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卡米拉·富勒，19岁

专业:社会学

小:教育

How my decision to take an extended format education class has been the most meaningful part of my time at CC.

On day one at CC we were told "you have to find a way to engage with the Colorado Springs community." As a very involved high school student who focused my time outside of class on service work, 我认为, “没问题，我很擅长融入校园外的生活!于是，我的CC生活开始了. 想象一下, 9-12班, 接着是激动人心的阅读, 俱乐部博览会, 校际足球比赛, 社会活动, 演讲者及更多. I fell in love with CC campus culture and the way I was constantly rushing from activity to activity. 我所做的, 然而, 发现自己想念高中生活的某些方面, 但我不知道那到底是什么. My Sophomore year I studied abroad in Nepal for a semester studying Nepali language and empowerment through education. Taking a step away from CC life really helped me reflect on how I was spending my time at CC. 我意识到, 我做了别人警告我们不要做的事, 只停留在CC泡泡内. 这需要改变.

I knew that there were ways I could explore my passion of education in a tangible way in the Colorado Springs community. During half block my junior year I took a course called Youth Empowerment in the Neoliberal Age. This class was designed to train us to be effective Public Achievement (PA) coaches so that we could help students at a local high school, 米切尔高中, 为他们的社区发展改变项目. The class was an examination of youth engagement and the power of citizenship within underserved communities.

The CC students in Youth Empowerment in the Neoliberal Age were dedicated to understanding alternative education avenues for empowerment. My decision to take this course was an attempt to acquire skills that will help me delve deeper into my personal commitment to this subject, 和同样热情的人在一起. I recognize that everyone in the course decided to take part in Public Achievement for different reasons and I believe this is what made our group powerful. 在半个街区期间, 我被关于现实教育学的讨论所激励, 多元文化教育的教学理论是什么. My classmates understood the importance of validating the complexity of the individual, 高中学生的生活经验. We were prepared to enter Mitchell and to meet our students on their own cultural and emotional space. It was powerful to learn how to admit that we are not the experts in PA work, 或者科罗拉多斯普林斯. 展示我们的脆弱是在米切尔建立关系的关键. As PA coaches we were vulnerable when working with Mitchell students by being active listeners who validated the knowledge the students brought to the group. 作为一个PA班，我们彼此之间很脆弱, always willing to hear other group's ideas and wanting to make our individual lessons better.

I feel very fortunate for this class because it taught me a lot about the significance of different forms of community. 一个非常重要的社区是我的一小群共同教练. Our group of three co-coaches worked with seven high school students and we had to overcome challenging and emotional issues. I am so proud of how the three of us were innovative and flexible and knew when one of us had to take control. The most defining challenge our group faced was deciding on a project that satisfied all members of the group. 就我个人而言，私人助理最难的方面是驾驭感情. I become very emotional when I work with others and so I feel an extreme amount of responsibility for things to go smoothly, 所以不要让任何人失望. 通过选择项目, I learned the importance of honest communication and the difficult skill of accepting that sometimes it isn't possible to make everyone happy. 另外, learning to capitalize on individual strengths to divide up work in the most efficient way, 是我将来工作时要记住的工具吗. 我有信心在整个学期, 我和我的共同教练们已经接受了教育的基本原则, 接受不舒服.

另一个强大的团体是当地的高中生. As PA coaches we had the privilege of working with students at 米切尔高中 on issues that matter to them. One challenge in the world is the way that negative stereotypes hold communities of people back, 我很自豪能加入一个想要解决这个问题的小组. All the students in our group understood that the negative perception of their high school is a problem, 他们都有不同的方式来解决这个问题. This process was powerful because I think it helped the students understand the importance of compromise when tackling issues that are emotional and not straightforward. When we did ultimately decide on a project it was incredible to watch the students take responsibility for their work in and out of class. This goes to show that being proud of a collaborative mission is motivating. It was a challenge to remember that the goal of PA work is twofold in that the students are gaining powerful skills in addition to helping shift the perception of Mitchell. 通过提出一个项目的过程, our group made great strides in understanding that our project will be meaningful if it can leave a legacy for future Mitchell students. 这是一种认识, of looking beyond oneself that I hope the students will remember because I think this will help the students be successful agents of change as they work on future threats in our world.

My decision to take Youth Empowerment in the Neoliberal Age was the most meaningful part of my CC career so far. 我真诚地希望CC在未来的PA工作中继续与Mitchell合作. I believe this program holds massive potential for a collaborative relationship. Mitchell would benefit from a lasting relationship with its neighboring college, and CC has a lot to learn from the passion and strength of Mitchell students. 通过参与CC泡泡之外, I have realized the full extent of my desire to work as an educator as a way to be an agent of change and encourage young people to be as well. 我对这次经历感激不尽.