Presented By Giulia Folli
The Learning Portfolio is a dynamic exhibit that captures the transformative journey of building an idea with a local community partner in the Washington DC area into a tangible project that is used to enhance the partner’s mission within the community it serves. Rather than simply displaying unbroken success, the essence of this learning portfolio is revealed in exploring the inherent challenges encountered along the way, as these obstacles contribute to valuable learning experiences. This portfolio is more than just a collection of accomplishments; it is a reflective narrative that provides insights into my evolving ideas and development throughout the semester. This transformative journey is captured in the Learning Portfolio, which provides a glimpse into the fusion of academic rigour and real-world application that defines the essence of my senior year experience as a public health major senior.
Understanding My Community Partner
The Latin American Youth Center (LAYC): My Community Partner
Our mission is to empower a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youths’ social, academic, and career needs
The LAYC was founded in 1968 and originated as a very small grassroots recreation center that aimed to empower Latino youth (LAYC, 2013). When it started, it offered educational services in after school and in the summer. In 1978 the LAYC received funding from the DC Department of Employment Services allowing the center to start youth training programs, including offering English classes to the Latino youth. In the early 90s, the LAYC starts creating programs to address the problem of violence and drugs among the Latino community and housing programs to help homeless Latino youth. In 1995, the LAYC receives for the first time a grant from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development and establishes a Youth Build program (LAYC, 2013). Between 1968 and 1998 the LAYC starts building their development center in DC serving not only the Latino community but also other youth communities. Today, LAYC is a nationally recognized agency that serves underserved youth communities of all races, serving over 4,000 youth and families a year. Their goal is to help youth in their transition to adulthood through different programs that address their academic, career and social needs (LAYC, 2013).
Source: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). (2013). About Us. Latin American Youth Center. https://www.layc-dc.org/about
What social problems does LAYC address?
These are some of the social problems that the LAYC address:
- Youth homelessness: LAYC provides housing services for homeless and runaway youth
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health: LAYC offers substance abuse and counseling programs to address mental health problems that affect many youths
- Education/academic disparities: LAYC helps youth through tutoring and educational support services to support youth remain in school, graduate, and access graduation education
- Youth Empowerment: LAYC empowers youth by preparing them for their professional carriers by providing job training, workshops on professional development, internship opportunities to address the high youth unemployment rates among the communities
- Support youth in justice system: LAYC works to reduce youth involvement in the justice system by providing different mentoring services and helps to reduce criminal activity among the communities
Source: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). (2013). About Us. Latin American Youth Center. https://www.layc-dc.org/about
What services does LAYC provide?
The LAYC provides different services in the following areas:
- Academics: LAYC provides education support in schools expanding both professional and academic opportunities
- Arts and recreation: LAYC creates art/media programs to help youth express and discover themselves
- Job readiness: LAYC provides services on career exploration and everything pertaining to developing life skills for the professional environment
- Safe housing: LAYC provides transitional living programs for both runaway and homeless youth
- Health and wellness: LAYC provides social, mental, physical, and emotional health support to youth
- Promotor Pathway: LAYC creates 1-1 sessions with youth to help them engage with their community and help them overcome barriers like homeless, substance abuse, mental health issues, crime, unemployment and dropping out of school
- Nutrition Program: LAYC youth food security is supported through hands-on cooking, nutrition, and gardening classes, as well as the distribution of food and other resources.
Source: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). (2013). About Us. Latin American Youth Center. https://www.layc-dc.org/about
Where does LAYC provide services and what populations does it serve?
The LAYC provides services to over 4,000 families and young people in school-based sites, youth centers and public schools in DC and Prince George’s and Montgomery countries in Maryland, under the name of Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers.
The LAYC serves low-income youth (11-24 years old) from all different backgrounds. According to their website, just over 50% are Latinos, around 35% African Americans, and the rest are youth from all different backgrounds. Around 46% of the population they serve speaks English and 32% speaks Spanish.
Source: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). (2013). About Us. Latin American Youth Center. https://www.layc-dc.org/about
Why is LAYC important to the Washington Metropolitan area (DMV area)?
- It is very important to the DMV area because it supports a big part of the community living in the area.
- It plays an important role in the development and support of the youth in DMV area. This improves the job opportunities youth can find in the area and empowers youth to engage better with the community.
- It helps especially the Latino and African American communities integrate better with the community around them and help them create stronger connections and a sense of belonging in the DMV community.
- It helps to improve education levels in the communities, reducing unemployment rates and thus improving economic growth in the DMV area. As the LAYC helps to address youth access to health services, it improves the well-being of the overall community. Additionally, the LAYC also helps to address crime rates in the area.
Source: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). (2013). About Us. Latin American Youth Center. https://www.layc-dc.org/about
A brief description of your project
The overall aim of my senior project with LAYC is to create a nutrition manual for their Nutrition Program. The LAYC Food & Nutrition Program (FNP) provides hands-on classes that target different age groups. Classes emphasize the importance of nutrition, teach cooking skills, introduce new foods, and facilitate deeper discussions. Together with my team partner, my goal was to create a food nutrition manual on several nutrition topics. This ultimately would be used to create nutrition classes delivered to youth LAYC serves.
Source: Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). (2013). Food & Nutrition. Latin American Youth Center. https://www.layc-dc.org/food-and-nutrition
The nutrition topics included: Grains, Fruits & Vegetables, Protein, Sugar, Salt, Fats, Processed Foods, Take-Out vs. Homemade, Smart Grocery Shopping, Nutrition Labels, Food Advertising and Growing Food/Seasonality.
Three different deliverables for each nutrition topic
The first one is an info sheet (see figure n.1) with general information about the different issues connecting to each nutritional topic. The first component of this info sheet is outlining key takeaways. These are extremely important to set expectations, let the students know the session's objectives, and set the tone of the class. The key takeaways also guide the information that must be included on the sheet. LAYC wanted us to present the information by using bullet points. This to keep the information concise and clear.
The second deliverable is a nutrition activity sheet (see figure n.2). This would entail having different activities per age group, links to helpful handouts, and links to recipes. This last one is an essential component of nutrition classes at LAYC. They always want to engage youth with their hands and help them apply what they have learned in the lesson into something tangible, like following a recipe that lets them reflect on what they have learned. The recipes must also be simple and inclusive, meaning having primarily vegetarian and vegan recipes. The last part of this nutrition activity sheet is the reflection part. LAYC told us that the reflection part is usually very flexible as sometimes it happens while the students and the teacher cook, or sometimes it takes place after that.
The third deliverable is a dive deeper sheet (see figure n.3), which reflects a more “Textbook” style background information sheet with FAQs and links to different articles that provide a more in-depth overview of some of the topics briefly introduced in the info fact sheet.
Teamwork Dynamics
My project team partner was Amani Ali. Throughout the semester, we navigated various challenges and successes, learning and growing as a team. Our seamless teamwork was one of our greatest assets. We both understood how important it is to communicate effectively with each other, so we made sure we would update each other frequently on the development of the project. This dedication to communication was essential to our success. We discussed our progress, set goals, and addressed any issues during our weekly check-ins. This proactive strategy not only helped us stay on course, but it also promoted accountability. One other noteworthy strength was our effective task division. From the start, we both identified each other's strengths. Additionally, recognized shortcomings early on. This not only guaranteed that every part of our project got the attention it needed, but it also made the tasks more manageable. We were able to maintain a high quality of work on all components as a result.
Looking back, we were correct in our original judgement of ourselves from our Team Building Activity at the start of the semester. We both had a clear idea of our personal strengths and places for development after our team-building exercise. We were able to avoid possible areas of disagreement because to this awareness. Moreover, the clarity in our self-evaluation promoted smooth dialogue, which simplified the process of resolving any issues that surfaced. Setting deadlines and maintaining an orderly routine were project management tools that we both valued.
One of the difficulties we had was establishing strict timelines at first, which caused tension. This was mainly because the project was not well-defined yet and there were still some moving variables. We wanted to make sure we get on top of the project right away so we would have the right time to modify it according to the feedback received. We were open and honest with one another when we realized the timeframe we had been given did not align with our schedules, and we came up with a new timetable that would benefit both LAYC and us. Scope creep, or the enlargement of the project scope without modifying schedules, posed another difficulty. We were both worried about how we would have completed the project to a good standard in the limited period we had. Other challenges we both faced was with one of the deliverables of the project, the nutrition activity sheet. This task entailed creating engaging activities for a demographic of 17-24 year old, many of whom are also parents. The challenge was in creating nutrition educational content that was both engaging and effective, ensuring that the information was conveyed in an interesting and in a non-boring manner while still achieving the desired educational outcomes.
Project Management Tools and Style
Project Management Style
Looking back, among the project management styles, the Agile project management style one suited more our type of project compared to the Waterfall one. The Waterfall project management style would have been too linear and sequential for our project type. This is true primarily because at the beginning, many variables were not defined yet, and being flexible was key. Additionally, the vision of the project was not as clear at the beginning, but it developed as we talked more about the project and as we started to complete some of the initial deliverables. Having an Agile project management style allowed us to redefine and adjust the projects' goals. This is because, during our first meeting with LAYC, we were given a slightly different manual to work on, and this meant we needed to redefine the goals and the various deliverables for the project. Both LAYC and I tried to be flexible and remarkably adaptive. Some steps of the project became more evident as we approached the project more. Before starting the project, there was still a lot of planning, but some specific parts became clearer as some features were completed and assessed. Overall, this type of planning applied to our project was very iterative, meaning that we were trying to optimize the project as it developed and took into consideration the feedback received by LAYC. This allowed for the project to be redefined and adjusted.
Project Management Tools
Effective and clear communication: Throughout our partnership with LAYC we tried to have a clear and effective communication style and tried to not have information overload by ensuring the information we shared with our community partner was logically organized and brief. The goal was to create a safe collaboration environment to start the partnership between us and LAYC.
Intentionality and appropriateness of language usage: When working with diverse communities, having cultural sensitivity is very important. One key takeaway was how important it was to be mindful and intentional about the language we used throughout the manual. Hence, to achieve this, we chose words like nourishing or nutrient-rich instead of healthy and/or unhealthy. This was to emphasize the goal of LAYC, which is to teach youth to care for their body and give them the knowledge and the tools to ultimately help youth make informed decisions on their food choices. Using words like nourishing as a substitute for healthy and unhealthy helps us think more critically about the meaning of such words and the concept of power redistribution. The word nourishing can be a more encompassing word voice. Using healthy or unhealthy often highlights the underlying judgment. When trying to educate youth about having balanced and mindful eating habits, using these latter words can lead youth to see certain foods as either good or bad. Reflecting on the words we use is an aspect of critical thinking and critical service-learning. Critical service-learning means reflecting and challenging the power dynamics in the society. The words we use can either reinforce or challenge these power dynamics and it is important to be mindful of the language we use. Additionally, as we are working with communities with different cultural backgrounds it is important to be culturally sensitive. Narratives are crucial in critical service-learning. The way we tell stories and how we frame them can influence how many social issues are understood and addressed.
Methods of assertive communication: One method of assertive communication used is called Broken Record, which refers to repeating the same idea or thought to make sure all stakeholders agree on what are the next steps moving forward in the project and that everyone is on the same page. Additionally, throughout the project I also used I-Message assertive type of communication when replying to some emails LAYC sent to us, including meeting invites and the newly updated manual. When communicating with LAYC, we used a very respectful tone and maintained a certain level of formality. The communication was concise and clear to foster cooperation and a safe environment. We actively listened for the first part of the meetings to allow them to express their thoughts and opinions before my team partner and I started asking clarifying questions. This communication style differed from the one I use with my project partner. Our communication was often less formal and less structured as we share ideas and brainstorm together.
Progress Reporting: Throughout the project, my partner and I both used all three types of progress reporting, meaning status, progress, and forecasting. For the first one, we always gave LAYC a snapshot of where the project was standing and provide information on the current state of it. At the same time, at the end of each week we would report the completed tasks and overall progress made on the project. Lastly, we would also communicate with them an estimation of the future developments of the project, anticipate the outcomes for the following week, letting them know what to expect from us in the next stages of the project. My partner and I tracked all our deliverables and deadlines in a worksheet where we each divided all the nutritional topics that we needed to work on, identified the different deliverables for each one of those and set strict weekly deadlines for ourselves that helped us divide the work and made it manageable in the time we had to complete the project. There was a lot of teamwork between the two of us to make sure the work was divided equally, and we would always communicate if one of us needed more time and would adjust the deadlines accordingly.
Re-assessing My Hopes and Fears
My fears and hopes were very similar to what happened in class, in many respects. The focus on the value of communication, establishing trust, and maintaining partnerships resonated with the readings I had mentioned in my opening analysis. The significance of these factors in the context of community engagement and service-learning projects was further emphasized by the class discussions and activities. The emphasis on project management tools for upholding efficient communication and resolving issues reflected the issues brought up by the readings and literature studied during the semester. All in all, the class discussions and material validated the significance of my fears and hopes, offering a helpful starting point for managing the challenging project.
After learning more from the class discussions and exercises, my hopes and fears would still pretty much be the same. However, now that I have a better grasp of the useful tactics covered in class, I would feel more prepared to face obstacles and pursue my goals. I would have more faith to work with the Latin American Youth Centre (LAYC) and create and maintain a successful long-lasting partnership. My concerns about misunderstandings and project delays would now be manageable thanks to the class's tools and frameworks for navigating communication difficulties. If anything, the information I now possess validates the significance of my initial concerns and hopes by putting them in the context of the useful strategies we covered in class.
This project, in my opinion, will significantly aid in bringing about social change. The project's goal is to equip the community with useful knowledge by producing a nutrition manual for the Latin American Youth Centre, which could lead to better health outcomes. As studied in the course, the fundamentals of critical service learning are consistent with the importance of establishing a long-lasting alliance. The fundamental ideas of critical service learning learned throughout the semester draw attention to the importance of having effective communication, respecting differing viewpoints, and forming an actual and meaningful partnership. This project seeks to go beyond the simple delivery of services and promote a more equitable and reciprocal relationship by concentrating on the needs and objectives of the community partner.
Indeed, I now have a better grasp of the subtleties and the complexity of service-learning and community engagement initiatives thanks to this course. It has broadened my understanding of what it means to work as a professional in my field by understanding the value of collaboration, effective communication, and a dedication to social impact in addition to technical skills. The conversations I've had about sustainability, forming partnerships, and the function of service in a larger social framework have changed my understanding of professionalism. I now feel more prepared and knowledgeable about what it means to make a significant and positive contribution to social change, especially in the field of public health. My understanding of professional responsibility has grown because of this course, going beyond individual success to include a larger dedication to the well-being of the community.
Additionally, this community project and the course itself emphasized for me the importance of having empathy towards the community you serve to reduce inequities and truly understand the challenges they face, listen to them and value their perspective. Lastly, I improved further my critical thinking skills as they relate to thinking about critical service learning and the redistribution of power within the community.