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Internship Approved for Service-Learning Designation
SPA 499–01: Internship has been approved for the service-learning designation. This is the first course in the Department of English and Foreign Languages to be designated as service-learning.
The course (internship) instructor is Dr. Beatriz Calvo Peña, assistant professor of Spanish.
SPA 499–01 is a semester-long, supervised, career-related educational experience that combines elements of service-learning with a traditional internship in order to produce the best outcomes of both forms of experiential education. Through this course, students will undertake a significant experiential learning opportunity with a governmental or community-based organization.
As explained in the syllabus, the students will teach Spanish to minor and adult residents during eight classes (a total of 16 hours). Students also will write a personal report narrating their experience and reflecting on how this collaboration fosters social change.
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Students Present Posters at Community Engagement Symposium
Barry students presented 13 posters at the Third Annual Community Engagement Symposium recently. Eighteen students participated in the poster session.
A faculty member in the Department of Fine Arts and two of her graphic design students presented one of the posters. Titled “Kids in Design Work with Kids In Distress,” that poster reflected outcomes of a service-learning course.
The other participating students listed their majors as applied sport and exercise sciences, biochemistry, biology, computer science, English, general studies, international studies, nursing, pre-law, pre-nursing, psychology, public relations, social work, and sport management. Fifteen poster presenters were Barry Service Corps fellows.
Posters covered a variety of subjects – from producing a documentary and promoting mental-health support for refugees to authoring a law-enforcement body-cameras bill and supporting foster/adopted youth. Below is the complete list of posters.
- “Producing Promotional and Documentary Films for a Faith-Based Coalition” – Taleah Becton (Public Relations)
- “Kids in Design Work with Kids In Distress” – Nicole Beltran, assistant professor, Department of Fine Arts; Gabriela Jimenez and Raquel Morrison (Graphic Design)
- “Building Infrastructure for a Grassroots Organization by Developing a Member Database” – Mickaelle Celigny (Computer Science)
- “Creating an On-Campus, Student-Based Chapter of an International Christian Relief Agency” – Kevin Dalia (Pre-Law)
- “Engaging At-Risk Youth in Dialogues on Civic Engagement” – Seretse Davis (Sport Management) and Rajon Wright (Computer Science)
- “Promoting Better Dietary Choices among College Students through a Campus Food-Additive Advocacy Campaign” – Gilberte Jean-Francois (Nursing) and Alejandro Tobon (Biology)
- “Examining the Effects of Tree Canopy Coverage on Air Quality in Miami-Dade Alberto Liriano (Biochemistry) and Paola Montenegro (International Studies)
- “Building Awareness about a Lack of Mental-Health Support Available to Refugees” – Presler Maxius (Psychology)
- “Furthering Campus Sustainability Initiatives through an Education and Advocacy Campaign” – Christian Mesa (General Studies)
- “Ex-Felons Looking for Work” – Margaret Reid (Pre-Nursing)
- “Bill for Body-Worn Cameras for Florida Police” – Christopher Riker (English and Public Relations)
- “Promoting Health and Wellness at a Field Day for Florida Foster and Adopted Youth” – Donté Roberts (Sport Management)
- “Unite for Change March: Bringing Awareness to Police Brutality in Miami and Uniting the Community” – Quayneshia Smith (Social Work) and Asha Starks (Applied Sport and Exercise Sciences)
Valerie Scott, a program coordinator in the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), coordinated the poster session.
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Students Participate in Saturday of Service at Two Public Parks
Two groups of Barry students participated in a recent Saturday of Service at two public parks in Miami-Dade
The honors students served at the Northeast
The project was planned under the supervision of the Miami-Dade
“It was physically exhausting to shovel the mulch and pea rocks into wheel barrels and then carry and spread them over the park,” Maxius said. “But, the smiles and confessed gratitude from the park attendees were enough to make me want to complete the project.”
Dr. Pawena Sirimangkala, associate professor of communication and director of the honors program, participated alongside the students.
The second group of volunteers served at the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami. The 10 students and staff members took part in a three-hour ecological restoration project under the guidance of the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park Trust and TREEmendous Miami, Inc. They assisted with restoring the park’s native maritime hammock by mulching the grounds and planting native trees.
"It will be interesting for my future kids and grandkids when they come to this historic park and appreciate the beauty of it,” said Ricardo Burford, Jr., one of the student volunteers. “I believe this is an excellent environmental initiative for now and for our future."
Reya Lamsam, another Barry student, remarked: "It is a beautiful park. I feel like it is very hard to find parks like this in the middle of the city. Back at home in Thailand, we used to have a lot of parks that were shut down to construct apartments. I really do not want that to happen to
The Saturday of Service was part of the 75 Acts of Service initiative to celebrate Barry
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Theology Students Support Missionaries of Charity
Students taking Theology 306: Dynamics of Faith, Beliefs and Theology supported the work of the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa in Miami recently. The students assisted in the soup kitchen, where they prepared and served a meal for members of the community.
Dr. Alicia Marill, associate professor of theology, practical theology and ministry, was the course instructor.
The Archdiocese of Miami sponsors the Missionaries of Charity shelter for homeless women and children, located near
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Students Pressure Corporations to End Farm-Worker Exploitation Barry Service Corps (BSC) fellows and service-learning students in theology and sociology classes continued their support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) Fair Food Program by staging demonstrations along Biscayne Boulevard in Miami Shores last month.
At one of two recent demonstrations, the group directed chants such as “Farm workers have families too!” to the Publix supermarket at NE 91st Street and U.S. 1. A student delegation also spoke with the grocery- store manager and asked that the corporation participate in the CIW’s Fair Food Program.
The second demonstration took place in front of the Wendy’s fast-food restaurant on the corner of NE 79th Street and U.S. 1. Members of the CIW, the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA), and the Alliance for Fair Food joined the Barry students for that demonstration.
Since March 2015, the SFA has been rallying support for a boycott of Wendy’s. The SFA has asked the public to keep the pressure on Wendy’s until the corporation joins the Fair Food Program.
The program, which is based on a partnership among farmers, farm workers, and retail food companies, uses consumer power to ensure safe working conditions and fair wages for farm workers. Fourteen major food retailers, including Chipotle, McDonald’s, and Subway, are participating in the program. The CIW reported that the retailers together have made penny-per-pound payments totaling $16 million to increase the income of Florida’s tomato pickers.
The CIW has been calling on Publix, the largest family-owned grocery store in Florida, to join the program. Through the SFA, university students have been instrumental in convincing food providers to become partners in the Fair Food Program.
Throughout the 2015–2016 academic year, Barry students have urged Publix and Wendy’s to join the program. The students not only took to the streets to draw public attention to the program but also met with store managers to seek their support.
BSC Fellow Quayneshia Smith is a member of the SFA Steering Committee. Smith has been instrumental in planning and coordinating Miami area demonstrations in support of the Fair Food Program this academic year.
Barry students took part in previous successful campaigns that resulted in Taco Bell’s and Burger King’s participation in the Fair Food Program.
CIW member Lupe Gonzalo said it was small but regular demonstrations like the ones planned by the Barry student leaders that led to previous Fair Food victories and have made the biggest impact for long-term, systemic change.
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CCSI Announces Newsletter Schedule for Summer
TheCenter for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has announced a change in the publication schedule of its newsletter for the summer.
Engagement News will be published twice in June and July, with one issue in August before the start of the new academic year. The next issue of Engagement News is scheduled to be out on June 6.
Regular weekly issues of the newsletter will return on August 22.
Engagement News is published by the Department of Marketing of Communications on behalf of the CCSI.
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CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : May 16, 2016
