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The importance of motivation and leadership
How do social and economic factors affect community development
The importance of motivation and leadership
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Life struggles and injustices in my community have shaped me into a passionate, determine, and empathetic community leader. My aspiration in building stronger and safer communities derived from the obstacles I experienced as a first generation Chicana, growing up in a low income community. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles where at age 11, I witnessed how education inequity played a critical role in the life opportunity and academic success of the youth in my community. During my first two years in Stevenson Middle School, I began losing friends and classmates due to drugs and alcohol, gang violence, and delinquency. Throughout those two years, I lived with fear and anxiety not knowing whether tomorrow I would be alive. I had no mentors …show more content…
The stories and resilience I’ve seen and heard remind of the importance of civic engagement and leadership. I recognize that without the support of mentors such as Mr. Bravo, I would not be writing these words today. At age 22, I have returned to the community that shaped the individual I am today. My way of giving back for the opportunities I have had in life is by serving as a resource, mentor, and tutor to the youth in my community. I work closely with 11 at risk eight grade students at Carver Middle School, a school in South Los Angeles. My purpose in serving in this community is because my students deserve a quality education that will allow them to develop the skills to be civically engaged citizens. Therefore, building brave spaces for my students is crucial to me; because, I am aware of the importance of social and emotional support of one’s personal and professional development. I want my students to know that they matter and that they are not …show more content…
I want to pursue a career in Multicultural Community Counseling, because, I seek to fulfill an absence of leaders who are passionate and empathetic in building stronger and safer communities. I am applying to the Community Based Block Program at SDSU, because I want to develop a cross cultural knowledge of how to be therapeutic to others. My hope is to earn a M.S. in Counseling that prepares me for working in underserved urban schools. I hope to obtain the skills needed to work with historically disadvantaged and low income communities. I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy and successful life. By being a counselor I will continue to empower the youth to reach their full potential and encourage my community to be civically engaged. I believe that together we can build a stronger and safer
The low reed section to me is not just my section, it is my family, and I would love to have the honor of calling myself mom. However, Lauren will always be the original mom and my biggest role model in band. She was the first one to give me hug whenever I was upset, she made sure I didn't get sunburned during band camp, and was overall the most loving, caring section leader I most likely will ever have. As section leader, I would like to devote all my time, love, and leadership to my section and show what an amazing marching experience truly is. Throughout this essay, I will evaluate what Lauren did well, what she could have done better, what I would do differently, and why I am the person for the job.
I am currently enrolled full time in the community Based Block (CBB) Multicultural Counseling and Social Justice Graduate Program at SDSU. Growing up in a marginalized community where poverty, violence, and discrimination was prevalent, played a big part in my passion for social justice, mental health and community service. I applied to the CBB program because I knew that I would obtain the hands on skills and tools that would allow me to be an agent of change. As a current clinical counselor in trainee, at the Center for Community Counseling and Engagement (CCEE) and MAAC COMMUNITY Charter School I have had the privilege to work successfully with people of various cultural, religious, and socio-economic
I interviewed Linda Jo from Community of Hope, a non-profit organization, based out of the St. Johns neighborhood in North Portland. I chose to interview Linda Jo because her organization is only a few blocks from my home, and I think it is important to familiarize myself with programs that are being offered in my area. The population that Community of Hope works with is homeless families, specifically single-parent families. The purpose of this paper is to explore what Community of Hope does, Linda Jo’s role and relevant training, and the work she is doing within the community.
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis, I grappled with the decision to engage in opportunities that would provide me the background knowledge to address my passions for social justice and health disparities. With my involvement at the UC Davis Cross Cultural Center (CCC), a student space that fosters critical consciousness and student activism, I gained a newfound appreciation for community work and desire to implement change through community empowerment. By understanding and processing my intersection of identities, I was able to identify the value, and importance, of community space. As one of the Asian Pacific Islander Community Coordinators, I worked alongside student leaders and community based organizations to advocate for social justice thro...
Ralph Bunche Middle School in Compton as a requirement for my BSW degree. I am fortunate to have been assigned to this location because it resembles the area where I grew up. It gives me the opportunity to serve similar at risk students from neighborhoods that suffer from poverty and gang- ridden violence. Of utmost importance, I have the opportunity to work with the students and their parents, which are mostly minorities. I try to empower the children and gain their families support, and allow them to know college is attainable! Achieving a higher education is essential and serves as a deterrent to joining gangs, doing drugs, or becoming another statistic. One heart felt experience came after one of the students shared a story describing his living situation. This young 7th grader was the victim of a horrible situation. Both of his parents were incarcerated, which resulted in him being placed in a foster home. I was disheartened by his story. I was able to assure him because I once was in his shoes. I shared my experience of having to deal with similar obstacles, such as having no positive influences in my life. I felt that I instilled hope in him and let him know he was never alone. I hope to continue bringing about positive change in the youth and shaping their
Volunteerism has always been the most important element of my overall involvement; my first, long-term goal reflects this. Since I entered high school, I have pursued many opportunities that exploit my desire to volunteer. I thoroughly enjoy giving my time and talents to those in need as well as the character and communication skill development with which volunteerism provides me. The skills that I have earned through my work with and for others relate directly to those required to be a successful leader. Like volunteerism, leadership, the subject of my second goal, is also something I hold close to my heart. I am fond of leadership because of my experience with the empowering feeling that being a leader provides. Such opportunities to lead have pushed me to become a proponent of the development of leadership skills among youth through additional volunteerism with...
My experience in community college was invaluable; I encountered many professors who inspired me to push myself harder and pursue higher education. These teachers helped me push myself into taking honors courses and applying to top-tier universities. Their passion for social justice through education was visible and made me want to become an educator myself. One day one of my favorite professors, Dr. Bernard, excitedly shared information with the class about the Los Angeles Team Mentoring (LATM) program. In this program, you can volunteer to mentor local at-risk middle school youth through small group activities centered on wellness, diversity, and development. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to give back to my community with hopes to
Describe how your efforts to serve your community have been effective or have made a difference
On weekends, I go to the city’s senior center and tutor disadvantaged elementary and middle school students. Rather than allowing these students free study time, YLOC stresses the importance of communication and personal connection to the learning process. By working with these young, eager-to-learn, students, I have come to understand the importance of helping them understand the concept and apply what they learn from the education. Although these students come struggling in school, they leave with a greater idea on how to apply knowledge and study. The rush of being able to communicate knowledge with these students motivated me daily to persevere and work closely with the
As a member of The Hazen drill team, Gordy’s Guides, and the volunteer leader of the Renton free lunch program I demonstrate impeccable skills in organization, time management, and leadership. I strive to inspire others to bring out their best characteristic and lead them to their fullest potential. As an older sister, I learned very quickly the importance of being a good role model and someone who is reliable, even if that mean staying up until 2:00 am with my little brother helping him with his science project that he choose to do last minute. There’s no greater joy than knowing that you made a difference in someone else's day. This imbued me to take charge in as many community services available, especially when working with children because I like to view it as helping the next future leaders. To make my high school experience worth wild, I have to have a good sense of character. I absolutely enjoy working with other people, not only are you building friendships but you also gained a new sense of knowledge you haven’t discovered. Throughout this year I have helped many of my peers achieved success in their classroom, by staying after school and even coming an hour early before finals to tutor and give my guidance on that
Over the course of my undergraduate career, I had many opportunities to participate in a wide variety of activities. During my freshman year, I volunteered as a tutor at the Door, a drop-in center in SoHo for disadvantaged teens and young adults. As a tutor, I worked with students preparing to enter GED programs or those already enrolled in GED programs, to solidify their academic skills and help them earn their high school equivalency. Growing up in a fairly affluent suburban town, I rarely witnessed the effects of inequity. As a tutor, however, I worked with young adults several years older than myself who had faced substantial challenges that prevented them from receiving a high school diploma. As I worked with my tutees, I learned more about the circumstances they experienced, and was humbled by their honesty and their resilience. I taught students who had extreme difficulty with simple mathematical operations, but unfailingly came to tutoring each week to keep working. I taught students who were determined to push past their earlier failures to go to college, and eventually, go on to graduate school. Perhaps most vividly, I remember a tutee who was a recent African immigrant, who at our first meeting told me that he wanted to write a novel. Having the privilege to witness the extent of human
The ideas and practices of community-led design has been around and practiced for a long time, especially so within the field of architecture, urban design and master planning (Alexiou et al., 2013). Ralph Erskine, one of the pioneers in community-led design, has shown in his Byker Wall project in Newcastle how successful a project can be by involving the community (Blundell Jones and Canniffe, 2007). Despite the growing demand of this approach in the built environment (Wares, 2000), the practice of community-led design has been underutilized and sidelined as there remains poor recognition and understanding of its approaches and benefits (Alexiou et al., 2013). But why is that? Why do practitioners remain ambiguous towards users participation during design process?
Community involvement provides an opportunity to let our youth experience social environments, while also feeling safe in those social environments (Richardson, 2014). Working together and staying strong as a community will maintain the message that is targeted towards our youth (Greenwood, 2005). It is a beneficial and valuable opportunity to work as a team and learn from one another, and this opportunity is what our communities need (2016). Being able to bring community-based services to a family helps parents to be able to address the appropriate discipline for the behavior problems that they are encountering, as well as resolving any arguments or problems (2001). Being able to be a part of a community and working together works for families; it is a great approach that can build the support that is needed, as well as the strength necessary to keep our youth in our communities and out of prisons (Timberlake,
So, I began to volunteer my time with the young, the old, and those with special needs as well as supporting events varying from Wheelchair Basketball competitions to senior homes to environmental initiatives.. During my volunteer with the REaDY Summit, I was also a student mentor for two years udner the CHIMO Community Services Stepping Out Program. For two years, I helped educate four 30 student grade 7 classes about anti-bullying and helped them cultivate practical coping techniques in five weekly sessions. Big Brothers Big Sister’s in school meeting program. My mentee and I engaged in with each other through boardgames, crafts and group activities with other mentees and mentors. As a mentor, I helped students recognize their own potential and the importance of giving and giving back. It is
People’s lives are changed every day by their actions and experiences. This past summer, I participated in a community service project, an experience that opened my eyes in many ways. I was a volunteer at the County Memorial Hospital. In my time as a volunteer at the hospital, I was able to meet patients and staff members from all over the world and learn about their life experiences. Listening to all of their stories has made me truly appreciate everything which I have.