Community Engagement News March 14, 2022
Community Engagement Symposium Will Include 14 Presentations in Two Concurrent Sessions
President Allen and Provost Murray are expected to speak at the symposium, a virtual event that will feature presentations by nationally known community engagement scholars.
Barry University’s Eighth Annual Community Engagement Symposium on March 30 will include two concurrent sessions, each with seven presentations on various topics.
The presenters in Sessions II and III will be mostly faculty members. Doctoral students and community partners will make presentations as well.
Presenters will come not only from Barry but also from the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.
Provost Dr. John Murray will deliver the opening remarks and President Dr. Mike Allen is expected to give brief remarks at the start of the final session.
During Session I, Dr. John Saltmarsh, professor of higher education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Dr. Melissa Quan, director of the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University, will lead the featured workshop. The workshop title is “Epistemic Justice in Practice: Implications for Community Partnerships and Student Learning.”
Session IV will include the special presentation, “Orienting Campus–Community Engagement Towards Reparations.” The presenters will be Dr. Timothy Eatman, dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers University, Newark; Dr. April Khadijah Inniss, director of community-engaged research at King Boston; and Dr. Saltmarsh.
“Effectively Balancing Community Impact with Student Learning Outcomes” is the theme of the symposium. The virtual event will consist of four sessions, the first beginning at 9 a.m. and the fourth ending at 3 p.m.
Barry Undergraduate Honored by National Organization as Newman Civic Fellow
Amanda Gonzalez Garcia, who founded Hunger to Action, is among students recognized by Campus Compact for their commitment to creating positive change.
Barry student Amanda Gonzalez Garcia has been named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, the national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education.
Ms. Gonzalez Garcia, a first-generation college student majoring in criminology as well as biomedical and forensic photography, is one of 173 student civic leaders who will make up the coalition’s 2022–2023 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. She will join students from 38 states; Washington, D.C.; and Mexico to form the cohort.
“Amanda is deeply concerned about the detrimental effects of food insecurity on students and community residents, and she makes an impact through both direct service and advocacy,” said Barry University President Dr. Mike Allen.
President Allen noted that Amanda founded Hunger to Action, a group dedicated to combatting hunger and food insecurity, and she was a panelist in Bread for the World’s Conversation with the White House on the topic of food insecurity. In addition, the Barry Service Corps member and “self-motivated changemaker” gives of her time in collaborative service, including volunteering for special antihunger projects and assisting at a regional food bank.
“Amanda’s demonstrated initiative reflects her potential for developing innovative and collaborative strategies for addressing public problems in her community and beyond,” Dr. Allen added.
Newman Civic Fellowship
The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world. The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. In the spirit of Dr. Newman’s leadership, fellows are nominated by Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors each year.
Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides these students with a year of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth.
“We are proud to name such an outstanding and diverse group of students Newman Civic Fellows,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. “Their passion and resolve to take action on the wide range of issues challenging our neighborhoods and communities is inspiring and deeply needed. We cannot wait to engage with them through this transformative experience.”
The Newman Civic Fellowship program is supported by the KPMG Foundation.
The Newman Civic Fellows for 2022–2023, including Amanda Gonzalez Garcia, are profiled at the Campus Compact website.
Students Begin Experiential Learning Project to Support Afghani Refugees
The ESOL students have offered to provide English language tutoring to the new Miami residents. Their course instructor says the students have found ways to communicate with people of a different language and culture.
Students taking an English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) course in the Adrian Dominican School of Education (ADSOE) will be doing their part to assist recent refugees from Afghanistan.
The first step for the students was to meet with several Afghani families hosted by Church World Service, Miami in Doral. They did so just before Spring Break.
The students introduced themselves and interacted with family members. They also informally interviewed some of the Afghans about their English language skills, home and professional life, and general interests. In addition, they engaged children in coloring activities and got some of the Afghans to demonstrate their computer skills.
Participating were Meagan Carballo, Jainette Figuerola, Ta’niya Foster, Alessa Hernandez, Alyssa Hernandez, Ruby Lopez, Rehema Mackey, Jackeline Miranda, Jillian Rodriguez, Jasmine Shackleford, Ashley Taylor, and Najaz’ Williams.
They have offered to provide English language tutoring to the new Miami residents and will use the information gathered from the interviews to group individuals according to their English proficiency levels.
Dr. Heather Johnson Desiral is the instructor for TSL-415: ESOL Assessment and Instructional Strategies.
“As I watched my students interact with the families, I felt so proud,” Dr. Johnson Desiral said as she beamed. “I witnessed them reach deep down inside themselves to find ways to communicate with people of a different language and culture. They employed the knowledge and skills we explored in class: hand gestures, rephrasing, slowed-down speech, pictures and drawings, and virtually anything they could think of to help them get their messages across.”
Dr. Johnson Desiral continued: “The students are learning what it means to be an educator in the community, and I believe this experience is good preparation for the day they get their first instructional assignment as teachers. I thank Church World Service Miami for giving us this opportunity and look forward to our next visits in the coming weeks.”
Accompanying the 12 undergraduates and the course instructor were Dr. Ruth Ban, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) coordinator; Joseph Minani, an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving as a program facilitator in the Center for Community Service Initiatives; and Mariano Garcia, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education.
Benjamin Franklin K–8 Center’s College for a Day: A Pictorial Report
For information on the Student Poster Competition and Exhibition, contact Dr. Heather Johnson Desiral in the CCSI at qep@barry.edu.
GivePulse is the community engagement platform that supports service-learning courses at Barry.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM: Additional details of the March 30 event are shared as registration continues.
MENTORING OPPORTUNITY: Faculty and staff members are reminded about a mentoring opportunity offered through Barry’s partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami.
Community Engagement News is a publication of the Center for Community Service Initiatives.
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