Title: Maywood Educational Fair
Term: Fall, 2013
Description: The Maywood Educational Fair first took place in 2009 to inform the community about higher education. Cohort 5 held the 5th Annual Educational Fair on Saturday October 12, 2013 to inform the city of Maywood about higher education. Maywood is an underrepresented population in the East Los Angeles area where majority of the residents do not have a college education. The importance of the fair is to educate residents about the importance of pursuing higher education, the financial aid process, and admission requirements, in addition to providing resources for individuals of all ages. As a part of the Historical Research Committee, the group examined the history, demographics, and issues of the city to better understand the people being helped. In addition, interventions were created to remind volunteers and the community about community cultural wealth and provide examples of their counterstories.
Learning Outcomes:
Assessment Rubric: You may access the Maywood Educational Fair rubric and Maywood intervention data. In addition, here are photos on the day of the Educational Fair.
Evidence: The intervention received a score of "2-basic." The second learning outcome was given "3-competent". For the last learning outcome, I gave myself a score of "4-advanced."
Reflection: The Fifth Annual Maywood Educational Fair was my first experience participating in a fair and informing others about valuable information. It was difficult to get participants to volunteer in my intervention because of the location. Due to being in the middle of the fair, people did not want to take time during passing periods to stop and participate in the intervention. They were focused on getting to workshops and asking me about the location of them. In addition, getting individuals to participate was difficult without a Spanish translator. This is a recommendation for the future committee in order to have a higher participation rate. With this, the intervention was given a score of "2-basic" because not many people participated and participants gave one example of a personal experience. Nonetheless, the fair was not only educational and informative to the Maywood community, but it was a learning moment for me. I saw class readings turn into reality. Reading about the Hispanic community in Yosso’s Critical Race Counterstories and learning about community cultural wealth was different when seeing the text in action. For instance, the Maywood Historical Timeline intervention exemplified how much adults care about their children’s future and how students want to strive for higher education. One parent wrote, “es muy importante para motivar mas a los ninos en sus estudios,” which translates to “it is really important to motivate the children more in their studies.” This reveals how the deficit model is inaccurate and how communities such as Maywood desire higher education but need the resources to inform and better assist their loved ones. Community cultural wealth was exposed when students expressed aspiration comments such as “It shows that no matter what’s in your way, you can pass that. It has affected my experience by showing me I can have a good future.” This comment really touched me because the student seemed motivated to obtain a higher education despite challenges during the educational journey. It made me feel grateful to read responses such as this because it was a friendly reminder of the rewarding experience student affairs professional experience when helping their students. At the same time, I felt upset for the inequality of the social and educational system which has minorities as oppressed groups, struggling to achieve their dreams because of their identity. Even though I was not able to reach my goal of at least "3-competent", the intervention was a rewarding experience and I was grateful to see the outcomes.
Term: Fall, 2013
Description: The Maywood Educational Fair first took place in 2009 to inform the community about higher education. Cohort 5 held the 5th Annual Educational Fair on Saturday October 12, 2013 to inform the city of Maywood about higher education. Maywood is an underrepresented population in the East Los Angeles area where majority of the residents do not have a college education. The importance of the fair is to educate residents about the importance of pursuing higher education, the financial aid process, and admission requirements, in addition to providing resources for individuals of all ages. As a part of the Historical Research Committee, the group examined the history, demographics, and issues of the city to better understand the people being helped. In addition, interventions were created to remind volunteers and the community about community cultural wealth and provide examples of their counterstories.
Learning Outcomes:
- SWiBAT Create an intervention to demonstrate the importance of counterstorytelling and community cultural wealth.
- SWiBAT Understand the history of Maywood through research and make connections to theories.
- SWiBAT Effectively communicate with Historical Research Committee members in preparation of the Maywood Educational Fair.
Evidence: The intervention received a score of "2-basic." The second learning outcome was given "3-competent". For the last learning outcome, I gave myself a score of "4-advanced."
Reflection: The Fifth Annual Maywood Educational Fair was my first experience participating in a fair and informing others about valuable information. It was difficult to get participants to volunteer in my intervention because of the location. Due to being in the middle of the fair, people did not want to take time during passing periods to stop and participate in the intervention. They were focused on getting to workshops and asking me about the location of them. In addition, getting individuals to participate was difficult without a Spanish translator. This is a recommendation for the future committee in order to have a higher participation rate. With this, the intervention was given a score of "2-basic" because not many people participated and participants gave one example of a personal experience. Nonetheless, the fair was not only educational and informative to the Maywood community, but it was a learning moment for me. I saw class readings turn into reality. Reading about the Hispanic community in Yosso’s Critical Race Counterstories and learning about community cultural wealth was different when seeing the text in action. For instance, the Maywood Historical Timeline intervention exemplified how much adults care about their children’s future and how students want to strive for higher education. One parent wrote, “es muy importante para motivar mas a los ninos en sus estudios,” which translates to “it is really important to motivate the children more in their studies.” This reveals how the deficit model is inaccurate and how communities such as Maywood desire higher education but need the resources to inform and better assist their loved ones. Community cultural wealth was exposed when students expressed aspiration comments such as “It shows that no matter what’s in your way, you can pass that. It has affected my experience by showing me I can have a good future.” This comment really touched me because the student seemed motivated to obtain a higher education despite challenges during the educational journey. It made me feel grateful to read responses such as this because it was a friendly reminder of the rewarding experience student affairs professional experience when helping their students. At the same time, I felt upset for the inequality of the social and educational system which has minorities as oppressed groups, struggling to achieve their dreams because of their identity. Even though I was not able to reach my goal of at least "3-competent", the intervention was a rewarding experience and I was grateful to see the outcomes.
Maywood
is an underrepresented community with many obstacles the people must overcome,
but in light of the challenges the city and the families face, they have
hope. There was hope parents had for
their kids to have a better future.
There was hope for the children to get an education and give back to the
community, “I am proud to come from Maywood, go to Maywood Academy, and
graduate with high honors.” It helped me
recognize the privilege I have to pursue a college education with the
encouragement of my family. I became
proud of graduating from Canoga Park High School (CPHS) which is known for
being a low quality school, its dropout rates, and its poor student
performance. When comparing CPHS or my
middle school to other schools around the San Fernando Valley, they had limited
Advanced Placement courses, electives, and resources which made me ashamed for
being a part of their alumni. I
recognized the community cultural capitals which enriched my experiences
attending the schools and the Maywood students helped me appreciate my role as
a future student affairs professional. Thus the two theories I connected to the community are Rendon's Validation theory and Schlossberg's Marginality vs Mattering theory. The intervention helped validate the residents' experiences but it also helped me validate my work. In addition, the responses participants gave about community, displayed the importance of mattering and support given from the community which positively affected the respondents.
Lastly,
I appreciated Kristina and Rob checking up on me. Having supportive members helped make the planning
and implementing processes smoother and more enjoyable. We kept in touch through text, email, and face-to-face meetings. Deadlines were never missed and there was never confusion with our roles because the committee leader was very supportive and answered questions. Through the group's kindness and positive feedback,
I experienced Rendon’s validation theory.
With this, I plan to pay it forward by validating those I come in
contact with because everyone is a valuable person but sometimes external
influences or feedback is helpful to remind people of their importance. In addition, I want to practice positive
self-talk and self-validation to have internal locus of control. The Maywood Educational Fair gave me a better
sense of my identity, changes I need for personal growth, and gave me hope to
persevere.
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