"Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world." ― Howard Zinn
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Message from the Associate Director |
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It has been a very busy time for the Community Outreach staff and student leaders. We are still doing our work in a virtual setting, but this is not stopping us from putting together quality events and programs. Our Political Engagement and Dialogues area has been "on fire" recently, Alternative Breaks is preparing to have their virtual programs in a couple of weeks, and we have started our 2021-2022 Student Leader Selection process. We concluded the first phase of the selection process and we will be introducing the new group of Student Coordinators for 2021-2022 very soon. In addition, the application for the new student leaders is now available.
Good luck with mid-terms and be safe!
Miguel A. Colón, Associate Director of Community Outreach
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Author, TV show host, and educator discusses her career and future goals
Community Outreach's Political Engagement and Dialogue Initiatives hosted a conversation to highlight Black voices in honor of Black History Month. In this event adjunct professor, assistant principal in a Washington Public School, National Award-Winning author, Emmy nominated television host, and successful educator Cassandra Suggs spoke about navigating her life as a Black woman. She also discussed her memoir, “Becoming Myself- True Stories About Learning from Life" where she writes about self-esteem, the importance of having strong values and believing in yourself. Mya Johnson, the graduate assistant for Dialogues and Political Engagement Initiatives said she was inspired by Suggs' story, " We were honored to host Mrs. Suggs's voice and experience with the UConn Community. It is so important that we support and uplift Black women and their work domestically and globally. Hearing the stories of her childhood that influenced her work now in all mediums- education, media, and journalism, left the crowd in awe. To say I was motivated to go out and do good in every space I take up is an understatement."
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CO holds panel to bring awareness to the issue of misinformation
While having to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, people are also having to manage a sea of misinformation that sows fear and distrust in people. The Power of Misinformation panel held by the Political Engagement and Dialogues Initiative discussed a connection between the COVID-19 pandemic and a pandemic of misinformation. Panelists noted that both are spread through human interaction and have major impacts on health, the economy, and security. They are also both viral with one being more literal and the other having the ability to be viral online through social media. The panelists discussed the effects of the combinations of these two pandemics as well, which included unnecessary death and even the insurrection at the U.S Capitol. The panelists included Dr. Sherry Pagoto, a Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at UConn and Director of the UConn Center for Health and Social Media as well as Dr. Adam Enders, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville. His research focuses on the role of suspicion and conspiratorial thinking in American mass politics. The final panelist was Dr. Ugochukwu Etudo, an applied researcher, who studies how to track the propagation of organizational messaging on the internet with a special focus on terrorist organizations. The event concluded with a workshop by Common Cause CT on how to identify and handle misinformation.
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Recent panel compares The AIDs epidemic and The COVID-19 pandemic
The AIDS epidemic of the late 80s and early 90s has been compared to our current coronavirus pandemic in terms of the death toll, spread, and government response. In this panel held by the Political Engagement and Dialogues Initiatives, panelists drew comparisons as well as contrasts between these two public health crises. The first panelist was Dr. Sten Vermund, a pediatrician and infectious disease epidemiologist focused on diseases of low and middle-income countries who motivated a change in the 1993 CDC AIDS case surveillance definition. The second was Dr. Lisa Eaton, a professor in the Human Development and Family Sciences Department at UConn whose professional interests include health disparities research in marginalized populations as well as research on social determinants of disease, in particular, HIV prevention and treatment.
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Kaitlyn Luft
Interim Coordinator of Alternative Breaks
Class of 2019
"The relationships I formed with staff members, who I now consider dear friends, have been pivotal in shaping the leader and person I am today."
Kaitlyn's first experience in CO was as a participant (or ‘Big’) in Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) her first semester freshman year. She was looking for a community at UConn to become a part of and activities to get involved in. Her time at BBBS deepened her understanding of meaningful and reciprocal relationship-building and introduced her to all that Community Outreach had to offer. She continued on as a participant in BBBS for 3 years, while also serving as a Site Manager in that third year. During her junior year, she participated in an Alternative Spring Break focused on understanding rural poverty in the Appalachian region of Tennessee. Upon return to campus, she immediately applied to be an Alternative Break Trip Director for her senior year and was chosen to lead an alt break trip that worked with a rural community in the Upala region of Costa Rica.
Kaitlyn currently oversees the Alternative Breaks Program as the Staff Coordinator/Supervisor and will continue in this role through June 2021.
She said her involvement in CO was one of the most influential and meaningful aspects of her undergrad years. It was a space where she engaged in critical conversation and reflection; where she met peers and life-long
friends; where she fostered relationships with community partners; and where she grew as both a human and a leader. Her time as a student leader
shed light on both the possibilities and consequences that come with service work – both the ways it can be impactful and the ways that it can perpetuate systems of inequality, inequity, and oppression.
In the fall, Kaitlyn will be attending medical school at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland to become a Naturopathic Doctor and get a Master’s of Science in Global Health. Throughout her schooling and career as a healthcare professional, she is committed to challenging the systems in place through an antiracist lens as they have profound impacts on our health. She is committed to advocating for a more just, accessible, and equitable health landscape. She said she plans on joining and amplifying the efforts of local organizations in Portland and staying informed and active in all levels of government.
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Standardized Participant Program
This program works with UConn's Nursing School to help nursing students practice various healthcare scenarios and interactions with patients. Volunteers are given a script and act as patients, family members, or another healthcare professional and interact with Junior and Senior Nursing students in their simulation labs. The program is now active for the Spring semester and will be working virtually. The program is filling 15 nursing simulation lab periods this semester.
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America Reads
America Reads has returned for the spring semester after a fruitful book prepping service activity for MLK Day of Service. America Reads is now preparing more reading modules to add to its collection of 20+ stories in its reading repository. Earlier this week, they sent out three more modules to their partner schools and held a successful training session for new volunteers to prepare more. With ten groups of volunteers, they are looking to produce more enriching content for students undergoing strains in the education system. They also plan to incorporate other languages into their repository, as specialized volunteers will be creating Spanish translations of the stories to broaden their audience. America Reads is picking up steam and it's all thanks to the strong, dedicated team of site managers who have worked diligently throughout the fall and over the winter break to set up these spring ambitions.
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