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Andrew Green - Exploring New Technology

3/22/2021

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If you know me, it won't come as a surprise that I don't like writing these blogs. I don't like writing in general, and I especially don't like writing about myself. So, it occurred to me that maybe I shouldn't. 
 
In 2019, OpenAI, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research lab, released Generative Pre-trained Transformer 2 (GPT-2) which can generate text almost on the level where it's indistinguishable from something written by a human. Without going into too much detail, mostly because I don't know what I'm talking about, GPT-2 uses a deep artificial neural network pre-trained on a dataset of 8 million web pages to predict the next word in a string of text. I took their 1.5 billion parameter model and finetuned it by feeding it 353 blogs written by MNA VISTAs since 2014. The hope was to be able to have it generate my entire blog post, but considering that I am writing this introduction now, it shouldn't come as a surprise that GPT-2 didn't quite hit the mark: 
 
"Hello everyone! This has been a wild and crazy year. Since February, I have been involved in events, volunteer projects, and community initiatives. One of the biggest events that I have been a part of is Friends In Deed’s Taco Cook-off. The event, held on MLK Day, is the culmination of Friends In Deed’s commitment to offering everyone a free taco..." 
 
A Taco Cook-off? Even pre-pandemic that's pretty outlandish. Let's try this again:
 
"Hi everybody! It's me, Andrew Green, serving with Friends In Deed. I have been serving here now for a few months, and I’m so excited to see what the next few months hold for Friends In Deed!" 
 
That's very concise, and I'm pretty sure Mara said this has to be at least 300 words. Maybe third time's the charm? 
 
"Hello again everyone! I am Ashley Shaker, a second-year AmeriCorps VISTA serving at Capital Area College Access Network, Alcona Community Schools, and Capital Area Nonprofit. It is hard to believe that we are nearly ten months into our year of service! It has been an incredible, frustrating, but definitely rewarding journey. I feel more energized, excited, committed, and confident than ever, and I feel like I am making positive change for the community. I am excited to see my VISTA year continue to unfold, to help more people, to build more sustainable partnerships, to be an active member of the community, and to start another year of service!" 
 
If you're going to make up a nonprofit, can't you come up with a better name than Capital Area Nonprofit? And who's Ashley Shaker? Do I look like an Ashley Shaker? 
 
Well, so much for that. But in a way, this experience has captured some of what I've been doing at Friends In Deed: exploring new tools and platforms, automating workflows, and just generally improving processes with technology. It's even managed to capture how greatly I tend to underestimate the time it will take me to do something (I spent far too long tweaking GPT-2) and how easily I fall prey to tunnel vision (I really wanted this to work). Still, even if it would have been easier and quicker to just write the blog myself, I don't regret the time I spent exploring GPT-2. The experience had value in itself. It was fun, interesting, and not least of all enlightening. And I guess I feel similarly about my time at Friends In Deed. Even when it's challenging or frustrating, there's always value in the experience itself. 
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Andrew Green - A Friend Indeed

9/18/2020

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​There's a peaceful sort of quiet that catches you at first. Stone steeples and small rooves poking out over the canopy of rolling tree-covered hills—it almost feels unreal, certainly anachronistic, but turning around to face again the sprawling gray city pulls you right back.

Walking over to the edge, fourteen stories of air muffling the crowd assembled below, you're struck not by how small everyone seems but how clearly you can still see them. The cheerful faces of friends and co-workers as they await your descent are so plain to see from up here. 

Heart racing, fighting every instinct, but confident your rigging is secure, you lean back over the ledge and gently fall down into your harness—transformed into a human pendulum. Tethered, of course, but freer than you've ever felt.

These past thirteen months with Friends In Deed have challenged, inspired, and changed me in ways I could never have imagined. I can hardly express how lucky I am to have been rewarded with this ceaseless stream of new experiences. And surprisingly, as I think back on it now, what stands out most aren't the obvious things—the events, fundraisers, projects—but instead the subtle things—the way people greet each other in the morning, the funny way we start every staff meeting by sharing something good that's happened in our lives, or just the inherent compassion behind every small little gesture of kindness.

You see, when I started my first year of service, I could have probably been described as a recluse or even a misanthrope. I'd dream of an isolated hermitage in a nondescript rural setting where I could reflect on how I, thankfully, have very little in common with Ted Kaczynski. But spending several months with people dedicated to building community has really given me a new appreciation—a new appreciation for people.

I don't want to offer anyone advice. I don't think I'm in any position to give it, but I can speak to what this experience has meant to me and say, I wish I had been more open from the start. You will do things you've never done before. Hell, you may even go rappelling down the side of a fourteen-story building. It may be exciting, frustrating, or even intimidating at times, but please be assured, no matter where your service takes you, your rigging is secure; you're not going to fall.
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South-western view from atop the Graduate Ann Arbor during Friends In Deed's Over The Edge event on Saturday, September 5th.

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Andrew Green- Tales of an IT Turf War

11/4/2019

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“It’s been fifty-five days since patient zero was first exposed to the N1G6 virus. Thirty-four days since Beijing's quarantine broke. Twenty-one days since London fell, thirteen days for New York. Eight days ago the purges stopped. Five days ago the fires finally died out. For three days, we’ve been without food, and two days we’ve managed without ammunition. Yesterday two of them got in, so today, we have to move. Who would’ve guessed the world could fall apart so quickly?”
 
Hi, I’m Andrew Green, a first-year AmeriCorps VISTA serving at Friends In Deed in Ypsilanti, and that was part of a story for a Dungeons & Dragons one-off I’m mulling over. You see, you’ve got to be very careful with what you joke about at Friends In Deed. I jokingly suggested we start an office-wide D&D campaign, and now, somehow, I’m expected to DM a session. Of course, this isn't at all part of my VISTA work. I mean, I’d have a pretty hard time figuring out where this could possibly fit under my VAD. But how can I pass up this golden opportunity to introduce more people to the joys of table-top roleplaying?
 
Now, I don't want to give you the impression that Friends In Deed is all fun and games. That's certainly not the case. It's been working in Washtenaw County for over thirty-five years to help people in crisis and operates three programs: furniture, direct assistance, and Circles—each striving to address a different element of poverty. But that doesn't mean we don't try to fit in some team-building.
 
Anyway, I know you guys didn’t come here to read about all that. You came for the “Tales of an IT Turf War.” Well, unfortunately, I was being just a tad bit dramatic when I wrote that title. You see, part of what I'm doing at Friends In Deed is helping them make decisions to improve their IT infrastructure. Sometimes that involves making recommendations, and sometimes those recommendations run counter to those suggested by their IT support. But has all this triggered an epic clash of egos between their IT and me? No, not at all. At the end of the day, we’re both just trying to do what’s best for Friends In Deed, so there isn’t much room for conflict. I'm sorry to have disappointed you.
 
On a more serious note, I've been learning a lot at Friends In Deed. Every day, I'm amazed by the determination of the staff and volunteers to improve the lives of the people of this community. They're unshakable. If only I could learn to produce even a fraction of their force of will in myself, then maybe Meridith wouldn't have to wait a week after it was due for me to send in my blog entry.
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    Dimitar Jakimovski
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    Ebone' Worthey
    Elizabeth Flanagan
    Emily Swearinger
    Emma Gregory
    Erik Krieger
    Ethan Daley
    Ethan Duffield
    Gabriela Sullen
    Hakeem Weatherspoon
    Hope Dokho
    Jackie Hubbard
    Jack Wong
    Jacob Pollock
    Jake Jermac
    Jarrell Brackett
    Javier Jimenez
    Jaylen Harris
    Jeanette Devito
    Jennifer Burger
    Jennifer Musser
    Jernard Collins
    Jessica Ayoub
    Jessica Foster
    Jim Southard
    Jordan Crandell
    Jordan Meeth
    Jordyn Appel
    June LaVernway
    June Urdy
    Junia Scartezini
    Kaitlyn-dougherty
    Karly-koggenhop
    Kat DeRemer
    Katelyn Kovalik
    Kay Davis
    Kelly Williams
    Kevin Cunningham
    Kim Ellerthorpe
    Kurtis Edwards
    Kye Bright
    Kyra Smith
    La'Shawnda Mansfield
    LaToya Dirrell
    Lauren Raycraft
    Lauren Zlotecki
    Lee Xiong
    Leslie Warren
    Lindsay Regalado
    Loreal Burnett
    Maddie Poindexter
    Madeline Kahl
    Makayla Whitney
    Malina Clements
    Mara Hazen
    Marcella Fox
    Marc Tyler
    Marisa Tear
    Marissa Relitz
    Marlee Schilbe
    Mary Bryson
    Mary Rose
    Matt Sehrsweeney
    Maya Faison
    Megan Lendman
    Megan Rochlitz
    Meghan Thorndike
    Meg McElhone
    Melissa Gonzalez
    Meridith Murley
    Mia Mahanery
    Mia Mahaney
    Missy Wright
    Mitchell Emery
    Mitch Port
    Molly Swisher
    Morgan Benham
    Naomi Coleman
    Natalie Boag
    Neil Anderson
    Nicole Justian
    Pam Ill
    Pat Brewer
    Phaedra Wainaina
    Rachel Blomer
    Rachel D'Alio
    Rachelle Rice
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    Rita Hockemeyer
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    Sean Mattice
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    Sheena Threatt
    Shelby Smith
    Sheryl Zukowski
    Sophia Mackoul
    Spenser Warren
    Stacey Johnson
    Stephanie Awalt
    Stephanie Muringer
    Suzanne Melin
    Tessa Wiles
    Treandra Thomas
    Treya Swords
    Trish Sanders
    Tyler Augst
    Walker Kelly
    Zekiye Salman

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  • About
    • AmeriCorps VISTA
    • Contact
    • FAQs
  • Blogs
    • Blogs
    • Blog Schedule
  • VISTA Resources
    • Program Calendar
    • Important Documents
    • VISTA Toolkits
    • Program Webinars
  • Supervisor Resources
    • 2018 Supervisors' Orientation
    • 2018 Recruitment Webinar
    • 2019 Supervisors' Orientation
    • 2020 Supervisor Orientation
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Photo Gallery