at Louisiana State University, also in mass communications.
Now a professor at Kent State University, he teaches courses on media and culture in the journalism department. He also conducts research on biological factors and how they affect communication traits and media behaviors.
Many of his colleagues were raised in middle-class households while their parents were college professors. And a lot of his students have parents who attended college. Their parents helped prepare the way for them as a college student.
But professor York is not alone.
Nov. 8 is National First-Generation College Student Day and approximately 34% make up college students whose parents did not attend college, according to the United States Department of Education.
Both of my parents were first-generation college students as well. They helped prepare the way for me many years ago when I moved to Pittsburgh to attend college at The Art Institute, but they didn’t have the same luxury as I did when they were in school. Just like professor York, my parents had no safety net.
As a child, my life started out similar to professor York’s. I’ve heard my mom say for years, “we didn’t have two nickels to rub together.” Until my dad finished his master’s degree in social work and my mom got a full-time teaching job, both of my parents began working in their desired field, using their degrees.
My family eventually moved out of our townhouse and into a house.
An article written by Alex Casillas, another first-generation college student, for Center for Equity in Learning’s says “first-generation college students are more likely to come from an underrepresented ethnic group, be working learners (often working for pay 20+ hours a week), to be financially on their own, to have dependents and to come from low-income families.”
Professor York is one of many first-generation college students across the country who grow up in low-income households.
His past does not reflect his future.
Toward the end of our time together, I asked him one last question. I will sum it up like this: “Are your two worlds colliding?”
Low-income, single-parent household to college professor in a middle class environment.
“I’m the odd man out,” he said. “There’s no overlap. There’s this world and then there’s this past world that I lived and they’re very different.”
When I sat in his class last semester, my first semester back to college after 13 years, I felt like the odd one out, too. Stuck somewhere in between.
I was living my adult life while managing a house, paying bills and investing in family, and then I took one major step that changed the course of my career: college.
Working woman to college student.
Just like professor York, it’s hard to find the overlap. He changed the course of his life when he entered college as a freshman. Now, many years later, he is paving the way for others like him. Just like my parents paved the way for me.
Bill & Mary’s Diner trying to stay afloat with takeout orders during government mandated COVID-19 restrictions
Pancake batter poured, scrambled eggs sizzling, and hash browns cooking: Bill Renner, owner of Bill and Mary’s Diner and Creative Catering in North Canton, didn’t know that March 15 would be his last time offering dining-in meals to customers for a while.
Renner, like other restaurant and bar owners across the state of Ohio, was mandated by the government to close indoor dining and only allow takeout orders due to the COVID-19 outbreak. “I’m hoping that within a reasonable timeframe we will get things going back to normal, somewhat,” Renner said.
Dr. Amy Acton, Director of Ohio Department of Health issued a Director’s Order that went into effect at 9 p.m. March 15 stating “Order Limiting the Sale of Food and Beverages, Liquor, Beer and Wine to Carry-out and Delivery Only.” Restaurants and bars were the first of many small businesses to close across the country.
Bill Renner cooks pancakes for a takeout order placed by a customer over the phone. Due to COVID-19, Bill & Mary’s Diner went to takeout only March 16.
Renner has been trying to stay afloat with takeout orders. Many of the restaurant’s regular customers have been calling to order takeout. Renner’s brother, Tom Renner, came in on his day off to help take orders for pickup. “They’re just taking it a day at time,” he said.
On March 27, President Donald Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act. The CARES Act contains $2 trillion in relief for American workers and small businesses, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury website.
Renner is one of millions of Americans who have applied for relief. The process has not been smooth. There were many issues with submitting the application, he said. He is still waiting to receive the money.
The last time his business lost revenue like this is when Main Street was closed for construction in 2013. He had to take out a small business loan that he is still paying back. He doesn’t want to have to pay on two loans, he said, to incur more debt.
“My biggest fear and concerns are not only the economics, but I’m concerned when we do get back in business, I’m going to lose a percentage of my past employees,” Renner said. His employees have been with him a long time, he said, and they are reliable.
Hourly support was laid off, but a few high school and college age students are still employed. The restaurant hours are limited to four hours a day to accommodate takeout orders.
The Department of Job and Family Services reported over 271,000 Ohioans were receiving unemployment during the first four weeks of businesses being closed.
“As far as the hourly support staff … I don’t know what they’ve done individually as far as applying for the benefits, but I’m assuming they all have … we’re just … trying to mom and pop it right now … we’re hoping to hang on,” Renner said.
How to find the right internship
Published in KentWired
It's time to start applying for summer internships. Emails come through your inbox every day with new opportunities and just by the click of a button, the application process begins. With the scroll of the mouse, you fill out your name, address, birthday, career goals, and so on.
Cover letter, resume and portfolio are pulled from your computer and attached to the application. The only thing left to do is hit send and wait for a response.
A prolonged delay happens before your finger reaches across the screen to hit submit. A magnifying thought glares in your mind: Are you sure this is the right internship? Does it reflect your career goals and promise you a job after graduation?
Backspace. Delete. Start over.
How do you figure out what internship is right for you? With so many options - paid, unpaid, local, out of state – it can be an overwhelming experience. The pandemic has brought a set a new challenges to find what you’re looking for. College students deal with enough stress trying to balance jobs, attend classes and social distance from friends. Students have four years to build an exceptional resume that stands out from their peers. If every single moment counts, how do you know if you’re making the right decision?
College students across the United States use Handshake; the number one site for young professionals to find jobs and internships. While the pandemic is underway, 48% of students are concerned about finding a job when they graduate and 64% of students think the best way to know which employers are still hiring during this unprecedented time is to share which jobs and internships are available, according to a recent survey from Handshake. Handshake created a list of 500 companies, including dozens of Fortune 500 companies, hiring students right now. In-demand companies across all 50 states and industries range from A-Z by company name on the list.
But not all students use Handshake to find internships. A variety of other methods are used to find the company they want to work for.
One Kent State student used Google.
Looking to expand her resume outside of Kent State employment and organizations, KentWired copy editor and senior English major Summer Corson searched on Google. “I wanted to gain outside experience at an organization that wasn’t necessarily tied to Kent State so that’s why I decided to go onto Google … so my resume didn’t just say Kent State University.”
Eric van Baars, associate professor and director of the school of theatre and dance said the number one-way students find their internships is networking through friends.
“Looking within your own network of who’s worked there, getting recommendations and researching them online; social media is a big part of that … before applying and committing.”
A program director said she works with students directly to tailor their interests.
“We have a site directory that is distributed to students and they use that to determine which organizations they would like to pursue,” said Kathleen Bergh, program director of nonprofit studies.
Students are also encouraged to attend the Career & Internship Fair held each semester, Bergh said.
Career-related events are listed on Kent State’s website under Career Exploration & Development. Events, such as career fairs, give students the opportunity to talk with employers looking to hire interns. Career ready resources are also listed on the site for students to prepare for the big day. Virtual drop-in sessions are a way for students to get help with questions about majors and careers, resume and cover letter critiques, navigating Handshake, increasing networking skills and learning interviewing tips, according to the website.
A graphic to show where to find an internship.
Corson’s internship was not only posted on Google, but she found it on a virtual career fair through Kent State and LinkedIn. Virtual drop-in sessions help students create a cutting-edge resume so they can stand out from other applicants.
Before you begin a search for an internship that fits your needs, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. Indeed, an employment-related search engine for job listings, explains how to set internship goals. They offer four steps:
Define what you are passionate about
Think about the overall goal of your internship
Set measurable goals
Write down your goals
Students can schedule an appointment with a career advisor to discuss their goals under the Career & Development section of Kent State’s website.
Corson had specific goals when looking for an internship: editing blogs and websites. Understanding what kind of experience she wanted to gain from an internship helped narrow her search and apply for specific positions. But you might need to look a little further she says.
“It’s really helpful to look at the description in order to see if the internship will meet any goals that you have because sometimes the title is just so broad … it just said business and marketing. It didn’t say website intern.”
She currently interns at Empowered and Poised, a nonprofit organization in Cleveland where she works on the company’s website and edits the blog.