Excerpt from Interview with Joseph Awinongya

How did you meet your husband?

After I finished law school, I moved back to Chicago and took a job as an associate at a corporate law firm. Barack was a first year law student - and came to the firm as a summer
associate. We met when I was assigned to be his advisor, and I had to
take him to lunch on his first day.

What do you think it was that brought the two of you together?     

 I knew I liked him. He was smart, he was funny and of course he was cute.

And as we talked at lunch that first day I realized we had a lot in common.
Although we had very different upbringings - mine on the south side of
Chicago and his was all over the world - we were raised with the same
core set of, what I call, commonsense values.

And I thought there was something particularly interesting about a man
who went to Harvard Law - first African American president of the
Harvard Law review - but he didn’t use this experience to go somewhere
to cash out. He instead chose to make change - so he went into the
communities - working with real people on the ground. I was impressed
with him. And then he took me to a community organizing training one
day where he talked to a room full of people - grandparents raising
grandchildren, folks who’d shown up because they needed guidance to
create a better life for themselves…and he spoke about the world as it
is, and the world as it should be, and how the job of community
organizing is to bridge the two, and what he was saying was really
resonated with the group gathered there, and it really inspired me, and
it was there that I realized I could fall in love with him.

How can women balance a career and the ability to be strong for their
families?

 As I travel across the country, I encourage women to be strong                                            and supportive of one another, and I encourage them to not be
afraid to ask for help - from their spouses, their communities, their
friends and families. My ability to get through my day is greatly
dependent upon the relationships that I have with other women-my mother,
my aunts, my girlfriends, my neighbors, the mothers in my children’s
schools. I have this wonderful network of women where we rely upon one
another for emotional and practical support. In these women, I find a
place of comfort and sanity and peace like no other. We ground one
another; we listen to one another’s problems, free to tell one another
the truth about when we are being unreasonable or stubborn or foolish or
blind; we encourage one another’s relationships; we support one another
in our work; we share family holidays together; swap recipes; share
childrearing advice. It is a true community, and I am blessed to have
such a big community - one that includes many wonderful and supportive
men, the most important of whom is my husband who I value, cherish and
respect. But, it also is one that is highly populated by women; strong
women. We also need to take care of ourselves - both physically and
mentally - because if we don’t eat right, exercise and give ourselves a
break to be on point mentally, we won’t be able to give others - our
kids, our families and our friends - the support they need.

Can you tell us a bit about Public Allies and the organization’s role in
the community?

Public Allies is a program that’s designed to help young
adults pursue careers in public service. We all see certain professions
around us - doctors, lawyers, firefighters, police officers - and there
are clear paths to pursue these careers. But what about those of us
interested in pursuing non-traditional jobs - who are interested in
serving communities like the one I grew up in on the south side of
Chicago? Where can they go to get involved in helping others? Those
career paths are less clear, yet those communities are in great need -
and Public Allies helps facilitate those partnerships - helping to place
people in communities where they can work on the ground and be helpful
to folks day to day. In 1993 I became the founding executive director
of the Chicago office of Public Allies. My program was one of the first
programs in the country to get AmeriCorps national service funding, and
I’m very proud of the work we did when I was there and the work the
group continues to do.

What do you feel is your key achievement as Vice President of Community
and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center?

 I have focused from the start of my time at the U of C on helping the Hospitals
and the surrounding community work better together. The reality when I
started was there was an incredible disconnect between the University of
Chicago - this great resource - and the surrounding community on the
South Side of Chicago. I hoped to bring a unique perspective to bridge
the gap between the two because - both from my upbringing on the South
Side understanding the value of the hospital, and from my experience at
institutions like the U of C - I have a thorough understanding of, and I
think credibility on, on both sides. And that’s what first drew me to
work there. And I hope my efforts have made a difference in bridging
that gap.

How can one become more connected to kids in general?

Barack and I are very active parents - we read to our girls at night, play with them
outside, and Barack even recently structured his campaign travel to be
sure he was home for the girls’ parent teacher conference. It’s about
respect for each other and for our kids, and care and involvement in
their lives.

How can women encourage their husbands to be supportive of their
careers?

 Our marriage is a partnership - filled with mutual love and
respect. Barack sees my efforts to balance family and work, and he
respects and appreciates it, in large part because he was surrounded by
strong women growing up who he saw doing the same thing. Our balance of
family, the campaign, and my career is not unique - I think families are
dealing with balancing so much in life everyday, but the key is to
encourage each other and seek support from your family and friends.

What are some life skills or principles that you believe are important
to share with your own children?

I have learned the importance of using common sense, thoughtfulness and empathy from my mom. We are grounded in what I call common sense Midwestern values - that you treat others
with respect, that your word is your bond. And I married Barack because
I saw he shared these values - through his upbringing being raised by
his mom and her family from Kansas. We all share these lessons with our
children - Malia, who turned 9 on the fourth of July, and Sasha, who
turned 6 earlier this summer.

We have a responsibility to model good and healthy relationships for our
sons and daughters. If we don’t show our children what it means to be
in a relationship with someone who loves us and respects us and
cherishes us, then our children won’t know what to look for as they
search to find those healthy, sane relationships for themselves.

What is a typical day like for you now that the campaign has hit full
swing?

 I’ve been traveling a couple days a week, and I only do day
trips so that I can be sure our girls are set for the day - at school,
at camp or at a friend’s house - and that I’m home in time for dinner or
to tuck them in at night. My days are packed visiting house parties and
community centers, stopping by our campaign offices across the country
and meeting new friends along the way.