The USF Contemporary Art Museum hosted an art display by artist Bosco Sodi. This display, titled Muro, was a 6-foot by 20-foot wall that was made out of handmade bricks from Oaxaca, Mexico. These bricks were made by local Mexican artisans and then sealed with each artist’s signature. Throughout the day the wall was assembled and then collectively dissembled by students, faculty, and local community members. Each person was allowed to remove one brick from the wall and take it home in a custom printed bag with a certificate of authenticity. The wall was very symbolic and shows that although something is an obstacle, through united forces, it can be dismantled. It was very interesting to see how people from all walks of life could come together in a collective effort to break down this towering wall. Everyone from the office was able to visit the wall throughout the day and take a brick home. Although I am not sure what I will do with my brick, it is a reminder of coming together as a united force and challenging all obstacles that may stand in our way.
-Rahima
0 Comments
Today Rahima and I got to attend the quarterly meeting for the The University Area Community Development Corporation Inc. (University Area CDC), which is an organization in the Tampa Community that aims to aid children and family development, crime prevention, and commerce growth. The goal of this meeting was to bring together partners in the community to collaborate with one another on ways to increase and consolidate the services that are being provided. This meeting was particularly interesting because the agenda for the meeting consisted of a series of speakers that are making change in the community giving us updates on the scope of the impact. At this meeting, we got the opportunity to network with leaders in our community and take some cool pictures at the photo table they set up. The two segments of the meeting that stood out to us were: Real Talk: Policy, Coffee & Conversation This segment of the meeting featured Sean Shaw who is a former Florida State Representative. During this very engaging segment, he shared that he initially ran for office because of his political passions. He did not like the policies and rhetoric he was seeing in the media, which promoted to begin his mission to bring about real change. After is career in Politics ended, he decided to change gears. He now works for a law firm and is working start up a nonprofit while also having a Radio show that educate people about local government and shed lights on somethings that are going on in the capitol. Well Built Bikes This is a non-profit started by Jon Dengler and it is a earn a bike program. In this program, adults can volunteer with them or one of their partner organizations for tn hours, which will then earn them a bike. The purpose of this program is to bridge the gap between the rich and poor in the Tampa Bay community and give people the tools they need to meet their needs regardless of their income level. All the bikes in this program our donated and then refurbished for distribution. For more information this amazing program click the links below: Well Built Bikes at Tampa's University Mall helps homeless earn a bicycle through community service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG5vJ2k5LSk Website: http://bikeshoptampa.com/ www.welltampa.com -Destiny Through our placement at the Office for Community Engagement, I have noticed that my participation in USF sponsored events has greatly increased. Prior to this semester I rarely came to the center of campus and really missed out on a lot of great involvement opportunities. At this internship, we have been encouraged to look at events happening on campus and attend these events. All of the events we attend are to help us explore our interests and gain valuable experiences. In only the first two weeks of this internship, I have identified some of my interests which include: public health, social justice, and increasing access to higher education. By identifying these interests I have then been able to find events, organizations, professors, and USF offices that do work regarding these important issues. The OCEP staff has been very helpful and in allowing us to identify our passions and connecting us with unique opportunities. I am looking forward to all the opportunities this internship has in store.
-Rahima Our first day began with a lot of anxiety about what this internship would hold. Our first task was to sit in on the weekly staff meeting where we got the opportunity to meet the lovely OCEP staff and hear about the projects each member of the team was working on. We also sat in on a meeting one of the office community partners, Metropolitan Ministries. In this meeting, we learned that the partnership between USF and Metropolitan Ministries is extensive and has been in existence from as early as 1995. Sitting in on these meetings gave us a good idea about the kinds of issues that are going on in the community and the role our office plays in supporting local organizations.
On our second day, we attended the Involvement Invasion hosted by the USF Center for Student Involvement. We learned about many different student organizations and how to get involved with the various clubs and service projects. One of the projects the office works on is the Global Initiative to Disrupt Human Trafficking Forum. We learned what this forum is about and how we can get involved in the planning process. As a Social Work student in a clinical program, OCEP was a completely different world due to their focus on the community (macro perspective) versus the focus on the individual (micro perspective). However, we couldn't be more excited for this because it aligns more closely with what we'd like to do in the future. Overall, the first week was filled with exciting news and new opportunities. For example, we found out our office is submitting a proposal to present at the “Focus on First Generation Conference.” What’s even more exciting is that we will get the opportunity to speak about our experiences with student employment and study abroad as it relates to being first-generation students. Additionally, the staff at OCEP has really worked hard to help us identify our areas of interest and find local events that would help build our resume and allow us to explore all our interests. We could not be more exited about what the future of this internship will hold. -Destiny |
AuthorDISCLAIMER: THE SOCIAL WORK INTERNS POSTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS OR THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA. ArchivesCategories |