High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023

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Course Code

LDR

Course Number

3215

Faculty/Instructor

Dr. Debra Edgar

Faculty/Instructor Email

debra.edgar@ucf.edu

About the Author

Mekhai Ryan

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

The purpose of this project was to make a lasting change on our respective communities. During my process of completing this project, I engaged in activities, such as, food drives, community cleanups, be involved in the planning of our 3rd annual community parade, etc. While participating in this project, I learned that seeing other people happy makes me happy and want to contribute more to their happiness. I learned that being a good example in the community, urges others to want to do the same thing for others as well. I volunteered for the Pine Hills Safe Neighborhood Partnership, and they were founded in 2001. I’ve been volunteering with them since I was a freshman in high school, and I enjoy helping others. I feel an obligation to be apart of this organization, especially since I provide that infusion of youth not many non-profit organizations possess.

Additional Resources

This is my audio transcript.

Hi, my name is Mekhai Ryan. For this service learning project, I volunteer with an organization called the Pine Hill Safe Neighborhood Partnership. I've been volunteering with them since I was a freshman in high school. I've been volunteering with them for so long because they were like an integral part of my community, so I felt compelled to do it. Not compelled as an obligated, but compelled to like, want to make change in my community. I feel like the purpose of this project was to find something, like a niche or something, that would make you want to make a lasting impact or at least spark lasting change on your community. I feel like I did that. For my community, it's mainly comprised of elderly people or people who are of older age, like nowhere near my age. So I feel like me being there was like a start to sparking change in that community. As far as what I've learned, what I learned was that older people get like gratification out of seeing a younger person take pride in their neighborhood and wanting to make, like do something about it. So what I did, like as far as duties and tasks, we did community cleanups. Well, I did community cleanups. I helped set up certain events. It wasn't all community cleanups. We did one food drive this semester for Thanksgiving. I've also have been a part of planning our annual parade. It's our third annual parade. It happens in December, will be. As a community, we just all get together and we celebrate the community and how far we come. It's been like a time for fun and whatnot. So I was a part of planning that. And what I feel like the lesson that I should have learned was that I was a part of the community. was um I feel like for the project what I've learned from myself was like what do you what do you get out of surface personally not just what do what do other people get out of it from your from your work but what do other people get out of it I feel like I was able to put smalls on a lot of faces and that really brought me joy just seeing that just seeing that what I did no matter how small to them or how big like it may have seemed to them it always put a smile on their face I feel like being there I was a little uncomfortable because as you guys know I've been there for so long but I'm still like I want to say I'm the youngest one there so for as long as I'm doing it it's still not people my age really so I feel like you know that like that kind of like brought me like a little discomfort um but like the lasting change I feel like I brought or the spark that I'm able to provide is that here we have an 18 year old kid who's willing to take time out of his day no matter how busy he is when young people are out doing whatever he's taking time out of his day to really cater to his community and I feel like that's really commendable so I feel like that's what I've learned out of this and I feel like this is beneficial not only to those people who I hoped or wanted to help or whoever but I feel like this is beneficial in like a different environment like in the actual work environment like this kind of attitude like we got to take initiative and not allow yourself to be in stagnation. Thank You!

Keywords

initiative; youth; community; stagnation; parade

How Initiative Inspires Togetherness


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