Groups

  • George Washington University

  • Courses

  • Common Good City Farm

  • Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture

  • Latin American Youth Center

  • engageDC

  • Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service

  • Human Service and Social Justice Courses

  • Classes

    Impacts

    Marie Reed Es

    Bessi told me about her vacation at the lake with her family near their apartment in D.C. Then we played some computer games and danced to Prince Royce's Incondicional. Bessi showed me a few funny YouTube videos through the share screen function. We did some stretching and singing, then a few Duolingo activities so Bessi could practice her English. Her cousin, Meilin joined in on the singing and dancing aspects during our virtual time together. Then Bessi and I talked more about her favorite foods and how she was doing.

    Gave 2.00 hours on 09/30/2020 with HSSJ 2171 Child & Adolescent Development
    Marie Reed Es

    I drove into Washington D.C. to help Bessi set up a Zoom account and practice using it for our virtual meetings the rest of this semester. I talked with her mom and her homeschool teacher while helping her set up Zoom. I also met Bessi's cousins, and Bessi and I talked about how her schooling was going and what she hopes to do with/expects of me while we meet through Zoom. She wants to do physical exercise, sing, and dance! I think I could also be helping her with English, since I learned that she is newer to the U.S. I figure we could also talk about her time in Honduras if she's interested, because she told me that sometimes she misses it there.

    Gave 2.50 hours on 09/25/2020 with HSSJ 2171 Child & Adolescent Development
    Latino Student Fund

    This was the first week of tutoring, so I met with my mentee student for the first time virtually. We got acquainted and hopefully connected! Evelyn is really into art, and needs help mostly in her Honors Geometry class. Then she completed a career path assessment, to see where her interests led her career-wise, and the assessment showed us how much education/training goes into specific occupations. We both set up Khan Academy accounts to practice and check up on her math skills (Geometry, Algebra, Pre-Calculus) and for SAT preparation coursework. I did not have time to tell her what I expect to be done for next week, so hopefully the next time we meet on Zoom, we can complete some coursework together. I'll help her wherever she needs help, or we'll work on her homework, and I'll ask more about what she's doing in class in order to get a better sense of what level she's at and, thus, what coursework to assign her for the next mentoring/tutoring session.

    Gave 2.00 hours on 09/24/2020 with HSSJ 2170 Prof Relationships & Hum Sercv
    Marie Reed Es

    Got to talk with Bessi more, specifically about her time with and feelings towards virtual schooling, and about one of the best singers ever, Selena Quintanilla. We also tried to set up a Skype or a Zoom account aagin, but that failed due to technical limitations on both ends, so hopefully next time we can finally set something up for our online chats.

    Gave 1.00 hour on 09/23/2020 with HSSJ 2171 Child & Adolescent Development
    Marie Reed Es

    I got to know more about the student I'm working with, Bessi Cerros, while trying to install Skype for the both of us as a way to virtually communicate for the rest of this semester!

    Gave 1.00 hour on 09/21/2020 with HSSJ 2171 Child & Adolescent Development
    Latino Student Fund

    Marvin, LSF's Post Secondary Success Manager, held an orientation session for us new mentors/tutors. He had a PowerPoint presentation with all of the expectations and guidelines of the Te Guio Program. We talked and shared a little bit about our own experiences with mentors and how they impacted the direction of our lives, to help draw some inspiration for working with our future mentees/students.

    Gave 1.00 hour on 09/16/2020 with HSSJ 2170 Prof Relationships & Hum Sercv
    Marina Chen

    Marina @ CARECEN

    I called a list of Carecen's clients that they helped with gaining their U.S. citizenship, as it is critical to ensure that the immigrant community is counted in the census, registered to vote, and considered in advocacy and relief efforts, during this time, as well as making sure they have the adequate resources and help for financial and/or employment assistance considering the language barrier and other barriers. So far many of the clients I was assigned to have answered, and if not I leave a voice message. Overall, many of the individuals I called have family to support them or family to support; they and their family members have lost jobs and need help getting unemployment benefits (or for older members, social security, medical care, etc.); many need financial assistance or help with registering to vote and being counted in the Census; others just want a voice to be heard by their local government. It's disheartening to see how hard working Americans in vulnerable circumstances are being hit hard the most, and I wish I could do more to help. It's also interesting learning about these individuals' journeys towards U.S. citizenship, and comforting to know that they all have family to count on and be with during this socially isolating and scary time.

    Gave 2.00 hours on 04/19/2020 with engageDC, George Washington University, Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, HSSJ 2172 Adult Development
    Marina Chen

    Marina @ Let's Empower, Advocate, and Do, Inc. (LEAD)

    I helped this organization's leaders by helping research and fill out/complete data on various universities' athletic departments. After this, the leader of the organization would then send out emails to all athletic trainers, directors, and coaches listed about getting themselves connected to an online Team Mental Health Academy. Through mental health education, these individuals can strengthen mental health literacy, promote lifelong well-being, and build community resilience among their student athletes. I will admit that despite devoting time to this, I was not able to give it my full effort as I was also completing work for my online classes and attending virtual class hours during this time. However, I am still content that I had the opportunity to contribute to important and often overlooked work like this. Also I did not actually work from noon to 9pm on Sunday, the work was spread out between Friday and Tuesday, but overall I spent time on searching up athletic department information for nine hours.

    Gave 9.00 hours on 04/12/2020 with George Washington University, Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, HSSJ 2172 Adult Development, Human Service and Social Justice Courses, engageDC
    Latin American Youth Center

    Today was my last day (unless GWU opens back up) at LAYC, and this goodbye definitely made me the saddest. I said goodbye to a lot of the staff members like Marie and Mesgana, to fellow volunteers, and the teens, which really broke my heart. Jonathan, Kenneth, and I bonded a lot during my time at the teen center, and I wish the best for them and for everyone else who works/participates in the program, and I especially hope to come back sooner than later. I will also miss working with Luis - a fantastic, uber talented artist - in graffiti classes on Tuesdays, as well as the kids in that class, who taught me so much during my time as being an assistant/helper teacher there. Because DCPS schools are also shutting down (some or most transferring to online classes as many universities are), LAYC will also be closed for two weeks. Marie made an announcement for all the teens/participants at the center to write down their phone numbers for the center's staff to be able to notify them when the center will open again and/or have resources for them in case the situation gets really ugly, especially in a city where a lot of these kids and their families are faced with economic hardships and food insecurity. As a last hoorah, and ate with and played Uno with some of the kids at the center again, and then helped wipe down some chairs and tables in order to disinfect everything for the center's longer dormant period.

    Gave 2.00 hours on 03/13/2020 with Courses, engageDC, George Washington University, Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service
    FRESHFARM FoodPrints

    Today I worked with Ibti and Michael, also from GWU, at the FoodPrints classroom. We were holding activities with second graders today! Prior to their arrival, Michael and I helped Ibti set up the class lesson for the day. We organized folders and papers, put names in nametag holders, put clean dishes out for cooking preparation, washed fresh vegetables and other produce, and I cut the onion (so the kids wouldn't have to because of the fumes it gives off it makes their eyes watery). Michael and I were at the seeds, bulbs, and tubers station, where we had soaked lima beans, small onions, and old golden mini potatoes (with green vines starting to sprout from them) for the kids to dissect and examine. First we took the kids outside and picked some greens from the garden and planted some radish, potatoes, etc. (I took one kid, Mateo, to the bathroom during this time as well). When we came back inside, the kids were divided into three groups for the three stations: the dissection station with me and Michael; the book-reading station about different kind of plant growth with their teacher; and the chopping/cooking station with Ibti. Each group of kids spent 20-25mins at each station. At ours, they specifically had to write down and draw what they saw, as well as differentiate the plants between those in the seed, bulb, or tuber categories. After we were done, the kids got to try what they helped make: fried rice!

    Gave 2.67 hours on 03/12/2020 with Courses, George Washington University, HSSJ 1177 Organizing Social Justice and Human Services, HSSJ 1177 Organizing Social Justice and Human Services