I should start with my solid handshake and 30 second pitch- hello, my name is Antoinette Davis and I am a 2009 YP4 Fellow. My blueprint involves using technology to communicate and engage the citizens of Pittsburgh and particularly college students in political matters and social issues.

I was accepted for the fellowship and then school and work took over my life. Weeks later, I realized the Summit was in less than month.

Needless to say, I was just you know, a little nervous (or you could say a lot.)
To start off, I didn’t even know the other girls from my school (over 14,000 students), so I couldn’t go in with any preconceptions or comfort zones. I knew one of the senior fellows, but they were so busy anyway and I really wanted to branch out. From looking through the present and previous fellowship classes though, it’s difficult not to get overwhelmed or feel like an underachiever.

But despite my lack of megaphone activism experience and the anxious “moving to a new school” feeling, I felt comfortable quite easily (even if all the butterflies hadn’t subsided initially.) I was greeted with a warm smile, a canvas bag of goodies, and instantaneous friendships on the elevator.

The opening night was filled with introductions, motivational speeches, and just a sample of what was to come.The next couple days went by so quickly. From breakfast to the closing reflection, there was so much to do and so much information to take in. I got to know so many wonderful people (including the ladies from my campus) and got to learn incredibly useful skills (power mapping, making myself sound coherant when expressing my ideas, developing my skills in "coffee-FACE!".)

(Oh and by the way, we’re overtaking over the University of Pittsburgh…then the world! Woo!)

The best part of the Summit was the accepting atmosphere and generally good vibes. Everyone had good input and a lot to offer. I was especially interested in hearing about issues I don’t see a lot of on a day-to-day basis like Native American issues (I urge everyone checks out what is going on in the reservations in our country) and immigration/documentation concerns (living in western PA doesn’t permit too much in the way of border discussion).

These past six or so months- from fellowship nomination to the Summit- have been a complete whirlwind. The Summit was the most jam packed four days of my life, but it was wonderful (brain sex!!) and really has me thinking about my blueprint. The next couple days are catch-up on schoolwork days and then I’ll be looking ahead to finalizing my ideas.

The good times are continuing and hard work is only beginning.

Take care and eat your seasonal and locally grown vegetables!

<3antoinette.marie