Elevator Speech

The Youth Development major is unique in many ways. First off, it is the only undergrad YDEV major in our state. That is alone is pretty special. Every text, experience and discussion that involves Youth Development I always learn from. That being said my elevator speech looks a little something like this:

Youth Development is about helping, growing, bringing a positive approach to youth. With effort to bring all of these things to youth's lives is extremely important. Whether it be in a school setting, community, government agencies they all will serve the same approach to be an advocate for them. I think a major component to keep in mind when working with youth, is being aware of their environment because that can have a major influence in their life. In order for youth workers to work with youth, we must be willing to be open in every way possible to help build a relationship which is important. The YDEV program provides foundations in education, social work, and non-profit studies and a student chosen minor. You get a B.A in Youth Development and certificate in Non-Profit Studies. 

Event#2 YDEV Open House

On Saturday November 14, 2015 RIC hosted an Admissions Open House to students and families to learn more about the majors offered at the school. Myself and a few other classmates hosted the event along with Dr. Bogad. The event was held at the Murray Center. We talked to families about what the YDEV program is all about. I shared that I transferred from CCRI and how common it is for our school to have transferred students. 

I hope the YDEV major continues to grow because our society needs more people want to help youth in different ways than in a classroom setting. What I love most about Youth Development at the moment are the social work classes. I love that we get a good amount of social work classes because those classes are needed for us to understand how to identify and work with our community.  Overall, I really enjoyed the event and glad I got to share some time with Dr. B, her son, Kate and Ashley. 

Event #1- Open Books Open MInds

On Thursday, October 15, 2015 our YDEV course attended an Open Books-Open Minds event that was held at the Alex and Ani Hall from 4-6pm. The event was based around family stories inspired by Junot Diaz's The brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao.

“In Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, we learn not only of Oscar’s childhood and turbulent young adulthood but also about his multigenerational family from the Dominican Republic and the rich and various ways their own stories intersect with larger historical, political, and cultural contexts. Each family has its own stories, jokes, legends, curses, and counter-spells” (Rhode Island College, 2015). During the event, students and President Nancy C. shared their family stories. I enjoyed hearing the creative short stories students shared based on their personal cultural roots and life experiences.

This event made me reflect on course themes we've talked about in class. One in specific which was Identity. I feel that family stories are connected with identity because it's all beliefs/experiences that are created by not just yourself but the people around you daily. After the event I was reminded of how much of an impact an experience can have on someone. A simple story can have such an impact in a persons life. I thought it was a great idea to have our class attend an event like Open Books Open Minds, where I know we all walked away with learning something.