Alt CV for DS106 daily create and MyFest22

A couple of things came together today in a way that was just too wonderful to pass up! As noted in an earlier blog post, I’m participating in MyFest 2022 for the next three months, and as part of that a number of folks are participating in the DS106 Daily Create activities.

Today’s Daily Create is to “Introduce yourself with a creative alternative CV”–“something more creative than an dry traditional CV.”

Also, Maha Bali, one of the organizers of MyFest, published a blog post today about a session she recently attended about finding joy at work, led by Kathleen Vinson. As part of the session, participants reflected on three questions:

• What do you volunteer for, happily?
• What do you do well?
• Where do you have flow?

These two things (the daily create and Maha’s blog post) seemed to me to mesh well together, so I’m going to do the former by providing my own reflections on the questions in the latter.

Alt-CV, infographic

Here is my Alt-CV in infographic form, created with Venngage. Because I have the free account all I can do is take a screenshot! Please see below for a text-only version.

Alt-CV, text version

Christina Hendricks, Alt-CV for #MyFest22, June 2022

What do you volunteer for gladly?

• Opportunities to work with others on projects that we all care deeply about
• Activities where I can meet new people and share ideas and learning
• Ways in which what I know and can do can significantly contribute to meaningful work, especially in collaboration with others

What do you do well?

• Working with others to turn ideas into implementations
• Collecting multiple thoughts, resources, and feedback and creating clear reports and plans from them
• Translating abstract ideas and concepts in ways many can understand

Where do you have flow?

Brief reflections

These bullets are what I think today…I can imagine that I might give different answers at different times. And others may have different ideas on what I do well! It’s quite possible I think I am good at something and others might not quite agree, or might think I’m better at other things.

Also, one thing I notice in the above is that many things I am excited about have to do with working with others–e.g., all three bullets under the first question, plus the second bullet under the second question (I like to collect thoughts and ideas from many people and put them together into something coherent). And yet I also know that I really enjoy and (I think I am) good at doing a fair amount of solo work, including writing on my own and preparing on my own for teaching or workshops. I need some quiet time for that independent work, but I actually really thrive and enjoy most when I am connecting with other people.

Which is partly why I’m so excited about MyFest 2022–it’s only been a few days and already I feel I’m connecting more with others, including some I have never met before, through both synchronous and asynchronous activities.

MyFest community building

One thing I have appreciated so far in MyFest is a community building kick off session last week, in which Maha Bali and Mia Zamora engaged participants in multiple liberating structures and other activities that invited us to meet a number of people. We also went through an appreciative interview in triads to have discussions on our experiences of welcoming and inclusive spaces, as a way to think about how to continue to build those throughout the next three months.

Among other things, our group talked about being in spaces or activities in which someone else made a particular effort to welcome you, to provide information where you may not follow the conversation due to it relying on background or previous knowledge you may not have, and to introduce you to others. We also talked about how it’s very welcoming and affirming when people reach out to you to participate in something, or to share with others, due to them recognizing the knowledge, expertise, experience, or perspectives you bring to an activity or project.

Reflecting on what makes for a welcoming and inclusive space was really helpful for setting the tone for all of us to consider how to support such spaces during MyFest. And a common refrain in the session was that that session itself, and MyFest so far, has felt to many in the virtual room as a very welcoming and supportive space!

A few things I have appreciated specifically over recent days in MyFest include:

• Providing slides and other information about the overall plan for the community building session in advance, so people can know what to expect and decide how they want to participate.
• Providing opportunities for people to participate in multiple ways, both synchronously and asynchronously, as fits their schedule and interests. There is as much happening asynchronously as synchronously, which allows folks to participate in pockets when they can.
• Providing an email at the beginning of the week with links to register for the sessions for the week, and a roundup of some of the activities in the previous week.
• Shout outs and encouraging responses to what people are doing and contributing, in Slack and on Twitter.
• and more I’m sure I’ll think of later!

I want to echo what Samantha Veneruso said the other day on Twitter:

Just wanted to say how appreciative I am for all the hard work and responsiveness that you all are putting into #MYfest22.

I couldn’t agree more! Thank you so much to all the organizers, facilitators, and participants for making MyFest a fantastic experience so far. Looking forward to the coming weeks and months!