Reflection and Documentation.
My first Honors Experience involved taking an Honors Seminar taught by Jessica King called “Exploring Community Engagement.” The seminar, which was held on Wednesday nights, offered the chance for students to discover the meaning of community and explore the UC community as well as the Cincinnati community. Through assigned readings and in-class discussions, we investigated factors – such as race, gender, social status, and religion – that influence communities and affect members of various communities. As a class, we had the opportunity to travel to various locations in the area surrounding the University of Cincinnati. Some of these sites included the Drop Inn Center, 3CDC, Roberts Academy, Northside, the Queen City Underground Tour and the Cincinnati Islamic Center. Visiting these sites gave us the chance to apply the theories and topics we had read about and to explore interesting aspects of Cincinnati’s urban community.
I chose to participate in this particular Honors Seminar because I wanted the opportunity to learn more about the city of Cincinnati and the features of its urban community. Although I grew up in Cincinnati, prior to taking this course I was not very familiar with either the history or the current state of the city. I thought that learning about the urban community that surrounds campus would be very beneficial to me, as a native Cincinnatian and a new UC student. Participating in the “Exploring Community Engagement” seminar was a very meaningful experience for me because it provided insight into the urban community of Cincinnati and it introduced me to ways to become more connected to this community.
I have always enjoyed helping others and working with children. During high school, I combined these interests by volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House and tutoring elementary students in my community. Through participating in this Honors Seminar, I discovered various ways to continue my service interests and to become more involved in the surrounding Cincinnati community. The Northside community, which is very close to the UC campus, is a small, eclectic, tight-knit community. Here, we visited a business called WordPlay. WordPlay is a non-profit organization that focuses on the promotion of creativity and literary expression. Children in the community come to WordPlay to learn literary and grammar skills, to write creatively, and to spend time with other children. WordPlay also serves as somewhat of a “safe haven” where children can constructively spend free time, preventing children from becoming involved in dangerous or destructive activities. Because I support the mission of WordPlay and I enjoy helping children, I would be very interested in volunteering at WordPlay in the future.
One of the requirements of this seminar was the completion of a community outreach project. My selected outreach project involved volunteering at a local Make-A-Wish Wish Art Party. At the Wish Art Party, I assisted Wish Kids with painting ceramic tiles and creating watercolor paintings. Participating in this outreach project helped me to establish connections with the Make-A-Wish volunteers and become more involved in the organization. As a result of completing the outreach project for the seminar and participating in the Wish Art Party, I have now become involved with a project to create a photo book documenting the event. The photo book will be auctioned off at a Make-A-Wish event to raise money for the organization. I intend to continue my participation and volunteer work with the Make-A-Wish organization following the completion of this project.
Throughout the semester, we read and discussed various articles. I documented my thoughts and reflections through a blog, which can be accessed with the following link: http://allisonkeeton.weebly.com/exploring-community-engagement-blog.html. I also created a presentation, detailing my community outreach project. This presentation can be accessed via the following link: http://prezi.com/p5286sp3zjqa/community-engagement-outreach-project/.
I chose to participate in this particular Honors Seminar because I wanted the opportunity to learn more about the city of Cincinnati and the features of its urban community. Although I grew up in Cincinnati, prior to taking this course I was not very familiar with either the history or the current state of the city. I thought that learning about the urban community that surrounds campus would be very beneficial to me, as a native Cincinnatian and a new UC student. Participating in the “Exploring Community Engagement” seminar was a very meaningful experience for me because it provided insight into the urban community of Cincinnati and it introduced me to ways to become more connected to this community.
I have always enjoyed helping others and working with children. During high school, I combined these interests by volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House and tutoring elementary students in my community. Through participating in this Honors Seminar, I discovered various ways to continue my service interests and to become more involved in the surrounding Cincinnati community. The Northside community, which is very close to the UC campus, is a small, eclectic, tight-knit community. Here, we visited a business called WordPlay. WordPlay is a non-profit organization that focuses on the promotion of creativity and literary expression. Children in the community come to WordPlay to learn literary and grammar skills, to write creatively, and to spend time with other children. WordPlay also serves as somewhat of a “safe haven” where children can constructively spend free time, preventing children from becoming involved in dangerous or destructive activities. Because I support the mission of WordPlay and I enjoy helping children, I would be very interested in volunteering at WordPlay in the future.
One of the requirements of this seminar was the completion of a community outreach project. My selected outreach project involved volunteering at a local Make-A-Wish Wish Art Party. At the Wish Art Party, I assisted Wish Kids with painting ceramic tiles and creating watercolor paintings. Participating in this outreach project helped me to establish connections with the Make-A-Wish volunteers and become more involved in the organization. As a result of completing the outreach project for the seminar and participating in the Wish Art Party, I have now become involved with a project to create a photo book documenting the event. The photo book will be auctioned off at a Make-A-Wish event to raise money for the organization. I intend to continue my participation and volunteer work with the Make-A-Wish organization following the completion of this project.
Throughout the semester, we read and discussed various articles. I documented my thoughts and reflections through a blog, which can be accessed with the following link: http://allisonkeeton.weebly.com/exploring-community-engagement-blog.html. I also created a presentation, detailing my community outreach project. This presentation can be accessed via the following link: http://prezi.com/p5286sp3zjqa/community-engagement-outreach-project/.