Volume 73

Dear Pollenites,

Thank you to everyone who has sent in jobs, updates about members, new events, and inspiring articles. Volume 73 is overflowing with resources to help keep our community connected and growing.

This issue features an inspiring story with 15-year-old Abigail Harrison—daughter to Pollenite Nicole Harrison. Abby, well-known as Astronaut Abby, dreams to become the first astronaut to land on Mars. No matter who you are, how accomplished your career, or your age, Abby's ambition and positive attitude will jolt your heart and mind into action. 

Help us make Volume 74 the best it can be by sending in job openings, your successes, events, and articles from around the web by April 28. 

Best,

Lars

Table of Contents

Meet The First Astronaut To Land On Mars

By Jamie Millard and Meghan Murphy

Most childhood dreams are fleeting—a year planning to be a teacher, a week seriously considering being a firefighter, a decade of saying “I’m gonna be a police officer!” Abigail Harrison’s dedication to becoming an astronaut, however, is unparalleled. 

Astronaut Abby, daughter of Pollenite Nicole Harrison, has been working toward her dream of becoming an astronaut since before she knew her ABCs. The last three years have been dedicated to establishing herself in the space community, attending space camp and STS 134 Endeavour launch and more. Abby’s now in the middle of a massive crowdsource funding campaign so that she can attend a legendary Russian Soyuz Launch and go on an eight-month outreach initiative inspiring kids and adults across the world about space.

Read the young star-gazer’s insights on hopes and failures as she pursues a dream.

As a child, I always knew I wanted to be a scientist. I was especially interested in astronomy and astrophysics. As I got older, I was inspired by science fiction novels of space travel and began to dream. It seemed like a logical jump to take my passion for the cosmos and follow it to the source.

A chance meeting with Astronaut Luca Parmitano in an Orlando airport as my mom and I were leaving the STS 134 Endeavour launch in Florida lead to him becoming my mentor. My mom jokingly said “look Abby now you have your very own astronaut.” And Luca said very seriously “yes, yes Abby you do have your own astronaut. I will mentor you now and someday I will train you for your mission to Mars.”

Time has been the most difficult aspect of pursuing my dream. As a high school student, it seems like there’s never enough time for everything I want to do. As I become more entrenched in pursuing my goals, I seem to have less and less time on my hands. Finding a delicate balance between school, sports, and dreaming has been a challenge.

I always knew I wanted to be a scientist. I was especially interested in astronomy and astrophysics. As I got older, I was inspired by science fiction novels of space travel and began to dream. It seemed like a logical jump- to take my passion for the cosmos and follow it to the source. 

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Volume 73: Props

Morgan Kinross-Wright

• Kinross-Wright named Executive Director of Corporate and Alumni Relations for the Carlson School of Management at UMN.

2012-13 Common Grounds Cohort

• 2012-13 Common Grounds Cohort on their successful project completions.

Wilder Foundation Kingston Fellows

• Find out more about the Wilder Foundation Kingston Fellows.

Sona Mehring

• Pollenite Sona Mehring (founder, CaringBridge.org) on announcing her run for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District.

2013 Rising Alumni

• 2013 Rising Alumni in UMN's College of Education and Human Development.

David Brauer

• Pollenite David Brauer (of MinnPost.com) shares with TPT's Almanac on his return to the classroom at UMN.

Lisa Lewis 

• Lewis named new President and CEO of U of MN Alumni Association (search conducted by Pollenite Dr. Marcia Ballinger of KeyStone Search).

2013 "Women in Business" Award Winners

• 2013 "Women in Business" Award Winners announced by Mpls St. Paul Business Journal includes several Pollenites: Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Sharon Bloodworth, Sarah Caruso, Emy Johnson, Kim Keprios, Jenni Lilledahl, Marnie Ochs-Raleigh, Sandy Vargas and Sri Zaheer.  

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Volume 73: Openings

Jobs 

• Minnesota Council on Foundations — President
  via Marcia Ballinger
• College Possible — Communications Manager
  via Lars Leafblad
• People Incorporated Mental Health Services — Grants Manager/Writer
  via Ember RJ
• Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies — Program Assistant
  via Cathy Schmidt
• Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (MOFAS) — Training Manager
  via Jennifer Stieve
• Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (MOFAS) — Family Resource Coordinator
  via Jennifer Stieve

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Volume 73: Events

April 15

What’s Up? Events Series

Lutman & Associates is kicking off a new event series to share great people and ideas with the community. The first event will take place at The Happy Gnome and feature Stanford Thompson, the dynamic founder of Play On Philly!, a daily music education programming involving hundreds of low-income Philadelphia youth.

EDTalks: Restorative Justice + A Reporter's Take on Education

EDTalks April event will feature 20-minute presentations by former Minnesota Vikings player and businessman Oscar Reed on restorative justice practices and MinnPost reporter Beth Hawkins on education and public policy. The talks are free and open to the public.

April 17

Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Meeting

SPACC’s April Membership Meeting will feature a keynote address from Dale Konetschka, General Manager of Gertens, on how his passion for gardening "stemmed" into a successful career. This event is open to both members and non-members. 

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Volume 73: Inspiration

• Pollenite and manager of the Bush Foundation's Bush Fellowship program, Martha Lee, shares insights on the program with Pollenite Lars Leafblad.
• Pollenite Eileen Smith shares Minnesotans' new source for personalized information on health care reform. Myhealthcarefuture.org is an online tool for consumers seeking information about how health care reform may affect them personally.
• Pollenite and Bush Foundation president Jen Reedy shares insights on learning from experimentation and update on future of InCommons in this blog post.
• Daniel H. Pink interviews Adam Grant, author of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success on his blog.

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