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On Friday, June 5th, we celebrated the 12 remarkable Fellows who graduated from our 9-month experience-based leadership program in public affairs.  More than 50 people attended the graduation festivities at the new Spoke Bicycle Cafe in Frogtown (or Elysian Valley) located along the LA River.  The afternoon event was an intimate time shared with family, friends, placement supervisors, board members, and staff.  Each of the Fellows took a moment to reflect on his or her passage of self-discovery and honor those that mentored and guided along the way.

“I felt so honored to share our reflections and experiences with friends, family, and mentors, and to celebrate our journey with them. This experience was life-changing, and I know I’ve only just begun to understand the ways in which we have all grown.” – Ellen Riotto (FPPA ’15)

The late John Greenwood, and former executive director of Coro Southern California, once said, “The Coro graduation is an unusual event, compared to most graduations. If we have been successful this year, we have really messed up your life.”

John was right.

Coro Fellows are predisposed to investigating every possible angle of a problem and involving those with whom they disagree in developing a solution.  It’s hard work.  These last nine months have trained the Fellows to actively listen to other points of view and work on solutions together.

As John said to graduating Fellows in 2011, “Because of this program you will be poised to resolve issues that are currently frustrating public affairs–the need is greater than ever; because of this program your life will forever, subtly, be changed. The program is over but your life in public affairs is just beginning.”

Video courtesy of Tran Le (FPPA ’15)

[button link=”https://www.corola.org/fellowship/” color=”lightblue”] Learn more about the Coro Fellows Program[/button]