Meet Lori, Connect2Complete Advocate!!

Meet Lori!!

Lori Bledsoe is a Junior Integrated Studies major in Drama Analysis and History and Society. On campus she is a Community Assistant and Ohio Benefit Bank Counselor in the Center for Civic Engagement and a stage manager with the Theatre department. This is her first semester as a Connect2Complete Advocate! 

When Lori grows up she wants to work in the community to help people receive the assistance they need and deserve. Lori wants to help others find ways to get themselves back on their feet and learn how to help others achieve the same. She chose to become a C2C Advocate because it allows her to assist students in utilizing the resources they have available to them, to make their day better and reduce the stress of being a first time college student.  Lori's advice for incoming students is "To get involved! No matter if it is a club or a service project. Enjoy the college experience!"

Her favorite joke is: "Why did the flea cross the road? To get to the flea market!". Lori admitted to eating paste a child but we still love her just the same! Her favorite holiday is Halloween and her proudest moment was the day her daughter was born. 

When asked "What is poverty and what causes or perpetuates it?" Lori replied with "Poverty to me is when an individual or family do not earn enough income to provide for themselves. I feel the causes are broad but sometimes it is because of unemployment, past criminal record with no second chance, death of a loved one (supporter) and/or drug addiction." 

"If I could change one thing in the world it would be the way government assistance is received and applied for. I believe those who need it have it hard enough not being able to eat or take their child to the doctor. They should not have to be on hold or stand in line for 45 minutes to ask a question." 

Lori is a Connect2Complete Advocate in Becky Richards' English 007, fundamentals of writing class. Her class completed their Civic Engagement project at Shared Harvest on Wednesday September 10th. 

Shared Harvest is a food bank located on Route 4, about 15 minutes from the Miami Hamilton campus. Shared Harvest is not government funded which means they have to find alternative funding sources and participate in fundraising. One of their large fundraisers is a 5K Walk/Run called Panera-Thon! We assisted Ben Powers, Volunteer Coordinator & Backpack program facilitator, in preparing for the race by packing "Swag bags" that are given to the participants at registration. Ben likes to experiment with 'best practices' for packing and sorting which meant as the first group there that day we were the guinea pigs! 

The swag bags were reusable fabric shopping bags stuffed with pamphlets, flyers, bandaids, crayons, tattoos and more! This first group had one person at each 'station' (station managers) and then several people that worked as 'walkers'. The walkers would pick up a bag and stop at each 'station' where a goodie was placed in the bag by the station manager. The 'walker' would then hand off the bag to the 'box-managers' for stacking. We figured out after about 100 bags that they must be stacked in an alternating pattern, similar to stacking binders, or else they would slide and tumble and create a great mess. Half way through the stacking we had to re-stack most of a the bags to reduce sliding. 

Overall the team stuffed about 250 bags!! 

Here are a couple pictures! The rest can be found on Flikr! 

Ben showing the process

Packing of the bags! 

In the spirit of 9/11, September Day of Service

Original blog posted September 30, 2014. View here!

On the last Friday of every month, Miami University Hamilton's Center for Civic Engagement sponsors an event called Day of Service. This month the service was completed in remembrance and spirit of September 11th!

On Friday September 26th Miami Hamilton staff, and students gathered at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park to prepare for the 12th Annual Pyramid Hill Art Fair for September 27th & September 28th. We had an outstanding 27 volunteers show up! Some of the student groups represented include: Connect2Complete, Rotaract, and Campus Activities Committee!

There were two shifts for volunteers 9-12pm and 1-4pm  with lunch from 12-1pm. Volunteers prepared for the fair by: preparing pamphlets, mulching, weeding and picking up trash. Everyone had a great time, as you can see by the smiles and team work in the pictures below!

Benefits of being a Connect2Complete Advocate!

Original blog posted September 15, 2014. View here

The below blog was writing by Miami University Hamilton's Connect2Complete Advocate, Emily Cole. This is her second semester as an Advocate at MUH. 

I'm Emily and I am a Family Studies major. I'm currently a Junior. I became involved in campus activities last semester. It all started with my job as a Connect2Complete (C2C) Advocate. Through this program, I was able to help students solve problems they had with finding resources on campus. Another aspect of the program that helped me get involved on campus was the Civic Engagement project.  As a part of the C2C program, each class in the program ties together class material with a civic engagement "field trip" project. Through the C2C program, I was able to meet many people on campus which lead to my involvement on campus such as the Center for Civic Engagement Director, student affairs executives, and many other important faculty/staff members that were able to help me with networking inside and outside of the university.

On the first day of classes this semester, I was excited to meet the students I would be paired with for the next 14 weeks. When I walked in the room, I found 25 quiet students quickly observing me. The silence was disturbing and I quickly became nervous. I decided to break the awkward barrier by initiating an ice breaker. Soon the class was passing a soccer ball, with dozens of questions written on it, around the room. Each person answered the question that lied beneath the spot their thumb landed when they caught the ball. It took a while to complete but it helped break the first day jitters. I was glad there were so many students in this class because I only had 6 that lasted in the class I worked with the previous semester. I did not like having a small class because oftentimes, at least one student would be absent, making it hard to keep everyone on the same page, and connect with all of the students individually. I look forward to being able to help the students more this semester since they have all been attending class regularly, and are all willing to participate in the class discussions/activities I propose.

As an advocate, I have learned how to access many resources on campus. I have had many opportunities to attend informative luncheons, lectures, and trainings that I would not have necessarily had access to otherwise. I have met many students that I am now friends with, especially the other advocates. I have come to know certain faculty members that have helped me by writing reference letters and recommending me for other jobs. I plan to work in student affairs someday and I have learned many skills that have given me experience and confirmed my desire to pursue a career as an adviser/counselor at a university. Most of all, I have become comfortable as a student on campus. I love coming to school and staying for hours, even if I don't have class. I know many more people than I did before I was an advocate and I am a familiar face for others. 

If you are a people person and desire to help other students succeed, being an advocate in the Connect to Complete program is a dream come true!

Animal Adoption Foundation & Fundamentals of Writing

Originally posted May 22, 2014. View here

The following was written by Paula Chantana, a Connect2Complete Advocate for Spring 2014 at Miami University Hamilton. Her class volunteered at the Animal Adoption Foundation on Thursday March 6, 2014. 

The Instructor, Karen Blount, related the Civic Engagement project to the class by connecting it to an article the students were reading. The article was about adopting a pitbull dog. This is the same article used in Karen's ABLE (Adult Basic Literacy Education) reading class last semester before the class went to the animal shelter. The class was learning about Pitt bull dogs, and adopting an animal at a local animal shelter. 
The class then had the opportunity to volunteer their services to train, walk, and play with the animals at Animal Adoption Foundation. The students had a great time being with the animals, and I noticed it was a time they did not feel stress with any class assignment from the class. This also gave the students a chance to get to know their classmate and how they interact with animals. 
The class had to write a paper in regards to the article and were was able to hear Karen’s own experience with animal shelters. Karen volunteers for the local animal shelter for Butler County. She was telling them that she fosters little kittens and dogs before they are able to be adopted. The students still have the same feelings toward animals because most of them have a dog or cat in their home
I had a great time at the animal shelter because I had the opportunity to play and hold the kittens and cats. I have to say I learned about a great place to adopt my next family member. One of the many great things about the Animal Adoption foundation is that it is a no-kill shelter.  Also, the workers are very helpful because I had a questions about a number being tattoo in my last cat’s ear and the gentlemen was able to answer my question. 

Below are a few pictures from the Civic Engagement project! To see the rest (and a few videos) click Here!  

Animal Adoption Foundation experience!

Originally posted April 7, 2014. View here!

The following was written by Amy Michael, a Connect2Complete Advocate for Spring 2014 at Miami University Hamilton. Her class volunteered at the Animal Adoption Foundation on Friday March 7, 2014. 

Civic Engagement was an unfamiliar concept to the majority of our students prior to this class. When we announced that our Civic Engagement project would take place at the Animal AdoptionFoundation the students were enthralled, they all wanted to share their animal rescue stories or show off pictures of their pets. The dynamics of our class changed upon introducing the project, the previously reserved class was now engaging with the other students and sharing stories with myself and the instructor. In the weeks leading up to our Civic Engagement project they read and summarized two articles about animal adoption. The articles exposed the dangers of puppy mills and informed the students why adoption is a better alternative.

The day of the Animal Adoption Foundation visit the students piled into a university van together and headed to the shelter. After arriving at the shelter we participated in a short orientation where the students learned the rules of the facility and how the facility works. After the orientation students chose if they wanted to work with cats or dogs, then were directed to their side of the animal shelter. I was able to observe students in both settings. Students working with dogs took them on the walking trail and students working with cats played in the cat rooms. Although the students were doing different activities it was obvious that they were all having fun.

                The next class meeting after the trip we reflected on our experiences at the Animal Adoption Foundation. The students each wrote an essay on what they learned from the Civic Engagement project and how it affected them. I noticed that this paper was easier for the students to write than papers we had done in the past. Unlike past writing prompts where they had to think back to a personal experience or formulate an opinion about a topic, this time they were able to write about an event they had recently experienced firsthand. 

                Visiting the Animal Adoption Foundation was the perfect project to introduce Civic Engagement to this class. It helped to unite the students, get them involved in the community and provided them with an opportunity to use their experiences to further develop their writing skills. 

Below are a few pictures from the trip! To see all of the pictures and videos from this Civic Engagement project please visit our Flickr

Impact Conference Presentation

Originally posted April 2, 2014. View here!

I presented at the national Impact Conference in Valparaiso Indiana at Valparaiso University on Friday March 28, 2014 with my site supervisor and Director of the Office of Learning Assistance, Sue Sepela. Our presentation on Connect2Complete at the Miami University Hamilton campus focused on: preparation, implementation, and evaluation of the program since it's start in July 2013.

Workshop title: "When Community Service and Student Success Collide: Connect2Complete".
Partial workshop description: "Through group discussion and activities we'll investigate barriers faced by low income and first generation college students, how to link class content to community service projects and ways to implement Connect2Complete on your campus."

I used social media to advertise our workshop using the conference hashtag!

We're hoping to see a great turn out for #Connect2Complete workshop in rm Gellersen 124 at @impactconf #30YearsOfImpact #Block1
— Rachael Lange (@Rlange001) February 28, 2014

We had 12 attendees ranging from undergraduate students and graduate students to Civic Engagement & Service Learning professionals. One even tweeted about us!!

Day 1 of workshops @impactconf with @OHCampusCompact discussing comm service and student success #30yearsofimpact
— Ally K (@AllyKruz) February 28, 2014

Preparation
During the preparation portion we discussed the groundwork that was completed before the VISTA (me) came on board. This included choosing classes that were under the Learning Assistance umbrella, potential service sites, and introducing the program to the staff and faculty.

Implementation
We then discussed how the program was implemented. I covered:

• Development of parameters and structure of the program. 
• Development of necessary recruiting and training materials for both instructors and students.
• Recruitment of instructors and Peer Advocates to work on the Connect2Complete team. 
• Development and facilitation of the Peer Advocate orientation. 

Evaluation

For the evaluation section I compared the structure of the program from the first semester (Fall 2013) to the second semester (Spring 2014), shown below. I also shared a few graphs from the data we had collected during our first semester.

This graph displays the responses from students on questions related to campus connections. 

This graph shows the responses from students on surveys given after their Civic Engagement project.

Barriers
As a group, we discussed the barriers faced by many first generation and low-come students during college. We discussed these in terms of: institutional barriers, life barriers and academic barriers. The Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton works to assist the students in overcoming these barriers by offering accessible peer mentors known as Peer Advocates, Student Success workshops during the first 6 weeks of classes and connecting the students to the community through Civic Engagement projects.

Group Activity
The final portion of our workshop involved the attendees splitting up into three groups of four. Each group chose a group member's campus and decided what office(s) would be best to house the program. Then, how they would recruit students and instructors on this campus, what classes would benefit the most from the program, and finally a Civic Engagement project that would address both a community need and an academic goal of the class.

Below is a tweeted picture of a group presentation from our workshop.

#Connect2Complete workshop at @impactconf @AllyKruz #30yearsofimpact pic.twitter.com/akHqBazHSA
— Rachael Lange (@Rlange001) February 28, 2014 

Here's a few bonus pictures from the the group activity portion that I found on the Impact Conference's facebook!

St. Raphael's Food Pantry

Originally posted March 3, 2014. View Here


On Thursday February 13th the Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton had their first Civic Engagement project of the semester! We kicked it off by serving at St. Raphael's Social Service Center, a part of the Mercy Health network.  

We decided it would be great for the students to provide a service to others by volunteering. To accomplish this the ENG109 English Language Learners class served at St. Raph's by unpacking boxes and stocking shelves with donated food. The students were working on a memoir project focusing on a time of need in their own lives.
 
Everyone had a marvelous time working with one another. We had a wonderful orientation covering the services St. Raph's provides to the community, how community members qualify and receive the services and the importance of providing a variety of services under in one location! 

For more information on St. Raph's please visit their website or facebook! 
Here are a few pictures from the project! If you would like to see the rest please visit the Flickr set! 

 

 

Thanks for reading!!! 

What it's like to be a Peer Advcoate

Originally posted January 31, 2014. View here

As previous stated, Fall 2013 was the pilot semester for the Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton. It was a semester of trial and error but with many successful outcomes!

This semester I am continuously utilizing my most valuable assets to improve the program and its impact. These assets would be the first group of C2C Peer Advocates that did such a wonderful job pioneering the program last semester.

I interviewed the returning Advocates about their experiences, how we could improve upon it and what advice they would give to incoming Advocates. I even had them share this with the 3 new Advocates during Orientation.

I asked one of our PA's from last semester to write about her experiences last semester. Even though the PA, Reb Vachon, is traveling aboard this semester I still wanted to share her experience.

 I hope you enjoy it!

I had been through two days of training, sat through multiple presentations on the services offered at Miami Hamilton, memorized as much as I could about the job I was about to perform and even met with the instructor I was partnered with before classes started, but I still felt extremely nervous as I walked into Mosler 300 to meet the students I would be working with as a Connect2Complete peer advocate.  I arrived a half an hour early and immediately ran into a small problem deciding where to sit. I wasn’t sure if I should sit in the front of the class where the professor sits, or if the back of the classroom would offer a better position. Eventually, I settled on sitting in the front of the class, but still off to the side, and I began the wait for the professor and students to arrive. Once all the students settled into a seat, the professor began reviewing the syllabus and classroom expectations and I felt the butterflies inside my stomach begin their excited dance again which became even worse as the professor called on me to explain who I was and why I was there.

The next week the butterflies were gone as I settled into a routine in the classroom. My role in the classroom bounced between instructor and student as I sometimes answered questions and provided feedback like an instructor, and other times was called upon and participated in class discussions like a student. During a typical class period, I would start the class by informing the students of events occurring on campus that week, remind them that I was available out of class and then I would assist the professor in any way possible. Sometimes that was through  discussions on grammar and style, adding my opinions on the students’ progress and offering a prospective of a student with a larger amount of academic writing experience.

Outside of the classroom, I would try to connect with the students through my weekly office hours, seeing the students around campus and through email. I often reminded students of activities occurring on campus, assignments and expectations for the next week and helped students one-on-one with their writing drafts. However, the most challenging aspect of being an advocate was trying to connect with the students. With this semester being the first semester of the Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton, I had no advice or examples of previous advocates to guide me though my position as an advocate. If I could go back and redo the semester with my current knowledge I would emphasize my office hours and also my availability outside of those hours to meet with students individually. Additionally, I would attempt to further explain my role as an advocate to the students as well as the services I can connect them to as I now feel that many of my students did not fully understand that.

While I will not be able to continue to serve as an advocate next semester as I am spending the semester abroad, I would encourage all interested students to explore the possibility of being a C2C advocate. I found the position extremely rewarding as I had the chance to watch the students I was helping develop into more skilled writers and I knew that I had played a part in helping them not only in the class I was assigned to, but I also helped them acquire the skills to make them successful in all subsequent classes. I would urge new advocates to put themselves out there as soon as possible and make connections with the students right away. The personal connection between student and advocate is what enables the program to be successful.

Meet the C2C Advocates!

Originally posted November 19, 2013. View here

If you're friends with Connect2Complete at Miami Hamilton  on facebook then you'll have seen the wonderful pictures of our C2C Advocates posted a few days ago! Here's your chance to learn a little bit more about them!

Meet Paula! 

Paula's major is Integrative Studies with a minor in Early Childhood Education. She plans to pursue a career social work, focusing on helping children and becoming a sign language interpreter.  You can often find Paula practicing her sign language during her Muse Rooms and breaks between classes. When she is not on campus she loves to go shopping and hang out with her family.
  
Paula is currently serving a C2C Advocate in a reading/writing course for the Adult Basic Literacy Education  (ABLE) program. She chose to become a C2CA because she wanted to have an opportunity to work with students new or returning to college and make them feel welcome.  Her favorite part of being an Advocate is being able to help the instructors and students. She especially enjoys teaching the students about the resources available on campus. Paula's class volunteered at the Animal Adoption Center (top right) where she helped to socialize the cats. Her favorite part of the shelter is that it is a no kill facility. She felt the students appreciated the trip to the shelter because it allowed them to interact with the animals. If you want to read more about this Civic Engagement project check out the blog! 

Paula's answers to a couple questions: 
What advice would you give to an incoming freshman? When you feel over well just take a deep breath and count to 10 backwards while saying I can do this because I am a successful student.

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? If I could choose to be an animal I would be an American bald eagle because I could glide though the air and would represent United States as a strong character.  

Meet Abby! 

Abby is currently majoring in psychology and plans to become a child psychologist. Abby is quite active student on campus. She is the treasurer of the Photography club, a member of Campus Activities Committee (CAC) and was an Orientation Leader this summer. Off campus Abby has a part time job and likes to sing.

She is currently serving as a C2C Advocate in an English 007 English Language Learners class. She chose to become an Advocate because she wanted to help students do well in college. Her favorite part is being able to work with the students, getting to know them and helping them in anyway that she can. Her class volunteered at the Boys & Girls club of Greater Cincinnati in Hamilton. They helped the kids with math and reading. She loved having the little kids read to her, as shown in the picture on the top left. If you want to read more about this Civic Engagement project check out the blog!

For Abby a college degree means that she can become a doctor and help kids and adolescents with their troubles. Her advice to incoming college students is to get involved early! Abby's favorite service project was volunteering at soup kitchen because she felt like she was making a difference in someone's life and helping to make their life a little bit easier even for just one night.

Abby's answers to a couple questions:

If you could be any animal what would you be and why? A dog because they are laid back and are almost always happy. 

If you could teleport somewhere for only 60 seconds, where would you go and why? Elizabethan era because I want to meet William Shakespeare. 

Meet Anessa!

 Anessa is majoring in Integrative Studies and plans to pursue a career in Real Estate. Like many of our Advocates, Anessa is very busy both on and off campus. On campus she is a tutor, works at the Harrier's Nest, member of O.W.L.S. and international club. Off campus she is a mother, wife, member of the Baptist Church and learning to speak Spanish. 

She is currently serving as a C2C Advocate in an English 007 English Language Learners class with Abby. She chose to become a C2CA for the experience of working with and helping students, especially ELL students. Her favorite part of being an Advocate is being able work with the students during her Muse Rooms. She loves to hangout with the students and help them succeed in college. 

Her advice to an incoming college student is to not over load themselves with a lot of credit hours before they are used to their new schedule and know what they can handle. If she could be any animal she would be a bird because they can travel places quickly. 

Meet Beth!

Beth is majoring in Integrative Studies with concentrations in social work and communications. She plans to pursue a career as a social worker. Beth holds 3 jobs on campus: in the book store, as an orientation leader and as a C2C Advocate. Off campus Beth keeps busy by volunteering, cross stitching, reading and taking care of dogs. 

Beth is an Advocate for an ABLE reading class. She chose to become an Advocate  to give back to others to help them succeed because so much has been given to help her. Beth's favorite part of being an advocate is making connects with students. Her class went to the Open Door Pantry and stocked shelves. She said that during the project it was nice to see the happiness on the students' faces as they were working and making a difference. If want to learn about this project visit the blog!! Beth has also had the opportunity to attend two conferences with Connect2Complete. She attended an Ohio Campus Compact  Connect2Complete  conference in September and the Collegiate Leadership Conference of Ohio in November.

For Beth, a college degree means she finished one journey is ready to embark on another. Her advice for incoming students is to always ask for help or assistance when you need it, we were all new to college once too. Beth also recommends always bringing a notebook and an open mind to class and that participating in school organizations and events will help to ensure you graduate. 

Beth's answers to a couple questions:

What is your favorite service project you've done and why? Miami Staycation...changed my life

If you could teleport somewhere for only 60 seconds, where would you go and why? I would go to heaven to see my kids and my grandma. 

Meet Reb!

Reb (Rebecca) is a Diplomacy & Global Politics major with a minor in French. She plans to pursue a career as a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department and her dream job is to be the Secretary of State. Nothing is out of reach for these Advocates! On campus Reb is the President of Alpha Sigma Phi honor society, a member of the ECO club, an Orientation Leader and a Student Aide in the Student Activities Office. She also keeps busy off campus as a Zumba instructor, a Mary Kay consultant and a volunteer at several local animal shelters. Reb will also be traveling to Paris to spend the spring semester aboard. 

She is currently an Advocate in English 104, writing workshop. She chose to become a C2CA because of the many people her life that have given her guidance that has lead to her academic, professional and personal success today. As an Advocate she has the opportunity to share this knowledge and help others succeed. Her favorite part of serving as an Advocate is being a part of the class and seeing the students' writing improve each week. Unfortunately her class was unable to participate in a Civic Engagement project. 

Reb's advice to incoming student is to use all of the resources on campus. Make sure you eat the free food, attend the free events, talk to your professors, get a tutor, and have fun! For her a college degree is a gateway to her dream career. It is a way for her to gain knowledge and the degree will help to prove that! 

Reb's answers to a couple questions:

What is your favorite service project you've done and why?    My favorite service project I’ve done is when I had the chance to work with a 8 year old girl who had a stroke at a young age and was non-verbal and had no control of her left side of her body. Over almost 3 years, I and other volunteers helped her learn to ride a horse and it was so amazing to see her progression and the sheer joy that riding brought her. It was very rewarding to see her be able to do a “normal” activity.

If you could teleport somewhere for only 60 seconds, where would you go and why? If I could teleport somewhere for only 60 seconds I would go to the bottom of the sea floor in the pacific ocean.  I know I can hold my breath for 60 seconds, so I’d be okay and I want to see all the life down there because we know so little about it.

Meet Kelvin!

Kelvin is earning is Bachelors in Integrative Studies. He plans to pursue a career in Higher Education as a Student Affairs professional. On campus Kelvin is also a Peer Adviser in the Academic Advising Office. Kelvin also has classes on three of Miami's campuses-Middletown, Oxford and Hamilton. Off campus Kelvin is a parent and works part time.

He is currently serving as a C2C Advocate in Math 002. He chose to become an Advocate because he saw it as a good opportunity to help students and gain experience simultaneously. His favorite part of being an Advocate is being able to help the students solve problems. His class performed their Civic Engagement project at Shard Harvest Food bank (Photo above). There they participated in the Backpack program by filling plastic bags with food. He enjoyed this project because it was an easy way to make an impact in the community and help families with children. Kelvin noticed that the students bonded during the project. Check out more about this project by visit the blogs for the first trip and the second trip!

Kelvin's advice to an incoming college student is that college is a marathon not a sprint. To be successful you need to be consistent and patient and that it may not be easy but it is definitely worth it. For Kelvin a college degree means breaking the cycle of poverty and being able to provide a stable life for his son.

Kelvin's answers to a couple questions: 

1. What is your favorite service project you've done and why? My favorite Service Learning project was at Middle School facilitating an anti-bullying course. I enjoyed working with the students and felt that I made an impact in their lives. 
2. If you could be any animal what would you be and why? I would be a bird because I would be able to fly.