Class of 2016

Communications, Advocacy and Social Change major

Education Policy Studies & Spanish minor

The experiential learning courses I took helped me go from simply informing myself about major social justice issues or leadership development theories to actually seeing them play out in the real world. For example, during my senior year I interned with one of my professors from COMM 372 to evaluate a pilot journalism program at a low-income charter high school in Chicago. In class we discussed the education opportunity gap in the U.S. and the impact that a journalism course can have on youth civic engagement. As a program evaluator, I led focus groups with students who shared that having an online publication with an editorial board structure gave them the autonomy to decide what stories to share with the world about their community, that went beyond the drugs and violent incidents documented by third-party traditional media sources. This experience developed my research skills and fueled my passion to pursue a career that advocated for programs in schools to develop students’ autonomy and self-confidence.

Experiential learning helped me grow personally, academically, and professionally. Some of the best advice I received while I was in college came from interviewing leaders at the organizations I worked with. One of the staff members at Centro Romero told me that she approached teamwork in the same way as the famous “Stone Soup” tale: everyone contributes their best “ingredients” (talents, skills) to make a delicious “soup” (community, service) that everyone can enjoy. Listening to advice like this from one of Centro Romero’s longest serving community leaders helped me take on the right attitude to be successful both during the service learning experience and in the future.

The focus of my career is to improve the quality of education students receive, particularly those at the margins of society. My experiential learning classes went beyond the classroom. I could study the world around me and reflect on the impact that my decisions have on the people around me. Since I graduated last May I channeled the mission-based work from my experiential learning classes into a year of service as an English teaching fellow at a low-income public high school in Colombia. After a year of international teaching experience, I am excited to continue exploring creative approaches to teaching and learning that equip students with the skills they need to lead purposeful lives.

Blog: www.breakingparadigmsforum.wordpress.com,

Learning Portfolio: https://w.taskstream.com/ts/rivera217/BuildingaHomeSocialJusticeInternship.html/fbznzk00ffz_zkzmznzdzdzbzd