|
| ||
|
February 12, 2018 | ||
|
Team from Barry Builds Partnerships in Haiti’s Northwest Region Jennifer Thomas Gets Kids Thinking about College as Attainable Goal Staff, Faculty, and Students Urged to Support Barry FairShare Project Community Engagement Symposium and Awards Set for March 28 Attractive Prizes for QEP-Related Student Poster Competition Winners Fine Arts Service-Learning Exhibit Opens Friday in Student Gallery All Set for This Tuesday’s Deliberative Dialogue on Women’s Rights Next Engaged Scholarship Seminar Scheduled for February 20 8th Annual College Brides Walk Takes Place on February 23 National Organization Announces Internship Opportunities
| ||
|
Team from Barry Builds Partnerships in Haiti’s Northwest Region
A team of faculty and staff members traveled to Haiti recently to continue developing Barry University’s partnership with the Catholic diocese in the country’s northwest region.
Highlights of the visit were a meeting focused on the professional development of Haitian teachers, a public health needs assessment, and support for a mobile health clinic. Members of the team also explored opportunities to support cooperatives of coffee farmers and artisans.
Drawn from the Adrian Dominican School of Education (ADSOE), College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS), Department of Communication, and Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), the six-member team received support from a Barry alumna representing Amor en Acción.
The ADSOE faculty members were Dr. Lilia DiBello, associate dean for curriculum, instruction, and research; and Dr. Sean Buckreis, an assistant professor. Drs. Mureen Shaw and Claudette Chin, assistant professors of nursing, represented CNHS.
It was the third trip to
Vladimir Lescouflair, the David Brinkley Television Studio lab supervisor and adjunct instructor, filmed the interdisciplinary experience. Together with students taking his advanced video production (COM 314) course, he will produce a documentary on Barry’s partnership with the Diocese of Port-de-Paix.
Lescouflair, who was born in
Courtney Berrien, associate director of the CCSI, and Teresita Gonzales of Amor en Acción coordinated the visit to
A lay mission organization affiliated with the Archdiocese of Miami, Amor en Acción was founded over 40 years ago by Dr. Alicia Marill, now a retired associate professor of theology at Barry.
Barry’s partnership in
As part of the January 29–February 4 visit, the ADSOE faculty members met with teacher supervisors and stopped by primary schools. They explored opportunities for Barry to support the professional development of Haitian teachers.
DiBello and Buckreis also delivered teaching materials and books to each school and demonstrated the use of the materials in various classrooms.
Meanwhile, the nursing faculty conducted a needs assessment involving UDERS administrators and public health workers. The also discussed the UDERS nursing program and popular education strategies to prevent the spread of cholera, which has resurfaced in the region.
In addition, Shaw and Chin assisted with mobile health clinic services in the Jean-Rabel commune. While seeing patients, they modeled best practices for the Haitian doctors and nurses.
The Barry team met with representatives of the Café Cocano coffee farmers’ cooperative and with female workers of the Atelye Thevenet artisan cooperative.
Student leaders in the Barry Service Corps and Alternative Breaks participants are lending their support to both co-ops through coffee and artisan sales on campus this academic year.
A private donation and a grant from Project ADVICE (Advancement of Interprofessional Collaboration and Education) in Barry’s CNHS funded the six-day visit to
| ||
|
Jennifer Thomas Gets Kids Thinking about College as Attainable Goal
The challenges faced by youngsters from difficult financial and social backgrounds are numerous and discouraging. Those who try to help these youngsters sometimes face their own difficulties and discouragement, according to Jennifer Thomas.
Thomas is a first-semester graduate student at Barry, pursuing a Master of Science in Entrepreneurial Management. About two years ago as an undergraduate, she began her civic engagement work with the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) as a clerical assistant.
Thomas later assisted with a service project of the Little Haiti Optimist Club, mentoring children at the middle-school level and below.
“It can be challenging when you’re speaking to the kids because some of them come from an environment where their parents didn’t go to college,” she says. “It’s a generational cycle of not achieving.”
Thomas says even though the children are young, she still believes it’s necessary to have them thinking about college as an attainable goal.
She wants to discourage the notion that college is an option reserved for the rich. “When I’m able to at least get these kids thinking about it, that’s rewarding enough for me,” she says.
For more than five months, Thomas has been a community relations intern at Camillus House, a Miami-based organization dedicated to helping homeless people. Her main responsibilities include monitoring volunteers and providing support so they can effectively perform their duties.
Interns and volunteers like Thomas do their part so Camillus House can feed the hungry – serving 700 hot meals a day – and offer various services to the homeless.
It was at Camillus that Thomas experienced one of her most unforgettable moments as a student volunteer. As she recounted, last Christmas she had an interaction with a Camillus client who took time to say, “Thank you for volunteering your time.”
Those six words, she says, made her service as a volunteer truly worthwhile.
| ||
|
Staff, Faculty, and Students Urged to Support Barry FairShare Project
Staff and faculty members, as well as students, are urged to support sustainable agriculture by participating in the Barry FairShare project.
Participants may purchase a full share or a half share of assorted fruits, vegetables, and herbs harvested by a cooperative of
Barry FairShare purchases provide revenue directly to local small farmers who practice sustainable agriculture, says CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien.
| ||
|
Community Engagement Symposium and Awards Set for March 28
The Fifth Annual Community Engagement Symposium as well as the Fifth Annual Community Engagement Awards will be held on March 28. The Symposium will begin at 9 a.m. and the Awards at 5 p.m.
The goals of the Symposium are as follows: (1) Discuss community engagement in the context of Barry’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which is focused on personal and social responsibility; (2) clarify community engagement concepts; (3) share strategies for effective university–community partner collaboration; and (4) explore methods of evaluating community engagement outcomes for campus and community stakeholders.
The primary purpose of the Awards is to publicly recognize students, faculty, staff/administrators, departments, and community partners for their community engagement participation, contributions, and achievements. Additionally, each award is designed to encourage excellence and to inspire similar achievements by others.
| ||
|
Attractive Prizes for QEP-Related Student Poster Competition Winners
Attractive prizes are being offered for the Student Poster Competition, which will be a feature of this year’s Community Engagement Symposium.
The first-place winner will take home a JBL Bluetooth speaker, the organizers have announced. The second prize will be an Amazon Firestick (for streaming media content), and the third-place winner will receive a Fitbit Flex 2 (wearable computing device).
The Student Poster Competition is aimed at showcasing and recognizing students’ course-based and co-curricular work focused on social responsibility in the context of Barry’s QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan).
Poster Competition entries should be submitted by March 16. Although any student, faculty, and staff member may participate in the Poster Session of the Community Engagement Symposium, the competition is open only to undergraduates.
Entries will be displayed during the Poster Session, slated for Room 112 of the Andreas Building, from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. Prizes will be presented during the Closing Session of the Symposium, beginning at 3:30.
Representatives of Barry’s Community Advisory Committee will serve as judges. They will use such criteria as content, relevance, and visual appeal to assess the entries.
Scheduled for March 28, the Fifth Annual Community Engagement Symposium is being organized around the theme, “Demonstrating Social Responsibility through Experiential Learning.”
For additional information on the Student Poster Competition, contact Poster Session Coordinator Daniqua Williams at qep@barry.edu or 305-899-3696.
| ||
|
Fine Arts Service-Learning Exhibit Opens Friday in Student Gallery
The Department of Fine Arts will host a Service-Learning Exhibit from February 16 through April 20 in the Student Gallery.
Organized by Associate Professor Nicole Beltran, the exhibit will feature students’ graphic art projects completed for three community partners.
On display will be posters created by poster design (ART 333) students for Kids In Distress and infographics by poster design as well as visual communications (ART 325) students for Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. In addition, the exhibit will include the work of typography (ART 335) students supporting Gang Alternative.
The mission of the Broward-based Kids In Distress (KID) is to prevent child abuse, preserve the family, and treat children who have been abused and neglected.
Gang Alternative aims to “build character that lasts in children and families through positive alternatives to youth violence and delinquency by offering a holistic approach to their academic, physical, social and spiritual development.” The nonprofit organization is located in Miami.
| ||
|
All Set for This Tuesday’s Deliberative Dialogue on Women’s Rights
All arrangements are in place for this Tuesday’s forum in the Deliberative Dialogue Series. Focused on feminism, the forum will draw attention to women’s rights.
Titled “Feminism Today: Inclusive Modern Movement or Outdated Relic?” the 90-minute forum will be held on the Miami Shores campus in Room 111 of the Andreas Building, beginning at 4 p.m.
Campus and community partners are urged to turn out in large numbers.
For further information, contact the CCSI atservice@barry.edu or 305-899-3696.
| ||
|
Next Engaged Scholarship Seminar Scheduled for February 20
The next Engaged Scholarship Seminar is scheduled for February 20. The topic will be “Elements of Effective Conference Proposal Submissions.”
The CCSI will host the lunch-time seminar in
At January’s seminar, Barry Institutional Review Board (IRB) Vice Chair Dr. Fernando Perez discussed ownership, attribution, and ethical issues at the Engaged Scholarship Seminar.
Perez emphasized the importance of avoiding coercion, considering power dynamics among faculty and other stakeholders, and addressing issues of confidentiality and anonymity. He also spoke about accepted educational practices.
Among those contributing to the discussion were Drs. Ricardo “Rick” Jimenez, Celeste Landeros, Raul Machuca, Sheila McMahon, Leticia “Letty” Vega, Heidi Whitford, and Carter Winkle.
For further information, contact Dr. Laura Finley, facilitator of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship, at lfinley@barry.edu.
| ||
|
8th Annual College Brides Walk Takes Place on February 23
The 8th Annual College Brides Walk will take place on February 23.
“This important event is part of a campaign to raise awareness about dating and domestic violence,” said Dr. Laura Finley, the organizer.
“Each year,” Finley added, “approximately 1,000 college and high school students, along with faculty, staff, service providers and community members, listen to speakers, participate in workshops, and, if they choose, walk to our partner location, Johnson and
The College Brides Walk is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. and end at about 2 p.m., Finley said.
| ||
|
National Organization Announces Internship Opportunities
A national organization is looking for interns to assist the organization in 2018–2019.
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) has three open internship positions: Programs Intern, Social Justice Intern, and Social Media Intern.
The programs intern will assist in planning events and projects, including a national conference.
The social justice intern will assist in facilitating general organizational activities associated with structural inequality training and develop the resource section of the CCPH website.
The social justice intern will contribute to website management and assist with the development of content.
Candidates must commit to an internship of at least three months and be able to fulfill the responsibilities of the internship position from a virtual office. The schedule is flexible.
“CCPH will be happy to cooperate with school programs that provide credit for internships as well as serve as a reference for future employment opportunities,” said Millicent Robinson, CCPH programs assistant. “Applicants seeking course credit must apply through their university.” CCPH promotes health equity and social justice through partnerships between communities and academic institutions. The organization’s primary strategic goal is to “mobilize knowledge, wisdom and experience in communities and in academic institutions to solve pressing health, social, environmental and economic challenges.”
Additional information is available from Marie Colom, CCSI administrative assistant, at mcolom@barry.edu, as well as from CCPH at ccph.pa@gmail.com. |
Community Engagement News
Posted On : February 12, 2018
