Junior J'Taime Lyons receives congratulations from President Nathan Hatch for grant from Harry S. Truman Foundation. Each merit-based scholarship provides $30,000 for graduate study for students who plan to pursue careers in government or other public service.

Lyons is one of 54 students from 48 U.S. colleges and universities named Truman Scholars. She is the 15th Truman Scholar at Wake Forest.

Lyons, who is majoring in sociology, plans to pursue a graduate degree in public policy with a focus on education.

“After graduation, I plan to become a Teach for America Corps member. In order to influence education and social policy, I must see what is happening first-hand,” says Lyons. “After graduate school, I hope to become an education policy advisor for a U.S. Senator, Representative or Governor. Eventually, I would like to be a state senator and eventually governor of North Carolina.”

Lyon’s reflects below on the value her experience in the Institute of Public Engagement’s Summer Nonprofit Immersion Program.

“I always knew that I wanted to make the world a better place for disadvantaged populations and that is  one of the reasons I did the internship.  The research I did in courses at Wake Forest showed me the power of education.  I realized that education would be the mechanism through which I would work for those who are disadvantaged. ”

Q & A with Truman Scholar J’Taime Lyons

When did you participate in the Summer Nonprofit Immersion program?

I did the program in the summer of 2010, before my sophomore year.

What would you say to other students about the summer immersion program?

The nonprofit realm has so many things to offer for anyone from any walk of life. Do not discount an experience because you feel it is only for certain majors and personality types. It provides training, support, a network on campus and in the city of Winston- Salem.

What motivated you to apply for the program?

As I completed my first year of a liberal arts course load I became highly interested in social issues. I had taken a writing seminar that focused on HIV and AIDS and this was a major influence.

Where were you then in your thinking about your career future?

Before the summer immersion experience, I was focused on a medical career. My writing seminar and the summer immersion internship showed me a whole new world and my passions.

Had you ever worked with a non-profit before?

Before this, I volunteered with my mother’s nonprofit, but this work gave me my first in-depth experience with the world of nonprofits.

What was your placement?

I worked at AIDS Care Service, Inc. (ACS) and I did many things: development, program planning, administrative work, and working at their home health facility. One of my most memorable activities was facilitating the support groups. I worked with a wide range of individuals who were HIV positive and really got to understand their daily lives, obstacles, and triumphs. This experience opened my eyes to my calling of serving underserved and stigmatized populations.

How would you describe the intensive business-training seminar?

The business training seminar provided me with another layer of development on my path towards having my own educational nonprofit. It showed me that in order to make the change we need, we must have our house in order. That is exactly what I learned how to do thanks to the nonprofit management component.

What did you find valuable about the reading and reflection portion of the program?

The readings allowed me to truly perform self-reflection, to find what areas of life make me happy and to discern what I most wanted to pursue. They opened a box of possibilities.

Did you meet people through the program who have influenced your choices?

The passion of my cohort of fellow interns had a powerful effect on me.

How did you become interested in education and education policy?

I became interested in education and education policy through my major, through the documentary, Waiting for Superman, and through reflecting on my life.

I always knew that I wanted to make the world a better place for disadvantaged populations and that is also one of the reasons I did the internship.  The research I did in courses at Wake Forest showed me the power of education.  I realized that education would be the mechanism through which I would work for those who are disadvantaged.

The next Fellows & Friends Luncheon is Monday, March 26, in Reynolda 301. The program features professors Michele Gillespie (History), Adam Friedman (Education), Andrew Allwine (Classics -Latin poetry). The topic is “Assessment in Engaged Teaching.”

The purpose of this discussion series is to afford faculty the opportunity to share their ideas and gain inspiration for engaged teaching in an enjoyable, informal setting. Faculty are invited to enjoy lunch, highlight their work, share ideas, and gain inspiration. Featured faculty will speak for about 20 minutes followed by open conversation.

The purpose of this discussion series is to afford faculty the opportunity to share their ideas and gain inspiration for engaged teaching in an enjoyable, informal setting. Faculty are invited to enjoy lunch, highlight their work, share ideas, and gain inspiration. Featured faculty will speak for about 20 minutes followed by open conversation.

The next Friends and Fellows Luncheon is Monday, March 26, in Reynolda 301. The program features professors Michele Gillespie (History), Adam Friedman (Education), Andrew Allwine (Classics -Latin poetry). The topic is “Assessment in Engaged Teaching.”

Political science majors Kathryne Doria (’13) and Tamara Guillen (’12) witnessed first-hand how global issues shape local communities in Winston-Salem when they took Latino Political Behavior and Public Opinion, taught by assistant political science professor Betina Wilkinson in the fall semester. Recently the Institute for Public Engagement’s Friends and Fellows luncheon series gave Doria and Guillen a forum to tell faculty about what they’d learned through the course’s service learning component.

“I took Dr. Wilkinson’s classes because I’m really interested in race relations and how they play out in our society,” said Doria.   “Last semester, for Latino Political Behavior and Public Opinion, I worked with El Buen Pastor, a Latino community organization that provides after school tutoring. I am continuing my time as a tutor this semester for Dr. Wilkinson’s class, ‘Racial and Ethnic Politics.’”

Doria, who tutored four second-grade girls in the fall, wondered at first how the theoretical and intellectual lessons taught in the classrooms would relate to the experiences of six and seven year olds.

But, as the girls became increasingly comfortable with Doria, they revealed more and more about their family and personal lives and connections to course readings emerged. One little girl, who spoke frequently about the crowded conditions in the trailer she shared with fifteen others, offered Doria a glimpse into a reality behind the demographic data in her textbooks.

“She has four brothers, two sisters and lives with both her parents as well as some extended family members,” said Doria.  “While she talked often about how congested her home was, she also expressed how close she and her family are. For instance, just before her nephew’s first birthday, she told me how excited she was that her mom was going to teach her how to cook tamales for the celebration. The preparation of tamales was a very big honor for her and she discussed it proudly.”

Wilkinson’s Latino Political Behavior and Public Opinion focuses on the Latino immigrant experience in the U.S. over several generations. “We examine the socio-economic struggles and the political struggles,” said Wilkinson. “We ask how political identity develops. What about coalition behavior? What brings members of a minority group together or impedes unity?”

“My experiences at El Buen Pastor have illuminated the topics and themes in class discussion and readings,” said Doria. “For example, in class we discussed the importance of forming a pan-ethnic identity among all Latinos, because their divergent and various origins often create separations rather than unity.”

A sense of shared identity is critical for the formation of a minority’s political identity and voice.  Yet, Doria observed, at El Buen Pastor, even at a young age, “students make distinctions among those who are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and other countries.”

Doria concluded by saying, “El Buen Pastor has also illustrated for me the great importance of a quality education within a child’s life. All the students at El Buen Pastor are English-as-second language (ESL) students and it has been an invaluable experience to watch these students balance their multiple linguistic identities. Through their struggles and successes, I have really seen how important it is to foster bilingual educational programs, especially with the great influx of Latino immigrants to our nation.”

Tamara Guillen, who chose the organization CHANGE (Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment) for her service learning experience, was just as enthusiastic about Wilkinson’s course.

“I chose the Latino Political Behavior and Public Opinion for two main reasons. First, the course intrigued me. Secondly, I am Latina and I felt as if the topic could be relevant to me. Just by reading the title of the course, I was immediately excited to take it.”

Last year the Latino Caucus, which operates under the auspice of CHANGE, successfully campaigned for the Caucus membership card to be recognized as a valid form of identification by local police.  Guillen participated in a membership drive to get more of these valid IDs into the hands of local immigrants. Going door to door, she also participated in an outreach campaign to parents in the North Hill Elementary district, where 99.6% of the students have reduced or free lunch.

“I love working with the Latino community,” said Guillen. “So, I was eager to volunteer to help out on the neighborhood walks as well as the identification card drive. I have volunteered before with El Buen Pastor. I wanted to work with CHANGE to get a new experience —  to interact with adult Latinos.  I wanted to be able to compare the thoughts and feeling of Latinos in Winston Salem to those we read about in our textbook.”

“I would recommend all students to take a service-learning class,” urged Guillen. “It was a great experience and enhanced my understanding of the course and of the Winston-Salem community.”

“We all have our own stories to tell whether we’ve been U.S. citizens for our whole lives or we just moved here,” said Alessandra Beasley Von Burg, a communication professor and director of the American Ethnic Studies program. She is leading a project that asks one burning question: Where are you from?

“Where are you from?: A Symposium on Immigration, Mobility and Citizenship,” will open the conversations about immigration and mobility issues. It will be held March 29 and 30 in Carswell Hall. Several speakers will highlight the experiences of minorities in other countries.

“We believe the ‘Where are you from?’ project can make a difference in the way U.S. citizens and policymakers perceive immigrants and the ways immigrants connect with their communities,” Von Burg said. “One way to stop discrimination is by sharing stories and finding points of connection.”

Symposium highlights:

March 29

• 2-4 p.m. — Workshop to record “Where are you from?” stories
• 2-4 p.m. — Lecture and workshop with Angela Kocze, a Roma activist and scholar from Budapest, Hungary, who will speak on immigration, mobility and minority rights in Europe.

March 30

• 9:30 a.m. — Panel discussion on “Who belongs? Dealing with Immigrants as ‘Others’”
• 11 a.m. — “Where is ‘home?’” From Letters to Blogs

Videos

• View more videos on the YouTube channel »

Mary Bolton, Executive Director, El Buen Pastor

“We really value our multi-faceted relationship with the university,” says Mary Bolton (’82), Executive Director of El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services.

In any given semester upward of 80 undergraduates and graduate students tutor in the non-profit’s thriving after school program.   Even a number of Wake Forest professors have volunteered.

“El Buen Pastor was formed as a 501c3 nonprofit in 2006,” said Bolton, “but we began our tutoring programs here at El Buen Pastor Church in 2003. Students from Wake Forest have tutored with us since 2005.

“This spring the men’s soccer team has come to give skills clinics, and our families receive deliveries of rescued produce from Campus Kitchen twice weekly. Our kids look forward to Project Pumpkin every fall.”

The interconnections between Wake Forest and El Buen Pastor, which recently was awarded a prestigious Kellogg Foundation grant to expand its educational mission in the preschool years, are deep as well as many.

Candelas S. Gala, Charles E. Taylor Professor of Romance Languages and Norma-May Isakow, Associate Director of the Institute for Public Engagement are both on our Board of Directors, as is Molly Lineberger WF alum (1982) and parent (2015). Our Director of Family Life Programs Enrique Rodriguez-Pastor received a MA from the Counseling program (2008).”

“By the way, adds Bolton, “I am an alum (1974) and Wake Forest parent (2010).”

Norma-May Isakow brings energy and rich experience to her role of Associate Director of the Institute for Public Engagement. “Fellows and Friends,” a new lunch series for faculty hosted by the Institute for Public Engagement, is the brainchild of Associate Director Norma-May Isakow. The third in the series, “Assessment in Engaged Teaching,” will take place Monday, March 26 from 11:00 – 12:15, Reynolda Hall, Room 301.

“Every engaged teaching course is about illuminating the human condition,” says Isakow. “If you, as a teacher, can create a course that grows out of a connection you have seen between a community need and your own discipline then you are making students part of the world in both a macro and a micro sense.”

A vibrant presence, Isakow brings to her position stellar professional credentials and the rich experience of one who has boldly dedicated herself to addressing human need in settings as diverse as Soweto, London, Zambia, Denver and Birmingham.

“Civically engaged learning can be life changing learning,” says Isakow. “I know this first hand. That’s why I want students to have these kinds of experiences.

“As an undergraduate student, I volunteered in an orphanage in Soweto and at the Johannesburg Legal Aid Bureau where many disenfranchised South Africans sought assistance and relief from the effects of Apartheid Laws. These experiences were formative in my outlook, career pursuits, and finding a sense of purpose in life.”

While the Fellows and Friends luncheon series grew out of the ACE Fellows Program, all faculty are welcome. Isakow’s intention is to unite ACE fellows from past years with those faculty participating in the current program and attract other faculty who may be curious about their colleague’s strategies to include community engagement components in their courses. During each lunch, small panels will initiate discussion on topics related to service learning and engaged teaching, and share their experiences. Isakow hopes that greater awareness of what colleagues and the Institute are doing will inspire even more faculty to introduce civically engaged courses into the University’s curriculum.

Wake Forest’s commitment to service learning, as Isakow is quick to point out, has earned national recognition, in the form of election to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. WFU has also earned the Carnegie Engaged Campus Classification through 2015.

Third year law student Jonathan Ellis, pictured here in Nicaragua, will speak with Steve Virgil about summer work in Managua.

“I feel very privileged to be a part of the work of the Institute for Public Engagement. I’d like faculty – whether or not they are an

ACE fellow – to see the value of service learning. And, I’d like faculty to recognize that service learning is not a burden they have to bear themselves. I’d like them to see the resources IPE has to offer them. IPE is here to take the burden off.”

Featured faculty at the IPE luncheon include Steve Virgil, Betina Wilkinson and Ananda Mitra.  Virgil and Mitra will present briefly on student work in Nicaragua and India.  Wilkinson will discuss her Race and Ethnic Politics course and two of her students, Kathryne Doria and Tamara Guillen, will be talking about their experiences at  CHANGE and El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services.

1. You noted that your own experience of being transformed by service learning and the practice of public engagement is why you want students to have similar life changing learning experiences. Could you elaborate?

My own experiences with community began in my college and law school days in South Africa when I volunteered at an orphanage in Soweto and worked at the Johannesburg Legal Aid Bureau. Nothing was more impactful on me than having these very direct experiences of community and understanding challenges in the human condition particularly in Apartheid days in South Africa.

Throughout my professional life as a lawyer I did legal aid work and then dedicated myself to connect students to community experiences. In a freshman seminar about communication and relationship skills I witnessed students finding their voices and experiencing significant personal growth through interacting with homeless persons, victims of domestic violence and disabled adults and then bringing these experiences back to the classroom and sharing their learning with other students through in-class discussions and written reflections.

I continue to take the opportunity to interact with different populations – recently, the MLK Day March provided a wonderful opportunity to meet new and diverse people, I attended a CHANGE Homeless Caucus, and joined the Board of El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services – I learn so much through these opportunities.

2. What are some of the ideas you have about keeping the Institute for Public Engagement and its Pro Humanitate imperative vibrant?

One tends to think of service learning in an academic setting as engaging with the local community and local issues. I’d like to see us linking local and global issues. There’s huge potential there.

For example, one issue I am particularly passionate about is food insecurity. Four out of ten children in Forsyth County are food insecure. North Carolina is ranked 10th from the bottom of all states with respect to food security.

Food insecurity is both a local and a global issue. Furthermore it is such a complex, multifactorial problem that any discipline can meaningfully get involved to address it.

I’d also like the faculty to help identify local community needs. What opportunities for connection do they see with the practices of their discipline? What are the critical issues that are implicated in our community’s needs? Can you see an opportunity to relate the need or the issue to your discipline?

There are so many opportunities to connect with. For example, Winston-Salem Forsyth County Homeless Council does, with volunteers, an annual one-day count of homeless individuals in the community, “The Homeless Point-in-Time Count.” Wouldn’t it be great to get students involved in something like that?

3. You said you are trying to move beyond the term service learning. What larger ideas are you trying to signal by the term engaged teaching (or engaged learning)?

The key element of engaged teaching is that it involves students in the process of thinking about, identifying and understanding community issues. Such teaching can but does not necessarily involve students doing direct service with a community partner (although such service learning would be considered one form of engaged teaching).

The community engagement component of different courses will vary depending on how the faculty member envisages the learning objectives that will be achieved. While one course might have a weekly service-learning component with a community partner (and be considered engaged teaching and service-learning), another might not involve direct contact with community but require students to understand, identify, or address an issue that affects individuals in the community (and be considered engaged teaching but not service-learning).

4. What, in your mind are critical factors for a successful integration of service into an academic course?

Successful integration involves careful thought on the part of the faculty member constructing the syllabus as to how the service learning or community engagement component helps to achieve course objectives. There also needs to be attention paid to integration strategies that connect the academic work in the classroom with the real-world experience in the community.

Included in the syllabus must be time and structures to enable students to process both experiences (classroom and community) and integrate components of each into the other experience. This yields a richer and more meaningful overall experience in both the classroom and the community. Good integration strategies help students further understand course content, learn from the community experience, develop critical thinking skills, develop values associated with citizenship, diversity, and civic responsibility and link community engagement and academic experiences.

Integration/reflection strategies can be formal, such as a structured paper, or informal, such as in-class discussion or activities. They could include regular journaling, a narrative account of a student’s weekly service experiences, small group discussion, class-wide discussion, in-class activities and exercises, assigned, structured reflection papers.

Integration strategies/ structured reflections might cover issues such as how is the service /community engagement component related to the course content, how is the student’s service work impacting the community, how is the student’s service work impacting them personally, what does it mean to be a citizen, what role should citizens play within the community, how can the skills learned in the particular class or discipline be applied for the betterment of community as a whole.

Creative modes of reflection/integration include:

• Telling: Reporting insights orally to others because storytelling is such a powerful way to share information with each other. Examples of telling include oral presentations and class discussions.
• Activities: activities and projects, which involve reflection through action, can also help students make meaning of their experiences. Interviewing, role playing and more experiential activities are examples of this mode of reflection.
• Multimedia: creative outlets of expression can be wonderful ways to reflect on experiences. Examples of this type of reflection include collages, drawings, photo or video essays, music, paintings, etc.
• Writing: Writing opportunities can take a variety of forms, including journal writing and directed reflection papers.

2011 Summer Nonprofit Immersion Program Intern wins Building the Dream Award

On January 23, at the campus celebration of Martin Luther King Day, junior Bentrice Jusu received the Building the Dream Award for embodying Dr. King’s spirit and working for social justice.   An art major from Trenton, N.J., Bentrice was a 2011 intern in the Institute for Public Engagement’s Summer Nonprofit Immersion Program.   She worked in several programs at the Shalom Project in Winston Salem, including their food pantry, clothing closet and youth enrichment programs.  She also developed and implemented an original art curriculum for their children clients (ages 5-11 years old). Her experience in IPE’s nonprofit management seminar and vocational reflection seminars intensified her goals to start her own nonprofit organization.

“Bentrice came to our program with an unwavering passion for the nonprofit sector and the desire to empower youth in our community,” said Velvet Bryant, Assistant Director of the Institute For Public Engagement.

Jusu is the owner of Both Hands Artlet, a nonprofit organization serving inner-city youth who are endangered by violence in their homes and on the streets of Trenton. Jusu’s vision is for her business to become a creative outlet for all teens, not just those at risk. In 2011, she received the “Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award for a Social Venture” from the Wake Forest Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.

January 27 – Community Partner Information Session about the Summer Nonprofit Immersion Program- 9:00 AM at Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

February 8-Navigating the IRB Process Workshop ( http://pdc.wfu.edu/event/p4533Srm49R/ )- 11:30 AM in Reynolda Hall Room 301

February 10-Summer Nonprofit Immersion Program Student Applications Due-5:00 PM Reynolda Hall Room 305 or WFU PO Box 7213, W-S, NC 27109

February 15-Campus Compact Civic Engagement Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill

February 17-Community Partner Forms for Summer Nonprofit Immersion Program Due- 5:00 PM Reynolda Hall Room 305 or WFU PO Box 7213, W-S, NC 27109

Non-Profit Immersion Program Interns Attend Business Workshops, Learn Business Models, Gain Work Experience, Confront Community Needs, Meet in Weekly Seminar.

Room 301, Reynolda Hall
The Institute for Public Engagement will host an information session for undergraduate students to learn more about its Summer NonProfit Immersion Internship Program.  Come hear former interns describe their experiences in the program, ask questions and receive application information.

http://ipe.wfu.edu/student-resources/summer-nonpro …

Institute of Public Engagement Associate Director, Norma Mae Isakow, welcomes Fellows and Friends to new Luncheon Series

All are welcome. Full schedule below.

Register now for the Fellows & Friends Engaged Teaching Luncheon Series, which is led by inspired faculty. The next event will be Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 11 a.m. in 301 Reynolda Hall. Lunch will be provided.

The Institute for Public Engagement promotes engaged teaching that fosters critical thinking, gives each student a voice, and encourages students to engage with issues affecting the Wake Forest community and the community beyond. Within the broader concept of engaged teaching is the recognized pedagogy of service-learning, usually involving direct service to meet community needs. Other forms of engaged teaching may not involve such service but nevertheless engage students in the process of identifying and understanding community issues.

The purpose of this discussion series is to afford faculty the opportunity to share their ideas and gain inspiration for engaged teaching in an enjoyable, informal setting. Faculty are invited to enjoy lunch, highlight their work, share ideas, and gain inspiration. Featured faculty will speak for about 20 minutes followed by open conversation.

Tuesday, Jan. 24 (11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.): Innovative Ideas for Engaged Teaching

• Featured Faculty: David Finn (Art), Mary Pendergraft (Classics), Cindy Gendrich (Theatre), Phoebe Zerwick (English)

Tuesday, Feb. 28 (11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.): Navigating Engaged Teaching in a Global Context

• Featured Faculty: Steve Virgil (Law – Nicaragua Nexus), Ananda Mitra (Communications – India Study Abroad), Betina Wilkinson (PS – Latino Political Behavior and Public Opinion)

Monday, March 26 (11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.): Assessment in Engaged Teaching

• Featured Faculty: Michele Gillespie (History), Adam Friedman (Education), Andrew Allwine (Classics -Latin poetry)