My First Two Weeks at Maxwell Street Community Garden

Written by Betsy Yamile Bejarano

When I first joined Maxwell Street Community Garden through Northwestern University’s Engage Chicago program, I expected to spend my summer supporting a local nonprofit from 9-5. What I didn’t expect was how much I underestimated the time, work, collaboration, and care that goes into building a strong community that extends beyond 8 hours three times a week. 

Engage Chicago is an immersive summer program that combines classroom learning with a part-time internship at community organizations across Chicago. Once a week during class, we explore topics like community development, social change, and dive deep into Chicago’s neighborhoods. The knowledge we gain provides us with a unique perspective. Living in downtown Chicago has also been a unique, and exciting part of the program. As a First generation Northwestern engineering student, I find myself busy with difficult course works, lots of assignments, engineering labs, design projects, and meetings related to events organized by student clubs and committees during my days. Due to this fact, being able to spend my summer in Chicago has become quite an important experience for me. This internship has given me a chance to see Chicago in a different light due to getting to know its neighborhoods, meeting residents, and witnessing how such community organizations as Maxwell Street Community Garden work on connecting people.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Maxwell Street Community Garden, an organization whose mission extends beyond running a community garden. The garden promotes healthy eating, environmental education, and the importance of a strong community connection through its events and partnership with other non-profits in the Little Italy area. One of the things that has stood out to me is the variety of work that happens behind the scenes. Working closely with Marsha, President of the garden, I recognize that even though I clock out of work at 5 PM, she doesn’t. I enjoy designing flyers and promoting upcoming events for community members, but for Marsha and other members on the board, the work doesn't stop there.

Watching that level of dedication has given me a new perspective on what it means to lead a non-profit. I'm beginning to understand the hours of planning, communication, and the behind-the-scenes work that makes those moments possible.  I appreciate not only the work that goes into keeping the organization running, but also the passion that is required to build one that truly does support its community. As someone studying engineering, which often focuses on solving technical problems, I now have a broad view of the world outside the classroom. Not only do we need to spend as much time and effort to create a better community as would on any other project, but I now really do see the effort that goes into making something like that possible. 

Although I still have more than five weeks left of my internship, I've already learned so much about dedication and the importance of community engagement. I'm excited to continue learning throughout the rest of the summer, contribute to upcoming events, and see firsthand how community-centered work creates lasting impact, as well as admiring the flowers that bloom throughout the summer in the garden. I'm grateful to both Engage Chicago and MSCG for providing an opportunity to learn not only about the city of Chicago, but also about the people and organizations working every day to make it stronger.