IBM has a great program in which they send about 500 employees every
year into emerging markets across the world to assist local NGOs and
governments develop and bring to fruition projects that will help the
organizations further advance their objectives. It's called Corporate
Service Corps.
There is a high standard for getting in.
The application process includes three essay questions that can be
pretty personal in their nature - depending on how you choose to answer
them and how vulnerable you are willing to make yourself. I don't know
how many people apply for it annually, but only about 10% of those who
apply get selected. I applied in 2014 and did not make the cut. I
applied in 2016 and was ecstatic when I received my "Congratulations!
You made it!" email.
If I recall correctly,
applications had to be turned in sometime in April. I don't remember
what the essay questions were, but I wrote pretty soul-bearing responses
to them and I thought that level of sharing would either make or break
my being considered for the program. Apparently, soul-bearing way okay.
In
early August Steve and I were getting ready to begin a week of vacation
in New York. I had been working for the day out of a hotel room in St.
Louis while Steve attended a conference. I was just about to sign off of
my computer for the week when I received my acceptance email. I
immediately started crying. Of course Steve was quite concerned and I
had to assure him they were happy tears.
Move forward
11 months and I finally got my assignment - Team Indonesia 8. I was
informed I would be going with 12 other IBMers from 11 countries as part
of the eighth team to make an impact in Indonesia. We would be going in
October and would spend four weeks in Solo City (Surakarta).
In
July October seemed a long way off. However, the team has been doing a
lot of pre-work and between the weekly calls, individual studying and
getting my visa application in the mail (finally!) we are now just about
a month away from being in-country.
I've yet to know
what my specific assignment will be and I'm eager to find out both that
and what sub-team I will be working with.
I'll be
maintaining this blog for the next 2-3 months with the final weeks of
pre-work, updates while we are in-country working on our assignments and
showing final results once our work is complete.
Stay tuned for what is sure to be the adventure of a lifetime!
Find out more about IBM Corporate Service Corps.
#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8
