Harris Voices: Abin Kuriakose, CLA'18, on Chicago, Delhi, and Building Connections

As a part of Harris Public Policy's and the Center for Effective Government’s celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Civic Leadership Academy (CLA), we asked previous fellows how CLA has impacted their work as civic leaders. These are their opinions and perspectives, informed by their own life experiences and worldviews (and do not necessarily reflect the views of Harris).

As the son of Indian immigrants, trips to India was always a family thing. But I never imagined my entire CLA Class of 2018 would join me on a flight to Delhi.

I had the privilege to join my peers for our global practicum at UChicago’s Center in Delhi, a university academic center in South Asia. From March 2 to 9, 2018, I joined my peers for a life-changing experience that we still talk about today. During our time in Delhi, we met with public policy experts, social and civic rights activists, visited non-profits and NGO, experienced the incredible cuisines of north India, and explored one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 15 million. Yet amidst the hustle and bustle, what truly resonated was how our experiences in Delhi illuminated the essence of Chicago.

From the long flights to bus rides to just waiting in the lobby: each of my peers got to know each other through long, complex conversations about our work, to simple questions like “what neighborhood in Chicago did you grow up in?” My best memories were all the wonderful insights and perspectives from my peers who I had absolutely no connection with before we started CLA. It’s all an important lesson when it comes to be a civic scholar: yes, we can learn so much in the classroom and the lecture. But some of our most important learnings are from the lived experiences of peers.

Civic leadership is both an art and science. Sometimes there might be a playbook, but there absolutely no textbook. What we discovered in Delhi was an unexpected unity with the opportunities and challenges faced in Chicago: racism and casteism, poverty and underinvestment in communities, access to eduction, and more. There was a unity in our collective desire to make a difference: regardless if you’re born and raised in Delhi and Chicago, we both want the world to be most just, more inclusive, and more peaceful. While in India, we experienced the radical power of activism, the genius behind smart public policy, and the creativeness in being in a congested and dense urban environment. All of this reminding us how things work back home, the beauty of what Chicago has to offer, and a humbling of how more we need to accomplish as a city.

 "Think global, act local" ceased to be a mere slogan; it became a guiding principle etched into the fabric of our civic ethos. But I really felt this everyday during my time in Delhi, and something I’ve come to enshrine in my personal values as a civic leader empowered by my time with CLA. In surprising ways, CLA strengthened my ability to connect and work with people across Chicago–and all around the world–regardless of our backgrounds. CLA elevated my mind to appreciate the global, so I can be the civic leader that the local deserves and needs.