Group Leader
Project Outreach - Group Leader
Project Outreach in U of M is a unique and dear program. This program has a series of sections that offer students hands on experiences that focus on a variety of problematic educational domains from juvenile delinquencies, health issues, to preschoolers and adolescents. These classes are made up of a lecture, a small discussion group (based on volunteer location) and volunteering at a site.
The discussion groups are led by a student group leader. The leader is in charge of preparing for the discussion, assigning weekly journal entries and checking them, checking attendance at the site, volunteering at the site and supervising the final project. The final project is an end of a semester assignment that requires the college students to prepare something special for the mentored students.
I was in charge of a group of 9 students who all volunteered at Head Start Ypsilanti. I directed discussion sessions about lecture material and tied it to experiences we had at the site. I read and commented on assigned journals and enjoyed the work with my group.
My group made special "play boxes" with various topics. For example there was a "restaurant box" that included plastic silverware and plates, a chef hat, laminated menus from restaurants, wait staff uniforms, and so on. Our final project was a great success as the teachers at head started mentioned that this was the best final project prepared by any project outreach team!
This experience was the first academic experience in higher education. It assisted me in developing teaching skills.