Student Initiated Programs Embracing Educational Equity Through Holistic Growth and Development

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

University of California, Davis

Second Presenter's Institution

NA

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Session 4 (Westbrook)

Strand #1

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Strand #2

Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

This proposal relates to the Head and Heart strands of the 5H Strands. The concepts of Head (Academic Achievement & Leadership) and Heart (Social and Emotional Skills) align superbly with the mission and efforts of our Student Initiated Programming. Our mission is to obtain educational equity for underserved and underrepresented communities, providing space and resources catered specifically to the needs of the members of those communities. Our actions incorporate academic, cultural, and identity-based tools and knowledge in efforts to affirm and empower targeted communities.

Brief Program Description

Looking at education and equity through a holistic lens, this Student Run-Student Led center explores how advocating for and providing support through different programming and resources to youth of underserved and underrepresented communities brings about growth and development, and increased knowledge and empowerment.

Summary

The Recruitment sector of the Student Recruitment and Retention Center establishes programming and provides resources catered to youth of the African-Diaspora, American Indian and Indigenous, Chicanx and Latinx, Pilipinx, and Southeast Asian communities. Our student-run and student-initiated programs created by students for students foster holistic, academic and personal development while raising political and cultural awareness for youth. We uphold the values of Community, Advocacy, Knowledge, Equity, and Support in the work that we do and we center our efforts around Academic Excellence, Community Development, Gender and Sexuality, Cultural Identity, Leadership Development, Mentorship, Health and Wellness, and Life After Middle and High School Success. We implement methods that cater specifically to the needs and climates of the communities that we are serving. Not only do we advocate for and provide the necessary resources, but we educate the youth and expose them to higher education through engaging them in weekly focused discussions, partnering them with collegiate level students who serve as mentors, and even bringing them to our actual campus grounds for conferences and campus visits. We believe that a vital and crucial aspect of obtaining equity, especially for at risk youth, is viewing students as whole beings, thus fostering holistic interactions and environments. We understand that a child’s socio-economic status and all around well-being has a major effect on their academic performance. Because of this, we carefully consider the different factors that contribute to poor performance. Not only do we observe and analyze the factors, but we invest in the development and growth of such students with approaches that also accommodate for their psychological, social, and emotional growth. Our actions make an effort to close the opportunity gaps for underserved and underrepresented youth at risk, and provide opportunities for them to be their most empowered selves.

Evidence

We collect various years worth of data from the youth we engage through each community program. We study at the patterns and trends overtime and use it to adjust and adapt accordingly the work that we do so as to put our most intentional programming forward. (Could I attach or send a report of data following this submission?)

Biographical Sketch

Maggie Njuguna is 4th year Managerial Economics major at UC Davis. She identifies with the African Diaspora as she was born in Nairobi, Kenya and moved to America at a young age. She has served for the past two years as the Middle School Outreach Coordinator for African-Diaspora Cultivating Education (ACE) community program under the Student Recruitment and Retention Center at the University of California, Davis. Within those years, she has facilitated a great number of outreach sessions for groups of students at risk, mostly African Diaspora identifying, but also open to other underrepresented community identifying students. She has also organized conferences and campus visits offered to a number of different schools in the broader community with high populations of African and African American students. Having done this work firsthand, she can attest to the impact of the efforts explored in this presentation.

Presentation Year

March 2020

Start Date

3-10-2020 8:30 AM

End Date

3-10-2020 9:45 AM

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Mar 10th, 8:30 AM Mar 10th, 9:45 AM

Student Initiated Programs Embracing Educational Equity Through Holistic Growth and Development

Session 4 (Westbrook)

Looking at education and equity through a holistic lens, this Student Run-Student Led center explores how advocating for and providing support through different programming and resources to youth of underserved and underrepresented communities brings about growth and development, and increased knowledge and empowerment.