Reflecting Upon My Capstone Project
The second half of my senior year has enabled me to explore a variety of my passions and academic interests, one of them being community engagement. As a member of Polytechnic's Global Scholars cohort, I have been collaborating with the directors of HiveBeGood, Heritage Housing Partners, and the Pasadena Housing Department to address the homelessness crisis affecting students at Pasadena City College (PCC). I appreciate these organizations' dedication to upholding the UN's sustainable development goals and sparking social change. With their support, I have been able to connect with board members and faculty at PCC to discuss potential solutions as such case management programs and diagnostic surveys.
After learning about how three-to-four thousand PCC students face homelessness, I wrote a proposal outlining a housing program that utilizes PCC's current resources to provide students with better case management. This project is rooted in the practices and philosophies of other client-centered housing programs such as that of Homebase. Towards the end of April, I presented my project to student and faculty at Polytechnic School and board members at PCC. During that presentation, I demonstrated the importance of housing security and spoke upon my journey to provide tips on how others can get involved in upholding the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
My experience as a global scholar enabled me to execute on my capstone project. For months we have had enriching discussions about issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the crisis in Afghanistan, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of equity and empathy in our local and global communities. Hopefully, my project will shed light on overlooked communities as students should not have to go to school unsure of where they will sleep at night.
Comments
Post a Comment