REFLECTIONS

Week 7 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:35:00.001-07:00

My last week serving in the community was with Young Life as I followed up with everyone who had gone to Windy Gap Summer Camp. I created strong relationships between the girls especially during this time. All of the other female Young Life leaders could not make it to these gatherings times for the rest of the summer due to the distance from where they lived. It was great contact work for me to stay in these girls lives. It is shocking to see how quick these girls close back up. That is why it is so important to regularly stay in contact with them. We would meet on a regular basis for the rest of the summer and just hang out. We would talk, play games, and enjoy each others company. I also gave several of them rides. Sometimes I even had dinner with them. Being a Young Life leader really makes my feel special. I get to stay connected with today's youth. I know how much the people in my life who made a difference mean to me and knowing that I can be that person to someone else is empowering.

Week 6 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:34:00.004-07:00

Week six was very different from the work I had been doing in the Dominican. I went to Windy Gap in North Caroline with Young Life. Young Life leaders mentor high school students and walk with them in life. This was my first time attending camp at Windy Gap and my first time being a leader a high school camp for a week. There were four of us female leaders from Deland and we brought 13 high school girls with us. We also had three male leaders and a number of boys as well. The main thing is that girls mentor girls and guys mentor guys. I had no idea what was in store for this week. Basically, the goal is to have a blast and brake down the walls between the leaders and students. It is amazing to watch this happen at camp. All of us girls stayed together in one cabin. Before the camp at Windy Gap even started we all went white water rafting, which was actually my first time. That was definitely a bonding time. We all had to work together with the people in our boat. All of the games at camp were centered around those themes of working together in a fun way. We participated in numerous actives including a late night obstacle course to "protect your leader", volleyball tournaments, Nascar racing, water Olympics, horseback ridding, hiked Smokey Mountain, ropes course, clubs (games and songs), free time, big swing, blobbing, zip line, rock climbing, crafts and one on one time with one of their leaders. Everyone had the time of their life. The coolest part for me was to be a part of this awesome time in the high school students lives. It was a time for me to be there for them, listen to them and help guide them in their life. I did not know that many of them or too well, but I did by the end of the week. The barriers were broken down towards the middle of the week, especially by the end. It was incredible to hear all their personal stories. A lot of them very very deep and heavy. I was just so surprised to hear a lot of what they have experienced and how vulnerable they were being to share that information. The students came back changed, a completely different person from going to camp. I felt honored to be a part of it.

Week 5 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:34:00.003-07:00

My time in the Dominican was coming to a closure as this was my last week. It was hard thinking about it because I did not want to leave, but at the same time I was looking forward to going home to see my family. I could not wait to talk with my friends and family and share the great experience I had. Karen left at the beginning of this week to return to the states to have her arm looked at, which left Traci, Abbey, Mike, Bill, and me. All of us are independent and basically do our own thing. It was a little more challenging for me because I was not as familiar with the Dominican as they were. I usually had Keila along my side but she was on her honeymoon, but all worked out. There was plenty for me to do and I still had some things in mind that I wanted to experience. Keila's Children's Programs was my favorite and I wanted to go back there to see the kids. There was one girl I met the last time I was in the Dominican and I wanted to say hi to her. I brought almost 100 beanie babies and gave them out to the children. It was cool to watch the kids faces light up. They got so excited, running around with their new toy and could not be any happier. This made me feel good. The best part of my week though was towards the end. I went with Bill to evangelize for the first time. We went to a village and basically just sat to talk with the people who lived there. I honestly did not think I was going to enjoy it, but I was wrong. That was one of my favorite moments overall. Those kids were the best. I played several games with them and just ran around. I felt like crying when I left. All the children were hanging on me. I loved it so much I made room in my schedule to go back the following day. One of the girls was just entering into college and I wanted to give her a necklace I had brought. I played more games with the children and waiting for her to get home from school. Once again I did not want to leave. I also got to see the farm. That's where all of Bill's time is spent. It is an incredible place. Overall, I was blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the amount of time I did there and all the things I got to take part in. It definitely made on impact on my life and I learned a lot about myself. It was a time of personal growth. This trip taught me the value of life and helping those in need. It is not always going to be easy and the people are some times going to do things that are disrespectful to you, but do it anyways. The results will shock you in a positive way. This experience gave me hope for one of my dreams of opening an orphanage. The opportunities are all there and I have made the connections. I met with a person who is in the process of building one. He was an inspiration and offered me the opportunity to work with him once the building is up and running within the next two years. Then the ministry I worked with offered to assist me in making my dreams become a reality. They have the place and building started to run an orphanage, they just need someone to take it over. Once I have the experience, that person can be me. It will take time and hard work, but if that is where my passion and purpose truly lies, it will happen. I could not be where I am today without the help on the Bonner Program, which I am truly grateful for.

Week 4 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:34:00.001-07:00

Week four started with a celebration for Mike's birthday as we had a delicious home made cake and ordered pizza from a popular restaurant. Another intern (named Abbey) also arrived on this day. She is from Ohio, which is actually where the owners of the ministry are from. This week was completely different from the previous. We had a lot of work to accomplish around the mission house. One day was spent organizing 61 bins in a room. It was just Abbey and me. A few days were spent going through a ton of receipts from the previous year for tax purposes. Keila (Dominican translator) got married at the end of this week at the mission house so we had are hands full. She also moved in to her house and will all helped with that process. I felt like a wedding planner, making sure everything was ready and in place for her wedding. I went with Keila to pick everything up for her special day and assisted in setting it all up. Traci and Karen were actually in the wedding so I made sure everything was going well. There were a few issues, but they were all dealt with. One exciting thing I go to do was a bridesmaid's makeup. Dominican weddings are very similar to ours in the US. One difference was the Dominicans throw rice. I found it fascinating to learn that in their culture they keep both last names and end with the women's. Her wedding was beautiful even though they started two hours late as it is just a part of their culture. I had a wonderful time and was truly happy to be a part of it.

Week 3 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:33:00.001-07:00

My second week in the Dominican Republic became busier. Some days even exceed 10 hours. This was the most organized week as the team of two ladies had a schedule and I joined them. Karen (owner) injured her arm so I gave her an extra hand. That made me become more of a leader to the two ladies with what was going on during the day. At the beginning of the week, our time mainly consisted of organizing for the week. They brought a lot of donations that needed to sorted. They also had several crafts in mind for the children to make and even something to teach the widows. One of my highlights this week was going to the Children's Program. There were four different Children's Programs that I got to interact with and two of them actually had two different classes within their program. Each one was unique. I loved getting to mingle with so many children. I did not to all of them this week, but a good amount. The two ladies taught and I helped with the crafts. Grace and Peace Missionary Fellowship has a Widows Program of 60 women. We held several sessions this week in different towns where the widows would come to one place (usually a church or some one's house) and we would provide all the material to teach the widows how to make hot pads and rugs for their homes. Another factor that made this week so fabulous was that Traci (one of my best friends) arrived. She is so loved and well respected in the Dominican, it is a blessing to see because I know how much of her life she has dedicated to those people. It was amazing to see her passion and light up in a new way, especially towards the end of the week when we went to a hospital. One of the ladies was a doctor and want to visit a Dominican hospital. There were two young children who had been burnt really bad the day we went. Everyone was wondering if the little boy would survive. The two children had been playing outside and knocked over the boiling pot of beans. It poured all over them. The biggest concern was the fact that they were Haitians and the reputation Dominicans have with treat Haitian patients. They tend to not want to help them and literally will let them die. I had a hard time hearing this, but I needed to learn the reality of their culture. The two ladies then left at the end of this week.

Week 2 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:32:00.002-07:00

I flew to the Dominican Republic to spend 29 days as an intern for Grace and Peace Missionary Fellowship in Casandra, Barahona. I was so excited to begin this journey of seeing and assisting all areas in their ministry. Everyday was a new experience. I absolutely loved having the opportunity to live in their culture, getting to see how they lived on a day to day basis. I spent most of my first week observing. I went on numerous errands into town. One of my favorite times this week was visiting the widows. We went to about 30 widow's houses. We dropped off beans and rice and took their blood pressure as most of the widows were on medication or had high blood pressure. It was really cool to have conversations with them in their own homes. All the ladies were characters. They were so sweet, appreciative, and hospitable. Everyone would offer us a seat upon our arrival. These people do not have much, but they are willing to give all they have to others. It was an extremely humbling experience. One widow claimed to be over 100 years old. We are not sure if that is true though. During this first week I met a lot of new people, which was awesome. I really liked how the ministry was set up. Americans run it, but Dominicans are involved in the operation as well. Most of my time this first week was with one of the Dominican translators named Keila. I spent the majority of my time planning and preparing for her wedding day. Also, I assisted Bill and Karen (owners) along with their son Mike in any way I could. A small team of two ladies were on their way so I did a lot of that prep-work too. It was a very refreshing and rewarding week to see some familiar faces from when I was visiting on a short-term missions trip of one week earlier this year. Overall it was a successful week.

Week 1 - Julie Martin

2011-09-09T08:32:00.001-07:00

I began my first week of Summer of Service working with Young Life. We had a few clubs (gatherings) left before Deland High School students were out of school so I stayed around to help. Since summer was approaching, we decided to change things up a bit and have fun. We came up with having a flash mob. Everyone was to meet at Tom's restaurant at an exact time. One of the leaders purchased a birthday cake and we randomly sang happy birthday to a stranger eating in the restaurant. A downtown conga line immediately followed. We had a good turn out of participants. After the conga line with a boom box, we headed back to Tom's for pizza. It was a great time to bond with high school students. Our last club of the year was messy. All of us leaders spent the entire day preparing for it. We blew a ton of water balloons, made a bunch of flour balls, and set up all the games. That day consisted of having a food fight (threw rice, beans, and tomato sauce), throwing water balloons and flour balls, and playing twister with tomato sauce, relish, mustard, and mayonnaise. It was a blast. Another way I dedicated my time to high school students at the beginning of my summer was taking a few girls to Islands of Adventure. One spent the night at my house the night before and then we went the next day. It was actually my first time going. I was really looking forward to it as I love roller coasters. It was a wonderful day listening to the girls about their life stories and guiding them along the way. Spending my time this way made my summer more meaningful and special.

July 14th - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:27:00.002-07:00

So the rest of my Summer of Service I will be working at the local elementary school in their summer school program. Right now I am mainly working with an EMH class and the kids are so great! I personally don’t think I could be a teacher but I do understand how rewarding it can be to get up every morning and go to work with kids that honestly love to see you and love to learn. J

June 25th - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:27:00.001-07:00

I love how God works so wonderfully! I just got offered an internship with the United Way! I am so excited J I am not sure if this is the particular company I will want to work for in my professional life, but I know I am doing what I am best at! I am working in fundraising and event planning and I can’t wait to get started in September!

I have to say though that I feel like I have not been able to accomplish anything at the CSL though. The trip I was working on didn’t really work, the overseas service trip just kind a fell apart, and the alumni newsletter didn’t seem to get that much interest. But oh well. I will just re-channel my efforts into the Freshman Exploration Program.

June 17th - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:26:00.002-07:00

So I have 100% decided that my time working in City Government is over. It took me 2 years to realize that the origination does not put its people first (even though that is the soul point of a city government) and I don’t think that I want to be a part of the origination any more. My heart lies with service and bettering the community and doing something good for others…not claiming to be putting people first and then only honoring that when it is easy. Ok rant is over.

June 5th - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:26:00.001-07:00

So no one has expressed interested in writing for the newsletter….and I am not sure if I can physically or mentally take on another project this big. I am still wrestling with this. And the school has cancled Homecoming until Fall 2013!!!!!!!! So much for that idea L Oh! And the freshman trip I was working on is not going to work now…needless to say I’m a little bummed.

May 31st - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

So my next project with the CSL is to look into the possibility of having an Overseas Service Trip. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten a lot of positive feedback from my fellow Bonners about going for a week or two but I am hoping that if I can make it affordable enough (and find a really cool place to go) people will change their minds J but we will see! Also, at IMPACT I was talking to a Stetson Bonner Alum about what was new with our program and he was really wanting to be kept up to date with all the wonderful, amazing things our program and students are doing, so I thought that putting together a newsletter (not every month but maybe 2 times a semester) to mail out to all of the Bonner Alums might be nice. And then I got to thinking that every other organization has an event during Homecoming, why doesn’t Bonner??? Our Alumni are a huge resource that we, as a group, are not utilizing!

My Action Plan:

1. Contact the Alumni office and get a list of all Bonner Alumni

2. Email current Bonners to ask for volunteer contributors for our newsletter

3. Plan homecoming event!

4. Send out newsletters

May 23rd - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

So I am beginning to think that City Government is not as perfect of a career for me as I have thought….

On a happier note, the First Year trip is all planned and I think it is going to be a pretty awesome trip if I do say so myself J They are going to be working with the Everglades! Sometimes I feel like Bonner forgets that serving the environment is just as important as serving people. So the students will get to work with and learn about Florida’s ecosystems, why we need to protect them, what plants do for us, what plants are not native to Florida and thus should be removed, etc. It is looking like the Freshman (and Sophomores) will be going over Fall Break and staying at the Everglades Natural Resort which is a camp ground that lets its guests really experience Florida in its natural glory J

May 19th - Scarlett

2011-09-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

So this summer I don’t have the most interesting Summer of Service. I am continuing to work with the City of DeLand as there Marketing Intern. At the moment I am working with a group a volunteer group called Discover Deland to try and market DeLand as a fun, exciting place to visit….At the moment I am not sure how we are going to be able to do this but we will see J

I am also working at the CSL on a couple of Bonner related tasks as well. My first project is going to be planning/organizing a First Year Service trip for last year’s freshman as well as the new incoming freshman class. I am looking at a couple of different location around Miami so if anyone has any suggestions or connections please let me know!!!!!!

The Rest of my Summer in DC!

2011-09-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

So here's what happened: about the second week, our house lost internet connection, which meant the only access I had to the outside world came from my phone, the brief glances at Facebook during work hours (sshhh! don't tell my boss!), and the newspaper I browsed every day during my commute. We didn't get it back until, oh, about week five or six. By that point, the concept of blogging was a faint and fading memory...

Anyway. Here we are. A month after the end of my Summer of Service, and I'm still exploring and digesting what I just experienced.

Like I said in my earlier blog, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I was expecting politics, policy work, research, changing the world! What I got, however, was much more valuable: connections, direction, purpose.

It was a summer of discovery, not in the way I intended it to be. I didn't discover where I wanted to go to graduate school. I didn't discover what organization with which I want to work. I didn't solidify my area of interest (in fact, I added another one!). I did discover that I was putting way too much emphasis on my resume and not enough emphasis on my relationships. I did discover that I am passionate about many things, and that this is not a bad thing like I had thought. I did discover how to reincorporate my faith back into my life. I did discover that I have all the ingredients necessary to be successful in my future career. I did discover that I NEED to incorporate journalism into whatever that career may be. I did discover that I want (and need) to spend time abroad working before I can enter graduate school with any sense of direction. I did discover that politics could be in my future. I did discover that I love frozen yogurt. That's quite a bit of discovery, if I do say so myself.

Anyway. How I'm going to sum up my summer from here on out is as follows:

This summer, I spent two months living just outside of DC. I lived in a house with 20 other college students who worked on the Hill (lingo for Capitol Hill / House / Senate), and together we learned how to build a community from people with very diversified opinions and backgrounds, how to lead with conviction and integrity ... and how to navigate our nation's beautiful capital :) I spent one day each week volunteering with children from the impoverished areas of DC. These children were a bright spot of my week. We spent time playing games outside together (one little boy and I were the final two for a very intense game of "hold-hands-and-try-to-ram-the-other-person-into-the-overturned-garbage-can-in-the-center" ... he was intense, let me tell you!), talking together, eating lunch together, reading together, and making beaded bracelets and necklaces together. As children tend to do, they filled me with hope and a feeling of joy amidst poverty and rampant crime.

On Fridays, when I wasn't working, I set up meetings with different non-profit organizations to build connections with those organizations and to figure out if I actually want to do the kind of work I think I want to do. To anyone who is ever in a big city - PLEASE DO THIS! It was so helpful to me personally, and I know those connections will pay off for me professionally as well.

Saturdays and Sundays were spent bonding with the people living in the house (what a great group of people - I miss them already!), exploring DC, visiting monuments and gardens and museums, watching Josh Groban perform on the Fourth of July (yes, it was a Monday. Whatever.), listening to the Dalai Lama (by far a highlight of the summer!), listening to Jazz in the Park, visiting Baltimore, going to an Orioles game, spending time on the Bay ... everything. It was so great.

The other days of the week, I worked with a senator's wife. She is one of the most well-connected, well-liked, well-dressed women I have ever met. She walks into a room and fills it with purpose and strength ... and, strangely enough, love. She builds relationships with women leaders from around the world, pulling them away from the stresses of politics and poverty (most women are from less developed countries) for retreats and conferences, times to relax and enjoy the company of other women who are actively pursuing a better, more just world. These retreats, one of which I had the pleasure of experiencing, are not just powerful women lounging around together. They challenge each other to live lives of integrity, to build relationships with their citizens, something frequently lacking in non-industrialized countries, to be good mothers and sisters and wives and friends, to love everyone they meet, to push through hardship. Then, whenever a crisis or need arises within one of those countries, those women can call on each other for help: reassurances, mobilization of resources and funds, prayers ... you name it. One of my favorite stories is that of one country's need (I forgot which country :D) for mammogram machines and doctors to use them, as a disproportionate amount of women were dying from untreated breast cancer. The president's wife contacted the other women, my boss included, and together they mobilized machines, doctors, and funds to bring the testing out to even the most rural areas.

And it's that kind of thing that matters. As we say in Bonner all the time, you are to build a relationship with your community, to acknowledge your place within the community, to understand that what you have is only worth something when you give it away. It is those relationships and connections and results that matter - not the fame of your organization, not the length or prestige of your resume, not the sheer numbers. It's about people. It's about service. It's about love.

Isn't that what we've been taught all along?

Final Reflections

2011-09-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

This summer, I participated in what I would consider the best summer of service ever. I made friends that will last forever as well as connections that will be very beneficial for me upon graduation. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and working with the people that I did. While it was quite the long and exhausting summer, I would not change it for anything. Working with children and teaching them sports is my dream job. I truly enjoyed my internship and the time that I spend there. I learned not only how to control my patience or lack there of, but also worked on my personal skills as well as built relationships with people everlasting. I must say that this was the perfect way to spend my last summer before graduating. <3

End of Volleyball Season

2011-09-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Around the second week of August, my 9-11 year old girls volleyball season came to end. I must say it was a bittersweet ending. While I genuinely enjoyed my time with the girls, since my summer was coming to an end, my patience was at an all-time low. I was very impressed though with how much the girls bonded with each other after finally coming together and working as a team. We ending up finishing the season with a winning record! We actually finished the our last 3 games on the last day by winning them all :) Words cannot explain how excited I was for them. It warmed my heart seeing the joy on their faces- it was as if they had just conquered the world. When I was saying my last words to the girls and their family's, I almost cried- I did not realize the bonds that I had built with them all. By far, coaching my volleyball girls was the MOST rewarding experience this summer, hands down. To this day, I see the girls and their families around Publix and it always puts a smile on my face :)

And then there was one....

2011-09-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

The Thursday of volleyball camp was my last day working with Catherine. While she was an employee of the DeLand YMCA, she worked specifically within the sports department so we were together all summer. From working on projects, to running youth sports camps, to lifeguarding at the pool, we did it all; so naturally I was sad when she left. I still had 2 weeks left in my internship, so I was definitely lonely having to do everything by myself. What made things worse was that my boss was actually on vacation her first week gone so I literally had to do EVERYTHING by myself. It was quite lonely and at times frustrating. I never thought I would have formed such a tight bond with someone this summer. Catherine went on to play volleyball at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fl. We still talk weekly and I plan to come watch her game when she plays Stetson this year :)

Volleyball Camp Recap

2011-09-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

So I got a little (more like a lot) behind on my blog. But I still remember volleyball camp to every detail. When I posted last time, we only had 3 children signed up for camp on the DeLand end. Luckily, by the time Catherine & I came back Monday morning, we ended up having 28 kids signed up. Total, between Deltona and DeLand, we had 51 boys and girls participating in volleyball camp. I worked long days, 8am-6pm and sometimes later if we had volleyball league that night. However, I must say it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I worked with different ages kids every day, but for me to have the opportunity to teach them one of my passions just melted my heart. Seeing them enjoy the sport as much as I do, put a smile on my face every day. I must say that when this week of camp ended, I missed it. I missed the counselors that I got to work with from Deltona as well as the relationships that I had built with all the kids!

Week 7 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:38:00.005-07:00

I've decided to leave the reserve early. My seven weeks are up but I was still planning on doing service there even after my hours were up for Bonner. The owner of the reserve came up to me and told me that she heard what was going on. Luckily, she has cameras all over the reserve. She told me that she has seen and has proof how hard I work and that she knows everyone else is lying. She apologized for their behavior and told me that she likes me and wants me at the reserve. She told me that I am welcome back any time I want and not to let anyone scare me away. That made me feel a lot better. I am sad to leave the animals. I've really grown to love them. The owner let me take pictures and say my goodbyes. I would like to work there again but I feel very unwelcome from everyone else there. I really want to come back in the winter when I don't have to work in the heat. I also want to see the wolves beautiful full winter coats. Overall this was a wonderful experience. I got to work with animals that most people have to stay fifteen feet away from at a zoo and I learned so many interesting facts about the animals. I really enjoyed my summer of service.

Week 6 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:38:00.003-07:00

This week was the worst week possible. Somehow the other volunteers found out that I was getting paid to work their and they made life hell for me. Even though they know it's not the reserve that's paying me, they still resent the fact that I'm making money off of working there. They didn't take the fact that I gave up a summer job to do service for them and help with all the hard work that they have to do with such a short staff. The temporary volunteers lied to the senior volunteers and told them that I wasn't working and pulling my weight. They've liked me this entire time and they know how hard I work, and now all of the sudden, I don't do anything. In most cases, I work twice as many hours as any other volunteer there. I was approached by two of the senior volunteers and told what was being said. I started crying really hard because I work so hard and for everyone to say that I wasn't doing anything was just so hurtful. I know who a few of the people that were lying about me were, and they don't know that I know yet. They're acting really fake and pretending everything is fine. I cried the whole day and then had to help give a tour. I just wanted to leave

Week 5 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:38:00.001-07:00

This week I was allowed to go into a cage with one of my favorite wolves at the reserve! Sierra was the first show wolf for Bush Gardens. She's around fifteen years old. This is even better than the tiger walks because she wasn't on a leash. It was just me and Sierra. There was a senior volunteer in the cage as well just to be safe. I was so excited because she is such a sweet wolf and it's hard to love on the animals as much as you want to through a cage. She was as excited as I was. She actually jumped up on me. There was one paw on each of my shoulders. It wasn't aggressive (she was licking my face) but it was a little scary. She's so big and powerful that she accidentally pushed me against the cage. After the senior volunteer got her down, she laid down on the ground and exposed her belly for me to rub. Work was a little difficult this week because everything is outside and it has been pouring rain. You have to do all the work even if it's lightning because the animals still have to eat. There's not much shelter except for a shed so after work is done, we all kind of hide in there. I hope it stops raining next week.

Week 4 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

This week I was given permission to touch all the animals!! I am so excited. I finally get to love on these amazing animals. Their fur feels amazing. Slowka, one of our asian leopards, has fur that feels like silk. Serabi is the female lion. She won't stop licking my hand and rubbing against the cage so that I can reach all her favorite spots to be pet. I've really started to build relationships with the animals as well as the volunteers. Most of the volunteers are really nice and hard working. I'm really enjoying my time here. Now that the animals are comfortable with me and I can interact with them, it makes all the work I do for them easier. Lately I've been doing some manual labor. I've had to mulch quite a bit all around the reserve, and I've had to put some wheel barrels together. I've also had to fill in some ditches that they dug to put in piping. All of this in the hot sun is really taxing. I've been crashing really hard when I go to bed and I always take two showers because I smell like poop, raw meat, and sweat when I get home. My parents and my boyfriend came on a tour this week. It was really fun having them involved in what I've been so passionate doing this summer. I'm happy they're getting to see all the animals I've been ranting about all the time.

Week 3 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:36:00.001-07:00

This week, we got to take the two youngest tigers, Seze and Toruk, on walks around the reserve. I don't hold the leash but I get to walk next to them. It's really an amazing experience. This was the first time that I got to be near one of the tigers without a cage in the way. It's an amazing feeling being so close to such a magnificent animal with nothing separating us. These are the times that all the poop cleaning really pays off. Although it's not fun to talk about, removing poop is a large part of my job. I have to sweep the path clean on tour days so that the guests don't step in African Geese poop. Then I have to lock out all the animals in the small part of their cage in order to find their bathroom spot and shovel it into a bucket. Some of the animals don't have lock outs, which means that I can't enter their cage to clean the poop. They have made makeshift scoopers for us to use. They used the pole of a duster attached to a large kitchen spoon. I have to put the spoon through the holes of the cage, get the poop in the spoon, and then pull the spoon back out the cage. Sometimes the poop falls off the spoon and I have to do it all over again. Once I've collected all the poop, I take it to the poop pit. The poop pit is in the back of the reserve where none of the guests go. We put lime over the poop and then bury it in the dirt. Thanks to the lime, it actually doesn't smell that bad. Shoveling feces is well worth the experience of being with these animals.

Week 2 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Now that the senior volunteers have gotten to know me a little bit, they've started to give me more responsibility. I am not only making the diets now, but I am giving the animals the food. I am also helping on tours. The reserve allows tours every Wednesday and Saturday. They last about two hours long and describe why the reserve exists, each animal's personal story, and general information about the type of animals that are housed. It is a feeding tour, which means the guests get to watch the carnivorous animals feed. This is my favorite part of the tour because some of the tigers and leopards are food aggressive. They get very upset when you are near them while they are eating and they growl and jump at the cage. They put on quite a show. My job during the tours is crowd control. I make sure the guests are standing at least five feet back from any cage at all times and are not teasing the animals or interrupting the tour guide. Every tour day, the tigers get bubble baths and all the animals get their cage scooped for poop. The animals are so fun to play with in their tub. Chakra, a very energetic and playful white tiger, will purposely splash everyone with her bubbles. When we fill her water, sometimes she will take her front paws and dump all the water out of the bucket, just to make us mad. I love her attitude though. Some of the animals are sniffing me out more now. I think they're getting used to me being around all the time.

Week 1 - Jennifer L.

2011-09-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

My very first day at the reserve, I was already allowed to pet one of the Siberian lynxes and go in the cage with the White Nosed Coati. The work is very hard, I can tell already. It's extremely hot and I'm always in direct sunlight. There is only a porta potty to use as a rest room. Most of my work is very physical and requires a lot of energy. I am also making the diets for the animals, which means sorting through a lot of produce as well as working with hundreds of pounds of raw meat with my bare hands. This is not a job for a princess. All the hard work is well worth it though. Although I am not allowed to pet any of the larger animals yet, I am allowed to get right up to their cages and interact with them. The animals are amazing. They have a lot of tigers, leopards (black as well), wolves, two lions, foxes, a coati, two cappybaras, Indonesian squirrels, chickens, goats, a deer, three lynxes, four cougars, and a cockatiel. The animals are amazing and they are so sweet! Most of them especially the tigers and one of the lions, will come right up to me and lay their bodies against the fence for me to pet them. I can't wait until I can touch them. I feel bad not petting them when they want me to. I understand the importance of getting the animal accustomed to before I touch them because they can be dangerous to people they don't know. I love the reserve already! I can't wait until next week.

Seeing it all come to place!

2011-08-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Freshmen Orientation was a success! I felt really bad that I had to miss so much of it with RA training going on at the same time. Not only was no one mad at me, but everyone was so supportive!

It is really cool seeing plans fall into place. Everything that we have planned the last few months all in print and product. The time frames went really smoothly, there were many fun morning energizers that brought us together, and all the Bonners were alert and responsive. I keep bragging about Lead Team, but it is honestly the truth in my mind. I don't think we could have a better combination of leaders working together.

As I reflect from the past few years, I've realized that I've grown so much as a person. I came in as a freshman a timid, quiet 18 year old. I'm no longer the same person I was then. I am still shy at times, but I've definitely learn to be a little more extroverted when I need to. Meeting the incoming Bonners at dinner was a great experience because of that. I wasn't afraid to talk to them and get to know them and welcoming to the family. Everyone was so friendly and the new excitement was quite thrilling. I hope I continue to grow and pick up new skills along the way as a senior intern... especially with everyone's help! I'm counting on you all :)

Also, I must say that I think the retreat was awesome... Courtney did a great job cooking the dinner the first night. Tiffany's gift was the perfect touch to begin the weekend (thank you). I think the Bonners had a really good time getting to know each other and learning about each other. There was enough food for every which is always a good thing. (I hope we had enough since it took at least three trips to Walmart! haha). The class based activity was probably one of the most important for me. We reflected as a class on how much we have grown and matured over the years. Reminiscing from our freshman year brought up some good memories that I had to hold back so that I wouldn't start tearing up. During the final reflection before we went home, I think the most memorable part was that Taylor enjoyed the retreat. It really did mean a lot that he had a positive attitude and shared that he did have fun. Thanks, Taylor :)

This year is going to unfold many opportunities and obstacles, but I don't think anything that I can't handle, as long as I have Amanda, Alex and the Lead Team with me. And of course all the Bonners to make everything possible.

Acquaintances turn to new friendships

2011-08-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Working with Lead Team has been amazing! I really do think that we have an awesome team. Everyone works really well together and oddly enough with all our different personalities, we compliment each other. I'm really glad that I get to work with Darian, Julie, and Scarlett this year...not that I don't about Courtney or Jarian. I've worked with them before and I know how wonderful they are. If Darian wasn't on Lead Team, I don't think I would have gotten to know and be such good friends with him. The same with Julie. She's probably one of the sweetest people I know. One night after incoming Bonner Orientation, Darian, Julie and Alex wanted to visit me in Chaudoin but I was at a staff meeting so I couldn't' answer my phone. Afterwards I met them in the LBC and we just hung out in the computer lab downstairs for awhile before going back to my room and hanging out more. Even though I have only gotten to know them on a deeper level for a short amount of time, I've learned so much about each one of them. Julie and I are more alike that i thought we would be! I have no doubt that our friendship will continue to grow as the year continues. I'm truly blessed to have all this support from my peers/LT members, Amanda and my fellow senior intern.

PS... our Lead Team this year is already on the ball. As soon as we announced who were in their families, many of them contacted them and created FB groups to start planning family meetings. I keep saying this, but I have a feeling that it's going to be a great, successful year.

and it all wraps up

2011-08-30T13:10:00.001-07:00

This summer has been an awesome experience. I loved working closely with Amanda, Linh and Alex on all of these projects for Bonner. I am really excited to start my semester working with SMA on the lecture and with Provost Paul on the Outcasts United book feast. I especially can't wait to meet my family and get to know all of the new Bonners. This semester is going to be amazing!

I am really positive about our year ahead on Lead Team; I think we have a great group with a lot of innovative ideas that will make this year special for a whole new group of Bonners. Even though my SOS is over, the work has only begun. We have a ton of things to accomplish this year and I'm sure we will have no problem doing it all!

As the year begins

2011-08-30T13:05:00.001-07:00

Over the summer, working at the CSL, which is now the CCE, has been kind of routine. I didn't really see the results from the work I did along with Amanda and Alex. A lot of it was planning and I didn't seem like I was doing any productive "work". We didn't have to start actually manually preparing until the last two weeks before the incoming Bonners moved in on the 17th. Looking back, the last three weeks have been chaotic! Julie, Alex and I went on a Walmart trip 1 together... It definitely was a bonding experience! We each pushed a cart and it was all full. Going down every aisle, we picked up about 15 boxes of cereal for the retreat along with large amounts of things we needed that were non-perishable. Financially we didn't do bad at all on our first trip...less that $300 :) I definitely see us growing pretty close as Lead Team this year. I use to think Julie was a sweet quiet person... sweet for sure...but not so much quiet ;)

Service in Sports lecture!

2011-08-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Mary Kathryn and I had thrown around the idea of a lecture series to get Bonner's name out in the Stetson and DeLand community more. We want to be known for more, expand our wings, show people what we're capable of. It would be interesting to delve deeper into how service can become a career, especially for people who are on the fence about getting involved right now.

I started working with a very close friend (... or boyfriend) in the Sports Management Association (SMA) on putting together a panel of speakers to talk about how service is incorporated in their sports profession. Currently, our list includes the Community Relations Director of the Orlando Magic, the CRD of the Daytona Cubs, a representative from NASCAR and ESPN Wide World of Sports while also including a Stetson rep. and a few nonprofits around DeLand (YMCA, the Little League, etc.). It is currently scheduled for September 20th at 6:30 in the Stetson Room. I would love it if everyone could attend this event to further market the Bonner program! SMA has been very helpful this summer in helping me get in contact with groups. It's crazy how I can call and explain what I'm calling for, I get transfered 50 times and after an hour I still haven't made any progress but I can talk to Dr. Wilson for 5 minutes and he gives me names and numbers of people he knows personally who would be perfect to come and speak. It really pays to know people.

Brainstorming and preparing potential marketing projects has been most of that planning but I am excited to have a Bonner led academic component! It's nice to be able to say that yes we're Bonners and yes we do a lot of service but we want YOU to do this too and here's how. If you're interested in attending or for more info, just contact me!

Retreat Planning

2011-08-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

This week, Linh, Alex, Amanda, and I had a great Skype session! We discussed the retreat, what plans or ideas we had to make it better than ever and ideas for the Lead Team and Freshmen Orientation. I recently found a theme titled "Agents of Change" that has a 'secret service' component. I had the idea to do a "Secret Mission" at the Retreat and maybe play assassins as a Bonner group. We also came up with a skeleton of the Retreat agenda. I'm always excited to go on the Retreat and sometimes it feels like I'm the only one. I know that's not true but I like to see other people excited about it as well. We took a lot of time considering activities to do that would make the rest of Bonner excited and maybe engage students who aren't usually represented during retreats.

We also talked about the Orientations and what kinds of things I would want to see during them. It sounds weird but Bonner is like a child to me, I want to see it grow and be successful and I am totally invested in it. I think that there are a lot of things that we as students have the power to change, the power to see happen and I want to harness that potential.

I also threw around the idea of a possible Service in Sports lecture during the year... we'll see how that pans out.

New life lesson

2011-08-30T12:54:00.001-07:00

"Everything in the world starts small and then becomes bigger- except bad things. They start big and then become smaller." - Outcasts United, by Warren St. John

So, I started reading this book in February and I fell in love with it. I reread it starting in June because my plan is to host a book feast with it. I spent some time brainstorming with Amanda and we decided to get Provost Paul involved in it as well. After finishing the book, I was so taken by the quote mentioned above because it is so relevant to our hectic lives as Bonners. I tend to dwell on the negative things that happen, stress over them, lose sleep, all of the bad things that happen when your thoughts are consumed with a negative idea. So this is now on my board in my room; it reminds me every time I come in that I just need to breathe, deal with it when and how I can but not to stress with it everyday.

I looked online and found some discussion questions and topics to bring up for the book feast. I spent a lot of time trying to compile a "plan of action". The date will hopefully be set for mid-October, that is still being ironed out, and the set up of the feast will be in small groups. While most of this still needs to be ironed out, I used summer as a tool to plan, come up with new ideas, and test out some possible solutions.

I'll keep you posted on date and times for the Book feast, I'm sure you'd all love to come :)

The Fabulous and Amazing...

2011-08-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Like Linh, the first few weeks of summer were spent working with Ms. Hargroves' 4th grade girls class. Mainly, Linh and I packed up her room (which is a harder job than it sounds). I also got to hang out with my 3rd grade boys class; we talked about what they thought 4th grade would be like and if they were excited or not. I love getting to spend time with them and build relationships. They were all sad to see me leave on my last day but I'm sure I'll see most of them in the coming year at Woodward again.

I started doing hours in the CCE in June, reading the "This I Believe" book and getting ideas for T&E activities for the coming year. I compiled a list of the book articles with main themes so we can use them in later years. I enjoy these articles because it gives me a chance to realize what other people "believe" and what they hold dear to them. I can reflect and say that I really like that philosophy or I can't stand the other one. It's a great opportunity to test myself and my beliefs now.

Even though summer is over...

2011-08-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

It’s actually been perfect timing with everything this summer. I got to finish the year off with my girls, SLI and then spend my last weeks brainstorming and planning at the CSL.

Oh I just remembered something about Woodward…During the awards ceremony, I felt like a proud parent when all of my students from tutoring received awards. (I even took pictures. Haha)

I was really excited to start at the CSL to implement the new ideas from SLI. Some of the workshops we went to, we think, will be helpful as our program grows. With so many new ideas, I didn’t really know where to start. Alex has been awesome because he’s been working hard with Orientation and Retreat preparation even though he doesn’t have to. He meets with Amanda and me and we check in with each other. The Bonner Orientation handbook looks amazing…not surprising, I suppose!

Figuring out meeting times for Lead Team with everyone’s busy schedules have been quite difficult. Through this experience, I’ve learned that it’s about give and take. In the end, communication is key and little things should not get in between relationships with others.

I stayed a second round for Summer of Service at the CSL for two main reasons. First was so that I can finish off the year with my girls at Woodward for the first half and second, to work on Bonner projects (specifically, this year). However, while I love working on stuff for Bonner, I’ve been reassured that I am not an office work type of person. I enjoyed brainstorming and working with everyone, especially Amanda, Alex, Courtney and Julie this summer. Getting to know the incoming Bonners via Facebook and having dinner with Seth and Kou awesome and I can never complain about lunch events talk about Bonner ideas throughout the summer. But being in a office for long periods of time, while it has to be done, is not very appealing for me. I guess I’m not as skilled as Scarlett when it comes to managerial skills J .

It worked out in my favor. By extending my hours through the entire summer, we got more done because we always have new things we want to try and implement. I’m really excited for the upcoming year. I think we have an awesome Lead Team and a great new group of Bonners joining who are all very excited to start the year.

I hope Bonners don’t get too annoyed with me when I bugged them to complete their hour logs on Bonner Webbers!! ;)

Last Post

2011-07-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

So this summer has been unexpectedly amazing, with both it's ups and it's downs.

I feel so accomplished though with all that I have completed this summer. I honestly do not know where I'd be if I hadn't of done this summer of service. I'm really excited for the up and coming year as I know its going to be the best of my 3 years so far at stetson.
Green Feather and Rock Against Cancer have been my life for the past 2 months and I hope they both go off without a hitch. Its been a winding road but I have finally come to the end.

So much Expectation and so much Potential.

Everything happens for a reason.

2011-07-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is what I believe and how I try and view my life. Sort of a cup half full phenomenon.

So, after explaining,

Something has happened in my life that has completely turned my present outlook on the people and things around me... So what could this mystery life changing tool with the power to change perception?
A long lost friend....

I'm the kind of person that will unintentionally analyze cause and effect, the action and its reaction, the chicken and the egg. So this is just one more of those scenarios ( at least to me ) where I see how two different paths in this game of life are systematically collided through something of fate.. But is it fate?

How is it possible that 2 people whom haven't talked, communicated, or heard from in close to 10 years suddenly reconvene at a random location where both parties weren't necessarily invited.... Where at the intricacy of this complete randomness, actually blossomed into an aligned path of parallel proportions.

It is scary how small this world feels sometimes, while at the same time I'll never fully be able to grasp its vastness. But I've learned that you need to appreciate the random bouts of luck and make the most of them.

Long week past, Long week ahead

2011-07-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

This past week was quite the week, and while I wish I had a chance to relax, next week is going to be even more overwhelming. THIS PAST WEEK though, I had the responsibility of passing out flyers and marketing our volleyball camp that is next week. While it seems like it would be easy and not stressful at all, it was the complete opposite. At weeks end we only had 3 girls signed up for camp. My main supervisor informed me that we would be holding camp whether we had 3 girls or 30 girls- in other words, more people needed to sign up. On Thursday though my girls volleyball team had another chance to show off their skills and play a few games. We won our first but lost our second- that did not stop them from smiling and cheering and proclaiming how excited they were for their second win :) That was definitely the highlight of my night, seeing as how my boss was out of town so I was in charge during this chaotic and unorganized evening of volleyball games. Somehow I managed to survive with no children hurt and no parents complaining.

This upcoming week is the infamous volleyball camp. I am praying that more children sign up at last minute; otherwise it is just going to be me, the 3 girls, and the volleyball court ALL. DAY. LONG.

Fun in the Sun

2011-07-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day...
I was able to go to the pool most of the day, and I even got a good amount of work done thanks to the WIFI at the pool.

Everything, simply seems to be falling into place. At the beginning of the summer I felt as though I had an impossible task to overcome. But now, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I must say it is a very relieving feeling. haha

Even though, I know come August the pressure is going to be on.

But I'm ready.

On a side note,
Someone told me that this song reminded them of me... So I decided to share it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNctGojkT98

An at home Vacation

2011-07-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, I went home last weekend thinking that I would be in deland for 1 to 2 weeks longer. My summer of service hours are completed but I want to stay and make sure that everything was being taken care of. Little did I know, my summer roommate decided that while I was gone, he was going to move out. So..
When I came home on monday, literally everything in my apartment was gone ( just his stuff ), meaning no : pots and pans, silverware, internet, TV, A/C. I basically downgraded to the 18th century over night.

In response to this, I moved out ha

2011-07-26T08:37:00.001-07:00

My first three and a half weeks this summer was spent at Woodward Elementary. I worked with 22 “fabulous and amazing” girls in Ms. Hargroves class who have a “sunshiny yellow attitude”. During the year, I usually go on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. It was funny, the first week when I showed up on Monday, the girls kept telling me that I was early. I told them that I would be with them everyday until the year ends. It took them the whole week to become accustomed to it because everyday, someone never failed to either tell me I was early or asked why I was there.

My first full day was pretty interesting because I got to see how elementary students favor particular students as a group. There was a 5^th grade States competition and there were certain students that acquired more cheering than the others. However, students were supportive of each other.

I often times ran out to get lunch for the teacher and I while the girls were at lunch. To my surprise they didn’t congregate around the back table as much as I thought they would, like my other students did in another class.

By the second week, they were use to my being there all day. I graded a lot of papers and helped the teacher catch up on things she was not able to do, due to time restrictions. She was a great mentor; I walked around during lessons to help the students who were struggling, I got to help the teacher teach, read to the girls, facilitated centers among other tasks.

The girls had to take the FCAT writing and they kicked ass on it. No one made lower than a 3. Ms. Hargroves’ class scored the highest overall compared to all other 4^th grade classes at Woodward.

During all of this, I was taking two summer classes, one for my major (Theories of Personality) and one for my minor (Principles and Methods of Instruction for Diverse Learners). In my P&M class, we were paired up and had to create four lesson plans, two each, that flowed with each other. Even though I do not really plan on being a teacher, I really love the atmosphere of the classrooms I’ve worked in. However, I realized through this class and lesson planning that I could never be a teacher because I hate lesson planning. Getting the resources together and planning a successful lesson was not something I enjoy. There is so much available to me, it was hard to choose what I wanted to include and it bothered me that I couldn’t use everything. And the fact that there is a time restriction on my lessons made it even more difficult. If I could spend time in the classroom without the required lessons, I would have no hesitation. That wouldn’t be very productive though.

Something kind of funny/embarrassing happened…classes started the 11^th. For some reason, I thought my class started at 4:00 (that’s when my other class starts). I stayed at Woodward until school ended at 1:30. When I finally got reception, I got a text from a friend who was taking the same class asking where I was. I had an ‘oh shoot’ moment. I was debating whether or not to walk in late since there were only seven of us in the classroom. I got there a little after two and the professor says, “You must be Linh.” I was the only person who showed up late…which never usually happens. Great first impression, right? Luckily for me, she is a really nice professor and nothing really happened after that.

I got a chance to volunteer at the same time with Courtney Williams. Best thing ever. Before then, we really never hung out. Who knew she was so cool. We really got a chance to bond those past few weeks. We made 90 cookies for the students one day in a house with a frisky cat…neither of us are fans of cats…Also we didn’t know where anything was because it wasn’t in our house. It was a big fiasco but entertaining, nonetheless.

I really did not come across any problems the first month of service. It was really nice to follow my girls to the end of the year. The last day was somewhat emotional. The girls brought thank you presents to their teacher and we had a fun day. I was trying to hold back tears as they gave me a hug before walking out the door at the end of the day to the beginning of summer. I was really sad, knowing that my girls won’t all be in the same classroom again next year. I built really close relationships with some of them, seeing them grow and mature throughout the year was really inspiring for me. The dynamics of the classroom was really awesome and the personalities of the girls meshed really well together. I just hope next year’s class will be just as good!

In the midst of the classroom, SLI ’11 took place in Albany, NY. Savannah, Jennifer, Maverick, Alex and left DeLand at 6 AM on May 31^st and flew to NY. Maverick, Alex and I have never been so it was pretty cool…even though it wasn’t exactly the city. SLI was full of energy and new ideas. The workshops I attended were really informative and interesting. We formulated a lot of new ideas that we hope to implement into our Bonner Program this upcoming year. Alex and I attended the senior intern track and we are hoping that we can fulfill the duties adequately. We are both really excited to kick start the year with the ideas we have!

A child's smile can light up the room.

2011-07-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

This week I had the most rewarding experience of my summer thus far. My 9-11 year old girls volleyball team won their first game and I have never seen these girls this excited before. We have had 2 weeks of games now and finally my girls came together as a team to pull it out. Its not about the winning-losing ratio, but instead its about the happiness and sense of accomplishment that those girls felt after that first win. Not only did they feel a sense of accomplishment by achieving their goal, but I felt a sense of accomplishment by giving them the skills and confidence to do so. The moment the game was over and I told them all that they had won, I felt like the room had stopped moving and their smiles were lighting it up. No one else in the room existed except there 8 girls who could not stop yelling and hugging each other! It was definitely a perfect ending to a long week!

Summer is Coming to a Close

2011-07-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

As I go through my day to day activities, I am starting to feel a sense of accomplishment as I look foreword to the coming months. Many of the events I've been planning seem really promising and I can't wait to see how they go. I have also made new and great friends both here and far that I wouldn't have been able to do if I hadn't done this.

Going into this summer, I had my doubts and even at times during the summer I questioned my situation and felt a sense of panic,

But now, for some reason I feel I sense of peace.
I guess it might be the calm before the storm.
But for now, I'm just going relax.

First blog

2011-07-18T14:34:00.001-07:00

So despite me being almost done with my SOS, this is my first blog. I have been so busy trying to balance the YMCA and Publix that I have completely neglected to work on blogging, so here they go. I have been working at the DeLand YMCA as the Sports Program & Marketing Intern, kind of a variety of different areas. My main focus has been working with the sports program of the Y. I began my internship finishing up the soccer season, taking surveys of parents feelings about the program. I found it very interesting the things that everyone had to say; such as adding a concession stand outside under the pavilion and how much money it would make for the YMCA. From then on I wanted to be involved in this change that the YMCA was implementing; making the parents and customers voices heard and changing things how they want. Often companies will take surveys but will never do anything with the results- I can honestly say that I know these questionnaires that I filled out went straight to our regional representative who was then going to decide whether or not our facility could handle it on our own or if it should go to corporate.

The rest of my summer has consisted of making phone calls to past program participates, assisting with the marketing designs for the summer camps, and working with the kids throughout the sports camps. I have worked thus far with soccer and basketball camp. After both of those, I realized I am not ready to grow up and have kids because I do not have enough patience for them over a long period of time. I enjoy working with them though, just seeing a child smile because they have mastered a skill makes my job ten times more rewarding. Currently I coaching a volleyball team and working hand in hand with my sports supervisor to ensure that the summer basketball league runs smoothly and effectively. I engage in conversations with the parents as well as referee games and communicate with coaches.

After all of this though, I have begun to question how much I really want to work in the sports management field. While I enjoy watching and participating in sports programs, I am not sure if I have the dedication to work in this field on a regular basis. I think that if I decide to work in this field, it needs to be in the more professional or in a more organized business where I have a set task. I am not comfortable when I am being pulled in many different directions and I feel that with this SOS that it was has been happening. With only 4 more weeks and 120 hours to go, I am interested to see how this summer winds down and what the final picture will be!

Strategic Planning

2011-07-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

I know that I love strategic planning, but sometimes you have to take time to learn the skills so that you can do what you love the right way! This summer I have been working on creating a strategic plan to get more students involved in community service. I have some great ideas, but the information was getting to be a lot. I was getting so confused and losing sight of what I wanted to get out of this plan. I had a meeting with the infamous Kevin Winchell and he helped me start my "strategic plan". It was great to get all my thoughts out and organized.

This week I will be working on developing that strategic plan and even doing a test trial with a community partner.

Stress is a killer.

2011-07-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been working very hard this summer working on a number of different projects, and I've learned so much. Stress has really been getting to me, but I've taken this and have turned it into another learning experience. My main stressor is Rock Against Cancer.. I feel that I've taken this event to a completely different level than ever before.. but that is putting a lot of pressure on me to make sure that the event is amazing. Luckly I've teamed up with the American Cancer Society, the Children's Cancer Foundation and the Downtown Deland Association. The few people I've included in the planning aspect of the event have helped me tremendously, and I'm very fortunate to have them. However, even though the event planning is going smoothly, I won't be happy or relieved( i guess is a better word ) until the event is over with.

On a lighter note,
Last week we went to the Boy's and Girl's club and repainted the entire building and the fence. It was so awesome to see everyone working together. The "Club" was so happy to have a fresh coat of paint. The Place Looks Awesome!!!!

Final Count Down

2011-07-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

Final Count Down. This week marks the complication of my 280th hour with DTA and a S.O.S I will never forgot. It’s hard to believe how fast time flies by, I remember the first day of camp as if it was yesterday. I was ready to make a difference in lives of the over 100 kids who attend the summer camp, however, hesitant on how this difference would be accomplished. With the program nearing its close, I look back and realize the success of providing our campers with a fun and enjoyable experience can not be credited to a signal person or moment. Instead, it is credited to the numerous hours of planning and re-planning done by the team of counselors myself include. This planning allowed us to accomplish a two fold goal; first we able to keep all campers engaged in group activities, at the same time forming individual bonds with most all the kids. This process had its ups and downs, heart felt moments, and times of joy.

Throughout this entire S.O.S I could not help being reminded of the book There Are No Child from Dr.Sapps class. Many of our campers came from low income families and experience rough home lives; having read the book I was able to better understand the feelings hopeless and lack of engagement some of the campers exhibited. Thus, having this deeper understanding I was better equipped in forming bonding relationships. All and all this will be an experience I will never forget, look forward to the presentation in September.

New York Times inspiration

2011-07-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

This week in the New York Times, there was issue about the North Dakota fighting Sioux Indian Mascot. Inter-tribal is very much against the use of Indian Mascots. I thought this would be a good opportunity to share with my follow Bonners as to why Indian Mascots are so oppressive. With the exception of the Seminoles, many Indian Nations do not support the use of their name as a mascot. American Indians are the only race of people that are used as mascots. We don't say the fighting Jews or the Niagara Negros. People would be outraged if this happened, so why is okay for American Indians to be displayed like this? I know that many of you are probably thinking about Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, well the Irish Catholic Priests at Notre Dame chose this as their mascot.

Historically, many of these teams came up with Mascots- using replication of sacred artifacts, in a time when it was illegal for American Indians to practice their religion. Because they are still using the mascots and these “sacred” objects, it shows the lack of respect people have for American Indian religion. I think that one reason why mascots are so harmful is because it keeps American Indians mystified and romanticized. When people think about American Indians, the image of a Sioux Chief comes to mind. The majority of people don't think of a modern day image of American Indians. Many times these images are cartoons, which reinforces the idea that American Indians are not real. I could go on for a very long time about this but I think I'm going to stop there. Here is a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/us/13sioux.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Fighting%20Sioux%20&st=cse And if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to let me know.

Accomplishments Thus far

2011-07-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

So far I have done a ton of research. I've read books upon books about American Indian women. Last week I needed to take a step back, break out of that routine and do something else. So I started applying what I learned to enhance my non-profit. And by that I mean I created new presentations, improved on others, and I am in the middle of working on a Speaker Bureau. Which, is just a larger binder that has a lot of information about American Indians, right on hand. It will be best used if someone is doing a presentation and they are asked a question. They may not know the answer right on the top of their head. So they just pull out the big binder and quickly look it up. Obviously, the hardest thing is how to really organize this. I am putting together a list of FAQ in the front that way it can just be simple but for the more in depth stuff, its going to be a little tricky! Wish me luck!

July 4-8

2011-07-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

The community Coalition is separated into committees. Everyone loves committees. Diane and I called every single person individually to tell them when their committee was meeting and what they would be discussing. Everyone seemed so excited to come. However, when the 5th rolled around and our first committee was scheduled to meet- no one showed up. Our 2nd committee came no one showed up. So we hoped we would have better luck on the 7th when our 2 other committees were scheduled. For the first one- one person showed up. That's a little better- right? For our last committee meeting 3 people showed up and we actually got to go through the meeting!

Of course, being the person that I am, I left the last meeting angry. I was upset with the decisions that they made. This committee was about the youth. We were discussing what workshops we could give to them at a community event we are planning. They said things like drugs, sexting, self-esteem, all the usual things. But all I could think the entire time is that the only time a person is going to change is if they start to value themselves. And we can't make someone value themselves by telling them what they shouldn't or should be doing. Especially when we haven't formed relationships. So, I decided to meet with Vonzelle. I was going to change this! I am going to make them realize what a big mistake they are making.

And that's when I learned that I need to humble myself. For now, DeLand is my community. But how much of it do I really know? I know the homeless community pretty well. But what about all of the other people in this community? We are starting from scratch here. This community has never had anyone care enough to want to change it. But I am leaving in 2 years and it is my job to empower others to care enough to change it. And these people know this community. They know what they need. And I can't come in and tell them what they need. I am supposed to know this. I would never go into an non-profit organization and tell them what they need. I ask them. And I didn't do that for the community of DeLand. I thought I knew it all. I have to let these people own this 100%, so that when Diane, Vonzelle, and myself are all gone- they have the tools and the desire to keep uniting and changing this city for the better.

YAY!

Why DTA

2011-07-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

Why DTA. When I entered the Bonner program the thought of serving an S.O.S was always in the back of my mind, but one major question lay ahead. Where would I serve? Having family in the New York City region I decided to start my search there, I found many opportunities, ranging from parks and recreation, the mayors office, and the YMCA. I applied to all of them, just in case none of those worked out; I had started the process of becoming an intern with congressman Mica’s office in Deltona Florida. It was now May, letters began to arrive, I was offered a counselor position with a YMCA sleep away camp and a day camp. However, after being offered an RA position I would be unable to fully commit to either, due to the fact they ended in late August right around RA training. So I decided I would hope for the mayor’s office or the parks and recreation position. Two weeks later I received a letter stating they where looking for students closer to graduation. At this pointed I started to worry, it was past the deadline to fully commit to Mica’s office and in-order to accept a position with the YMCA I would have had to turn down the RA position. Little did I know faith was about to take control.

When I was ten my parents had enrolled me in a spring break day camp located at Wes Crile Park in Deltona Florida (DTA). It was the brain child of Dennis Mulder, 20 years old at the time attending Stetson University on a tennis scholarship. His passion for tennis led him to form a non-profit know as the Deltona Tennis Association, its mission to provide low cost tennis instruction/ child care to Deltona residents. Since, then Dennis has become a family friend, in 2005 he was the youngest mayor ever elected in the City of Deltona. Fast-forward to the fall of 2010, he helps me run my campaign for seat 3 with the DeBary City Council. A year passes and yet another election season arrives, mid May I received a phone call from Dennis offering me his help if I decided to run for city council again. It was during that phone call I presented my S.O.S situation, resulting in the offer of a position with summer camp diversion of DTA.

I gladly accepted. Next week will be my final Blog in which I detail all the many great lessons learned along with some interesting stories.

Reverse!!!

2011-07-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

At the end of yesterday I completed my 280th hour at the Polk County Supervisor of Elections Office for my second summer -o- service. It was an odd feeling, checking yet another thing off of my list as a rising college senior, preparing myself for the inevitable: graduation. It has been on my mind as of late and I am aprehensive yet eager for that day to come. Why all this talk about graduation??? What does that have to do with SOS or Bonner? Well, just about everything. I was informed that the powers that be here are just as eager for my graduation date as I am. This notion of potentially having work after graduation is splendid but scary. I'm counting my blessings. I purposely waited to begin my blogging because I truly wanted this to be a time of reflection about my work at the elections office. So my entries from now on will be about the current day and a previous day/event. I have always like contrasting my experiences; it allows a person to notice how much you can change in a matter of days.

Today (7/8/11), I will be exploring the Lakeland area of Polk County and refilling Voter Registration Form locations with my co-worker, Mrs. Petula Williams (coincidence? I think not). This is simply busy work for a very slow Friday. I have suspicions that our sudden influx of phone calls to have forms refilled is backlash from the recent passing of House Bill 1355. Some of you may not know, but this bill has made major waves in the electoral process in Florida. Lawmakers in Tallahassee have yet to hand down a cut and dry interpretation of these new laws. Hence, potential 3rd party voter registration groups (Think League of Women Voters, or Veterans for Change) are snatching up Voter Registration Forms like kids snatching candy at a Christmas parade. The new laws dictate that from the time of issuing of a Voter Registration Form to a 3rd party group, and the time they get someone registered to vote, the 3rd party group has 48 hours to return the signed form, or is becomes void. Can anyone see what kinds of problems this poses? Rant over.

So while replenishing our sites in Lakeland with Voter Registration Forms, I will hope that no one gets too greedy and all Polk County residents will be able to take advantage of the ability to register to vote at almost any bank/bait and tackle shop in Lakeland.

Yesterday (7/7/11) we were out at Walgreen's in Winter Haven, registering voters and providing other information services to the people of Polk County. It still never ceases to sadden me when girls my age slough off the idea that they can change their world by declining their constitutional right to vote. Since we are not allowed to hound people, I have been formulating a very precise list of questions and set of vocabulary to engage would-be voters in conversation. Sometimes I ask, "Do you believe you deserve a say in what our government does? Registering to vote only takes 5 minutes!", or sometimes, "This opportunity is very unique to our country; registering to vote is not only patriotic, it is honorable because you are participating in the unique design of our government." or something like that :)

I also got a slight sunburn on one side of my face. Yay fair skin and Florida sunshine!

In other news, my family is currently stuck in traffic attempting to use their tickets to the LAST SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH. I cannot believe this is the end of an era of government driven space exploration. This weekend is going to be a busy one, and I hope if you are reading this you get the rest that I know I will not.

Ta-ta for now <3

June 20-24

2011-07-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Killin it with Diane this week!

This week Diane and I are searching for videos that we can use for a presentation to all the committees within the Coalition. We found a really cool rap about a coalition. So we decided to make our own! Here is where you can watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGTk4SU2PyE

Vonzelle... didn't let us use it.

June 13-17

2011-07-07T09:30:00.001-07:00

B.A.S.I.C

This week has been very focused on the BASIC program I have been working with as well. This program consists of about 30 boys from elementary to high school. They work on professionalism and community service. Right up my alley! And they are boys - another plus, because anyone that knows me well know I am not a big fan of girls. Oops! I am planning their orientation and a training for the mentors. Of course, I have totally got my mind on something really fun and cool with lots of candy and happiness. But, I have to make this professional. A total bummer, right?

Look out for the BASIC boys this year because they are gonna be ballin!

Coalition Meeting

2011-07-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I played a little bit of catching up because the other intern, Diane, has been working here all summer. Last week we worked on putting together a coalition meeting with some leaders in the community that will be working on ways to bring more unity among the DeLand community. Diane and I will be putting everything together for the committee meeting and then running the meeting. Commissioner Vonzelle Johnson was supposed to be there and he will answer any questions that we can. And he kind of keeps the group under control, as well. It was my first Coalition Meeting and I was a little nervous. I get a text from Diane saying Vonzelle is not coming anymore. But we sure did try our best and I think we did a pretty good job. Besides the fact that we came up with a few Mission Statements for them to choose from and they hated every single one. Tough work, working with the Community!

But the good news is that I have NOT been sleeing in that god forsaken house! My friends have been nice enough to let me hang with them until I can find another place to stay. Very sweet :) I am pretty sure there are rats or something in the ceiling!

My first week:)

2011-07-07T09:12:00.001-07:00

I had my first week of work and it was a little different than I expected. I was supposed to start on Tuesday with a meeting with Commissioner Johnson. I had just left Pensacola, but before I left, I stopped by by a good friends house who was sick in bed with the stomach flu. So Tuesday morning I wake up ready for work.... with a really bad stomach ache. I called Commissioner Johnson and had to cancel. My first day of worked turned into me laying on my bedroom floor. I started Wednesday and work was great. Loved it. But when I got back to my house, life was not so good. There were nasty roaches and spiders and I felt like if I fell asleep I was going to be attacked by wild bugs!! I stayed awake almost all night to ensure that I did not die in the worst house I have ever stayed in . I am a little nervous about how the rest of this summer is going to turn out...

Whats in a name?

2011-07-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

"What's in a name?

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - William Shakespeare

Well Juliet, a name is very important. Especially, when you are part of an Indigenous group in North America in constant battle over treaty rights with the United States government.

When a group of people have the freedom to name themselves, they are wielding power. People often ask me the question, “what is the politically correct term? Is it Native American, First Nations people, or American Indian?” Honestly, this is the best question you can ask any person part of a minority or majority group. I am an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe in South Dakota. (Oglala is my band, Lakota is the tribe, and Sioux is the Nation) Indian Nations are vastly different from one another. There are over 500 tribes in the United States alone, not including Canada, Mexico, Central or South America and the Caribbean. Each have their own language, religion, and customs. It would be the equivalent to thinking a person from England and another from Greece are the same because they are both European. . Ideally, I would want to be thought of as Lakota but I know people will have a hard time remembering that. Personally, I prefer the term American Indian. Other people may agree or disagree with me but I feel that I have done a significant amount of research and more importantly listened to my tribal elders to take an educated and cultural stance on this subject.

The way the United States government drew up treaties and policies to allocate funds, they used specific language in their writing. When referring to American Indians they mean the indigenous people on the North American content. Native American is actually referring to Alaskan and Hawaiian natives. One of the reasons why the term American Indian is so powerful is because it, “firmly holds the government to nation-to-nation treaties made with American Indians nations” (Gage 22). Basically this term helps hold the government accountable to the treaties they made, not that they have been so good at it in the past. The term American Indian may or may not have been forced on the North American indigenous people but we have given it meaning, and uniquely made it our own.

In the 1970's the Red Power Movement gave birth to the American Indian Movement. The American Indian movement allowed people the confidences to be proud of who they were. Up until the 1970's and after many Indians were victims of institutionalized racism. They were taught to be ashamed of their culture and religion. Hate crimes against American Indians at this time were and in some places still are a common occurrence in peoples lives. I don't agree with everything that the American Indian movement has done or does, however, this movement helped the lives of urban Indians and those living on reservations. They were able to catch the media's attention, to bring awareness about Indian causes. Specifically, about the violence and poor quality of life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Marlon Brando, for example, learned about what was going on and actually gave up his award for the Godfather as a way to protest.

At the same time as instilling pride in Americans Indians, this movement worked on holding the government accountable for treaties that they had made. Because of the events in the 1970's we took possession of the term “American Indian”. This term is a reminder to the United States government of the treaties they made, institutionalized racism against Indians, and the cultural and physical genocide committed against the indigenous people of North America.

This is just a mini opinion paper that I wrote during the research I've been doing.

Better Late Than Never

2011-07-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

5/25/11-6/2/11: The first week of camp consisted of staff training. It was long and we spent a lot of time in workshops that were quite un-entertaining but they were all important. Getting to meet all the new staff members and reconnect with old ones was wonderful! This summer I'm even a certified lifeguard! (The past 2 summers I've been busy on the weekends they did it.) Here's to a fabulous summer!

6/6/11-6/10/11: Our first week of kids came from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia County. They weren't the most well-behaved children we've ever had but they were a small group and a very good way to get everyone into the swing of camp. I found myself pleasantly surprised at how excited I was to be back out at the range! Shep bought new arrows too! They're electric blue aluminum and I can't wait to start using them. On Monday a bad thunderstorm came through and actually caught some of the woods on camp ON FIRE. It was kind of scary but everyone still had a great week. I call that a success!

6/13/11-6/17/11: This session (our second week of kids) was a real test for all the newbies. It was a full camp of 76 kids all from St. Lucie County, which was a 3 hour drive away. For the most part they were good kids and their deputies were fantastic. Seeing everyone laughing and smiling and generally having a good time always makes me feel like I'm doing my job to the best of my abilities...even when the kids try and make me eat chewed up gummi bears.

6/19/11-6/24/11: Session 2 (week 3) included Duval, Baker, Clay, Union, and Bradford counties. Some of my favorite kids from past summers were there which put a smile on my face. I had to be a group leader instead of an activity leader this week which was weird for me. I feel so out of my element not teaching archery but I enjoyed my kids and my co-counselor and the week. It was fun even if I did miss being at the range! The weekend before this Session started I found a scorpion in my bathroom. It was TERRIFYING! It took 5 people about an hour to get out.

6/27/11-7/1/11: Indian River County was here! That's the county I'm from so it's always fun getting to see the kids who come back every year and the deputies I've known since I started coming to camp 9 summers ago. It makes you realize how fast time flies! This week also made me kind of sad. This is most likely my last summer of camp and hearing kids ask me if I'll be back next summer makes my heart hurt a little bit. It's good to know that I've made a difference in the lives of youth across the state.

By the numbers

2011-07-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

By the numbers. This week’s blog will focus on the physical make up of DTA by the numbers.Next week I will go over a brief history of DTA and reflect on this and next weeks experiences.

• Location- Wes Crile Park, 1537 Norbert Terrace. Deltona Florida 32725

• Total Counselors= 6
o 2-male
o 4-female

• Number of kids enrolled week to week=130-150
o 4-8 age group- 40-70
o Male- 30-40
o Female-20-30
o 9-13 age group- 40-70
o Male- 20-35
o Female- 15-25

• Demographics
o White-35%
o Black-10%
o Hispanic -50%
o Other- 5%

• Percentage of kids from low income families
o over 40%

• Program length / free lunch& snack provided
o 12 weeks
o 10 weeks

• Number of off site field trips
o 20

Inter-tribal stuff

2011-06-28T23:18:00.000-07:00

As Bonners some of us see a lot of hardship through our volunteer works. We see people in poverty, people disabled and such, I often wonder how everyone deals with this. For me, I get so down seeing people suffering so much. And yeh, I feel a little better knowing that I did something to help but peoples' suffering tends to stay with me. I'm doing a lot of research for my non profit, one of the subjects is American Indian women. Well I am one and I am obviously related to others. I was very lucky when my parents decided to raise my brother and I off the reservation. We maybe 1500 miles away but we still saw and felt the effects of reservation life. As I'm doing my research, I notice how much this topic makes me depressed. One book not only went into the statistics but actually retold women's stories of rape. We do service because its the right thing to do, we do service because we love it, but how do we deal with these depressing issues?

Adventures of week 4

2011-06-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Adventures of week 4. This past week seemed to go by the fastest; we visited the splash pad on Monday, ice cream truck Tuesday, movies on Wednesday, and Deleon Springs on Friday. In between the trips we introduced several new activities such as sharks and minos, pac man, and capture the flag. All the kids were fully engaged with the new games making for a fun experience both for the kids and counselors. This may explain why this week went by fastest thus far. This was accomplished with an increased amount of planning and scheduling. Next week should play out in a similar fashion as we have increased our counselor meetings from 1 to 2 a week. This simple act has made a world of a difference.

Through percussive planning and goal setting an organization can accomplish great things; I have seen this concept first hand through my summer of service with DTA. At first we struggled coming up with activities to keep the kids engaged, but after sitting down and ironing out a plan, it was nothing but smooth sailing. I hope to continue this mind set through my entire Bonner career, using it to reinforce my service and expand Bonner as a whole.

A day of learning

2011-06-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had one of our public meetings in a county park. (The county sponsors us to do educational events). We try to have a meeting once a month and we tend to have a great turn out. Its mostly families with small children. At this meeting we were putting up a teepee. Of course we explained the historical and cultural significances of the teepee. The teepee is plains Indian home. It is probably the very first mobile home. The Lakota were consider nomadic but they carried their homes with them. After we gave background information we had volunteers come up and help us raise it. Let me tell you, its hard. I'm a Lakota and traditionally it was the women's job to assemble the teepees. I am 100% sure I would not have been able to do that. It was extremely hard and this was not my first time doing it. I can't image it being over 100 degrees and having to build this thing or worse it being freezing and having to build this thing.

In the past we built a long house, which is a structure that the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) used. We've also done lectures on boarding schools and mascots, we've invited Indian dancers to perform, and done arts and crafts. We also had professors from Kean University come out and talk about American Indian Genocide. Our programs can range from very fun topics and events to very serious ones. One issue as an organization we've always faced, when educating the public, is how serious do we go? We want people to keep coming therefore we don't want things to be a complete downer. But at the same time issue of racism, wrong information given out at schools, and native identity are real issues that Indians face today. As an organization I often wonder if we are turning into commodities, something to entrain people. Are they really walking away with a new found knowledge or does this just feed into the “romanticized” image of American Indians?

Enjoy the one picture! My camera decided to die on me. =(

Pieces of the Movement

2011-06-23T12:57:00.002-07:00

So, pretty much completely forgot about the blogging. But I am going to make up for it! I wrote this reflection paper after SLI literally on the airplane.. Enjoy!

SLI 2011
Pieces of the Movement

SLI for me has been one of the most influential things I’ve ever done in my life. I can’t even begin to describe the impact the conference has made on myself. Three central themes we enlightened during my short 3 days. One a day isn’t that bad I guess. There is a revolution in the undertaking and I can see that clearly now.
The first theme passion will allow for impact. This has been the case for many generations but until SLI I didn’t really understand this truth. Just has the American Revolution or the civil rights movement, passion was the drive behind change. Obviously we can’t just go around starting wars since we live in the 21st century; but we can inflict change through movements and policy changes. This is what us as a national Bonner network are trying to do. Emotions are the driving force in our lives, whether it be the feeling of hunger or love, they are at the root of any action taken at any time 24/7 365 days a year till we die. Now that I’ve stated that; how are we supposed to harness these emotions to impact our own goals, instead of that of others? The solution I think is to be fearless. At any time of any day you need to be able to step outside of your comfort zone to truly see the kind of person you are, away from the façade used to fool others. Once this true passion is ignited, an explosive force will be at your disposal.
With passion comes the potential to do anything. With enough passion and charisma anyone has the power to do anything they want. We have also seen this in the history books for various reasons. However, there is a problem, us as a generation has become jaded. Passion is a dying part of our lives as witnessed in the lack of intimacy in relationships
Now what it comes down to making significant impacts, really making changes and getting results; the solution is always, who you know and not what you know. Networking has been revealed to me on an entirely different level as I have orchestrated and witnessed complete strangers bond on a deeper level in 3 day than I have with some of my fraternity brothers that I have known for 3 years day in and day out. This passionate networking has the power to inflict the next great big change for a better America.
In order to increase this power, we need to do more! Yes local service is vital to our community; we need to keep doing this. However, we still need to do more. Bonner is transforming into a national network that will eventually be completely united to combat central issues as one massive movement. We need to work like a colony of ants. Every ant has its own duty, all of them are doing completely different seemingly meaningless tasks. Even though it seems that way, the ants have a trick up their ant sleeves, because while each individual ant is working diligently on their own tasks, they are aware of the other all goal, which is to protect and serve the colony. Every ant is aware of what each other is doing and is doing his delegated part towards the over all well being of the ant network.
This is what we need to focus on in the next coming years, local service with national awareness of what the rest of the Bonner nation…the Bonner network is doing all around us. We need to be more aware of the central issues that we are working on as an overall Bonner Program to really create a driving force in this scary world we live in. Individually we are pieces of the movement, but when combined into one focal picture… we are the movement.

2011-06-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Kids will be kids

2011-06-19T08:29:00.001-07:00

Kids will be kids. In order to keep the kids excited about attending the summer program we introduced many new games activities during week three. These ranged from three pin dodge ball, knock out tournaments, freeze dance, and many others. Needless to say most if not all the kids had a blast during the entire week. This week’s field trips included the splash, Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, and Cici’s Pizza, all which went very smoothly. In other news the Daytona Beach News Journal featured an article detailing our camp activities, check it out-
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2011/06/15/summer-camps-funnel-kids-energy-into-endless-activities.html

Week three, also brought about realization that no matter how rough a child’s background currently or may have been; at heart they are still kids. This concept has been brought about after building a strong counselor/ camper bond. Thus, leading many of kids to share stories of the past and present, many happy and many sad. In either case, during they daily activities they smile and laugh beyond the stories they hold. This weeks experience has made my time here all the worth while. With about a month and half left I look forward to helping these kids be kids, allowing them to forget for a moment.

Weeks One and Two: Congressional Fellows Program

2011-06-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Hello there everyone!

So I started my Summer of Service last week here in DC. I'm participating in the Congressional Fellows Program under National Student Leadership. It sounds a lot fancier than it is, but so far it has been an incredible experience.

Here's a typical week:

Monday: Volunteer at a local private school in one of the most impoverished areas in DC. House meeting at night.

Tuesday: Intern in the office of a Senator's wife (for privacy reasons I'm not allowed to use her name on this blog!). She is highly involved with international humanitarian issues, particularly with respect to women empowerment and healthcare. I was updating her "People to Meet With" list (friends with whom she will visit while "in town" - read: in state or in country) last week, and she has relationships with people all over the world. Seriously. From Florida to DC to California to England to Nigeria. It's crazy. Being around her will in and of itself be an incredible opportunity to peek into the kind of life I'm considering for my future career. So we'll see how that goes. Anyway. Tuesday afternoons we meet at the house of one of the people more or less in charge of the program and discuss big life topics, like purpose and leadership.

Wednesday: Intern again. Wednesday nights a speaker comes to our house, and usually expands on the topics discussed Tuesday nights.

Thursday: Intern again.

Friday: Group breakfast, an optional Bible study (the program is faith-based [which I actually didn't know when signing up for it], but not in an indoctrination way whatsoever - more like exploring what you believe and why, and how that affects the way you live your life and make life decisions and lead and serve, etc. etc.), and chill time.

I'm really excited to have the opportunity to work on the issues that she works with. One of her main things right now is trying to find a way to connect women artisans in poorer countries with markets in the US to help them earn a living and remove themselves from poverty. I've done a bit of independent research on that, and I'm excited to show her what I've found.

The people living in the house (we're living in a sorority house on the University of Maryland's campus) are great people. Not everyone is into politics, but everyone is looking for a way to serve other people and are exploring this opportunity to build relationships with people in DC and with the numerous contacts associated with this program. We'll see what comes of that. My roommate is from Germany - she's wonderful - and the other girl interning with me is passionate about a lot of the same issues as I am, though she definitely has more of a focus than I do. I have a lot to learn from her.

I'm really expecting a lot from this summer: to figure out what it is I want to do after graduation (grad school, which grad school, what I want to study, where to go and what to do if I want to instead enter the workforce or maybe the PeaceCorps), to decide whether or not I want to pursue politics, to understand myself better, to build relationships with the people around me, and most importantly: to serve both this local community and the international community in a myriad of ways. We'll see how much of this actually gets accomplished :)

Until next week!

Inter-Tribal Indians of NJ take 2

2011-06-15T14:17:00.003-07:00

I've spend the last few weeks reading dozens of books before I head off to Canada in July. My original plan was to spend the entire summer there but of course that did not work out. But I will still be doing tons of research for Inter-Tribal. I've come up with a lot of great ideas for presentations through my research and I've started creating power point presentations. I've also come up with great ideas for articles to write. A professor of mine has always encouraged me to write an article in the school newspaper about the political correctness of Native American VS American Indian. Because of this research that I am doing, I will be writing that article. I also hope to send to an American Indian magazine or newspaper. I am doing a lot of research and at times it is very tedious, especially, since for the benefit of the organization I have to take detail notes that other people are going to find useful. Also, I am finding that this research is allowing me to find ways to improve my non-profit and it is giving me the opportunity to reach out to other organizations like Inter-Tribal in different states and different communities.

One thing that I am having a lot of trouble is how to find ways to connect with other American Indians in New Jersey. We want to promote our organization but are Indians in NJ really going to stumble across a FB page or a twitter post? I have my doubts but I am working on some ideas.

Inter-Tribal Indians of NJ

2011-06-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well my summer of service is probably a little bit different from everyone elses. I am the Vice President of a non profit organization called inter-Tribal Indians of new jersey. Originally this organization was created for social purposes. It was a way of Indians in NJ to gather, meet, and talk about issues. There are not a lot of American Indians in New Jersey, we could be described as being the minority of the minorities. Over time it has developed and grown. It is still an organization that encourages American Indians to meet up, however, we have dedicated a lot of our time in educating people about American Indians. In the past we have done presentations to boy/girl scout troops, schools, and nursing homes, about stereotypes, boarding schools, and traditions. However, we have been stuck in the past.

I have the unique opportunity to combine my summer of service with the per-research to my senior research project. I will be doing a ton of reading, researching the role of women in American Indian communities. However, while I am doing this, I am going to be revamping our presentations and trying to bring in a social media role into the organization. For example, FB page, twitter, etc. I also plan to put a lot of our presentations on power points. Because I am doing a heavy amount of research, I will be able to update our presentations. I also plan to put together a larger speakers bureau binder, where we will have access to academic articles about American Indians and their role in the media.

Week 2

2011-06-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, I'm slowly but surely progressing on the list of projects. One thing I've been trying to work the details out for is a Parent Dinner for Orientation so that parents can feel free to ask questions while the incoming students are doing something a little more fun than Q&A. I'll also be working on getting together grocery lists and menus for the week so that we can either cook for them or plan nights out. I've also been working on the Service in Sports lecture idea. So far, I'm thinking we can have the DeLand Little League, someone from the Y, and make it a panel discussion about the different places and opportunities in DeLand for sports-minded people to volunteer. Also, I want to include someone from a professional organization to hopefully broaden the minds and see that service can be intertwined with work while not exactly leaving you strapped for cash all the time. Mary Kathryn and I also discussed having the other 2 lecture series' be government and environment this semester. Hopefully they'll turn out well!

Week 1

2011-06-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well, even after months of planning and double-checking there are still things you can't account for. My housing has now fallen through and with no A/C it's looking like a bad week. However, I will just finish my work pool-side in Naples instead of in DeLand, who can complain?

This summer I'm working on program development for Bonner. Sounds fancy, right? Actually, I've got a few ideas for projects for Bonner in the fall that I'd like to work on before we all get back to school.

First, I am going through different literature to present to Bonners for either Friday reflections or just as other sources for meetings. I have a few interesting books, Outcasts United and Stones Into Schools, that I'd like to work in some way and also a few books that offer short reflections or essays that really make you think about why we do what we do. This aspect is a lot of fun because essentially I can log hours for reading books I've always wanted to read while taking notes so we can hopefully use them later on.

Next, I am working on ideas and planning for the new student orientation and the Fall retreat. I have a great ICEBREAKER for us to play (I know everyone hates that word!). I'm also working on some B-Love projects for the summer and Fall. One of my major goals is keeping everyone connected in whatever way that may be.

Also, I'm working on an idea that would allow Bonner to be featured in the newspaper every week. If anyone wants to write articles, please let me know! Hopefully we can feature service sites, issue areas, and opportunities for other students. This is all part of my master plan that incorporates Bonner into Stetson more.

Finally, I'm working on 2 academic projects: the first is a book feast that will feature the book Outcasts United, which is an amazing story of a refugee soccer team in Georgia and a series of lectures throughout the year that Mary Kathryn and I are working on. The first one will be Service in Sports, hosted with the help of SMA (Sports Management Assoc.).

So those are my projects, can't wait to keep you updated.

Two Weeks In

2011-06-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Two Weeks In. These past two weeks have been a roller coaster of ups and downs. This was our first week of activities that involved leaving the camp site. Monday the kids enjoyed the cool water of the Wes Crile Splash Park, Wednesday we saw Gulliver’s Travels on the big screen, topping the week off with a trip to Deleon Springs on Friday. Most all of the kids had a great time on these outing; there was only a couple of discipline problems on the trips that were correct right away. Nonetheless, the week was not with out its bumps; on Tuesday there was a series of behavior issues that required some restructuring, after which everything has been smooth sailing since.

So far my favorite part of this S.O.S is the bonding relationships me and the other counselors are forming with the campers. My volunteer experience at Woodward Elementary helped in this sometime difficult process, the main concepts being listening skills, never labeling, and realizing it can take time for a child to open up. I look forward to week three, which includes a trip to the Deland Skating Center and the movies. Not to mention a feature article in the News Journal, will posted the link as soon as it is up.

First Week Excitement

2011-06-05T07:41:00.001-07:00

First week excitement. Over 100 kids of all ages, races, and social economic class attended the first week of summer camp at DTA. This unique blend of children made this weeks experience very humbling on several levels. First, as a counselor of the 9-13 age group, the task of keeping and getting them involved in camp activities proved to be difficult at times; however, as the week went on this become easier and easier. I contribute this to the numerous ice breaking activities along with learning about their unique backgrounds and daily life. During this process flash backs of There Are No Children Here discussions from Dr.Sapps class; give me a strong foundation of realizing not all children come from a nice home environment. Thus, their behavior and attitude in some cases is a result of the community in which they have been raised not of choice. Knowing and accepting these differences on day one made for a smooth week, filled with classic games such as dodge ball, kickball, and rally races. It’s hard to believe one 40 hour week is completed; next week should go by even faster.

Monday we will be visiting the splash pad, Wednesday a field trip to the movies and Friday Deleon Springs. Monday is also the start of the summer food program, because more then half of the campers receive free and reduced lunch during the school year it is continued through the summer. If any one else is doing an S.O.S with a summer camp and needs game ideas let me know, would love to trade ideas.

Blog 1

2011-05-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

For my summer of service this year I am staying in DeLand and working on a few things for Bonner. I just completed the planning of the First Year Trip which I have to say I am a little jealous of how cool their trip is going to be :) For next year the students are going to be going to the Florida Everglades for Fall Break and working in wildlife conservation, green sustainablity, reclycing, and fun! During my time working at the CSL to enhance our Bonner program as well as to strenth the connection with our community partners, I have really found my "sweet spot". I love planning and I love the administrative side to service. Sometimes I miss doing direct service because working behind the scense does not give you the connection you get when working to servce and help people face to face. But I am begining to see that my talents and strenghts are best utilized by putting the pieces in place for other students to go out and do that direct service. I never realized how much planning and organizing it takes to keep up with communication with everyone and find new ways and oppourtnities for students to serve.

My next project is Bonner101 Training for our community partners. We are going to be focusing on what bonner is, how bonner students can help communitity partners, what bonner webbers are and how to navagate the site, as well as helping the community partners see were they could use bonner students in there orgainzations. Along with this I am also going to be talking with them about this next year's Freshman Exploration Program ;)

I am really excited to get going and will check back in after the workshops :)

T-Minus two days

2011-05-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

T-Minus two days till summer of service officially starts with the Deltona Tennis Association (DTA) summer day camp program. DTA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to severing the youth population of the West Volusia region. Throughout the year DTA provides low cost/ free tennis instruction for those interested. During the summer it offers the lowest priced camp program in Volusia County, helping those who can’t afford the cost find and apply for scholarships. As a result about one third of the campers are attending at a discounted rate or totally free.

Located at Wes Crile Park in Deltona Florida, campers will have the opportunity to experience and engage in many exciting activities. The park is composed sporting fields, tennis courts, a large playground, a splash pad, and an indoor reaction center with a gymnasium. On Mondays campers will be able to use the splash pad with Wednesdays and Fridays reserved for field trips. As a camp counselor it is my job to insure the safety of all campers at all times, develop and implement activities, build mentoring relationships and most import act as a team member with the other dedicated staff of the camp.

I look forward to starting on Tuesday May 31, 2011; I will be blogging each weekend after reflecting on the numerous events and feeling for the week.

HoundHaven week 7 & 8

2010-08-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

~~ Well these past two weeks have definitely been fun. The first week in August I only worked 3 days because I had to go to a wedding in Jacksonville on Wednesday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. The wedding was fun but I would of been happier to spend the whole week with the dogs. I am very happy though because in the past two weeks we had a lot of dogs get adopted. Some of my favorite dogs have gone home which has made me very happy. It is nice to see that even with the economy as it is now there are still some people that will adopt a dog that really needs a home. I wish that the rest of the dogs would get adopted as well. We were able to get 3 new dogs this week as well. They are absolutely adorable too. I wish that I could have more time with them and get to know them and love them. I know that I am definitely going to come back to HoundHaven as much as possible during the holidays. I really felt like family to not only the dogs but the other volunteers as well. On Thursday one of the volunteers made a Thank You/ Farewell gift. It was a picture frame with some of the dog paw prints on it and the names of all the dogs that have been there since I got there. In the middle of the picture of the frame it says "Thank you Rachael for all of your help!!!". That made me feel so loved and I knew that I just had to come back some time and work with these wonderful people again. I will definitely miss them but I know I will see them again soon.

DR Entry 5

2010-08-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Day 11

The kids from the barrios were by the guest house gates today. I stopped on my way to the clinic today and hung out with them. It was really sad. I saw one older girl that I didn't recognize. She kept asking me something in Spanish, but I couldn't understand her. Finally, she handed me a small piece of paper that said:

"Give me candy.

Give me shoes.

I will work for you."

Of course I said no. I explained I didn't have any candy (dulce) and I needed my shoes (zapatos) to work in the clinic to help people. She couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 years old. It broke my heart.

Windy Gap

2010-08-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

So this past week I went to camp again, but this time I went as a leader. I stayed in the cabin with my girls from DeLand. It was physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining, and it was awesome!

Day 1: We arrived at Windy Gap at 3:30pm on Sunday. We got settled into our cabin and had free time till club. After club we had the obstacle course. Now, just so you know, everything at camp is a surprise. We even tell the second timers to not ruin the surprise for the new campers. Basically, they had no idea what they were getting into the first night. By the end of the obstacle course all of us were completely covered in mud and had to throw away the clothes and shoes we were wearing. They loved it because it pushed them like never before. This first event is really supposed to get the cabin to bond because even though these girls all go to DeLand High, they don't all hang out together. Here is our cabin before the course:

Day 2: The big event during the day on this day is the all camp volley ball tournament. The campers are told to go back to the cabin with their leaders to put together a team uniform. I made sure to make t-shirts before I left for camp so we were good there. I decided to go along with the boys theme, which was Team Edward. So, we were Team Jacob. The guys costumes were pretty funny. Their leaders covered them in glitter spray and gave them gel for their hair.We also had a rodeo that night after free time and before dinner. We walked down past the horse stables to a dirt clearing. Before we left we were told what team color to wear (we were on the green team). We then proceeded to sign kids up for games like barrel racing, bat spin relay, shovel pull, and circle tug o war. (the rope was a circle so all teams played to pull it to their corner):

Day 3: The event for this day was the pool Olympics. We were still competing in our same teams. Some of the games were lilly pad racing, synchronized swimming, and pretty much anything silly involving water. Here is a picture of one of my girls jumping from the diving board to grab a rubber chicken at the end of a pole:
That night we had entertainment night, in which the leaders get to go up on stage at club and perform funny skits and pretty much just make their campers laugh. I was in a skit where I acted like a bratty little kid. Pretty easy ;-)
Day 4: The event of the day today was cabin clean-up and cabin challenge. The cabin challenge was just running around with your cabin and trying to get as many points as you could by performing different tasks like bobbing for apples, or pulling a tractor, or creating a human pyramid. That night was what we call the night that never ends (if you read any of my earlier blogs you know that for summer staff its because of the clean-up). For leaders its just a none stop night of fun. We started the night off by getting the cabin dressed up in western gear, cowboy hats and all. Then we eat a very southern dinner (fried chicken, ochre, pickles; creamed corn, corn bread, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, and for desert: apple crisp). After dinner we watch the "opera". This is the climax of the skit character and story line we have been seeing all week at club and at each meal. After that we have the county fair, or the carnival. As a leader I have the privilege of getting dunked in a dunk tank, pied in the face, and getting flour thrown all over me. It's all in good fun and I did it with a smile on my face, because that is how much I love my girls. After that we have an all camp square dance and dance through the ages party. :
Day 5: The big event for the day is the all camp hike. The hike itself is not too bad. It's getting your cabin to want to do the hike that's hard. There is lots of grumbling, but once they see the view at the top they are all glad they have done it. At night we had club and 20 minutes of quiet time, where the kids could sit out under the stars and just think and pray by themselves.

Day 6: At this point the days start to slow down and we just have free time in the afternoon and club at night. Dinner was special this day because we all dressed up. The food was amazing (I mean it always is) but, on this night we had steak. Here are the leaders:
Day 7: This is always a sad day, because it is the day that we leave camp. Today was basically just filled with free time. It was nice and relaxing hanging out with the girls and doing some of the things around camp that some of them might not have had a chance to do.

This week was so awesome. I got to know these girls on a level that sometimes not even their closest friends know. This upcoming semester I plan on keeping these relationships close and hanging out with them more and more. They know that they can come to me with anything. First and foremost I'm their leader, but I know that I have made some lasting friendships this past week. I am so excited for the school year and can't wait to get started.

Sharptop Cove, Week 4: My Future?

2010-08-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, so I didn't get a chance to talk about my fourth week at SharpTop yet because I had to go to Windy Gap, which is yet another Young Life camp. Week four was so sad. Everything we did was the last. The last tableaux, the last carnival, the last sopapillas, the last day on the Tower with my team. These past four weeks have really made me think about my future. Right now I am a Studio Art Major, which doesn't really give me much right out of undergrad. I talked to two girls while I was on summer staff who are going to Savannah College of Art and Design. They say that the graduate program is really good there and I could start off by taking random art classes just to test each program. This would really help me because I honestly don't see me doing fine art for the rest of my life. It takes a lot of ambition and you really have to want it to make it anywhere in the art world. So, if I went to graduate school for something like interior design, architecture, or maybe fibers, I would have a little bit more direction for a career. These past four weeks have also made me think about my service site and if I would be interested in pursuing that as a career. In Young Life there are two options, either Field Staff or Property Staff. Field Staff is where you work around the country or maybe even a different country and you work directly with the kids. You get them to come to club each week and build relationships with them. It is kind of what I am doing now, it would just me higher up, so I might be in charge of a whole area of kids. Property Staff is working at one of the many camps around the world. Personally, I could see myself working on property because it would just fit me better. I'm just okay at relating with high schoolers. I feel that working behind the scenes on property staff would be best for me. That is why I'm thinking of interning next summer or the summer after at a Young Life camp. Who knows, I might even intern for an entire year. Anyways, as you can see I've had a lot to think about. This upcoming year I might do Student Staff, just to get more involved with the Field Staff part of Young Life to see what it is about. It's really scary to think that I have only one year left of school. I'm really excited =)

An awesome summer at Girls Inc!

2010-08-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

So on my way to campus I was thinking about everything I have done this summer with my girls. On my last day I felt so weird because it didn't feel like I had been working there for 7 weeks. However, when I think back over all of the activities we have done and how well I have gotten to know the girls then it really does start to feel like 7 weeks. I really wish I could be there with them during the school year to see how they are doing and know how things are going in school. They have made this summer so amazing (as well as exhausting) for me. Many of them expressed to me some concerns and problems that they have in school. I tried to give the best advice I could at the time but during the summer I don't think much of it is going to stick. I wish I could be there for them after school every day to help them with homework and to keep encouraging them. I know they will be fine though because of the excellent staff of women working there. This summer was by far one of the most rewarding for me. I could literally see these girls growing and maturing in just the months that I spent with them. I have had a similar experience working with CAUSE at the Boys and Girls Club but it is truly different when you spend all day every day with these girls rather than just twice a week for 2 hours at a time. My time at Girls Inc was something different. It was an awesome summer with some of the most crazy and amazing girls I know. This summer of service rocked! I don't really think I could put it any other way than that :)

Last days at Girls Inc

2010-08-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

So the last couple of days at Girls Inc were awesome! We celebrated the end of summer by having a water day. The girls brought their bathing suits and we set up sprinklers, slip n' slides, water balloon fights, and sprinkler twister (which was better in theory than actual execution) haha. The girls all had a blast! We also had what the girls considered their favorite day, chocolate day!!! It was awesome. The girls made a bunch of recipes using different kinds of chocolate. They made worms n' dirt, chocolate mousse, double chocolate chip cookies, homemade chocolate ice cream, and a few other things. It was crazy! We wrapped up the day by watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Overall it was a great ending to the summer. I am really going to miss all of my girls. Most of them are actually looking forward to going back to school, which I find really weird.

Wondering

2010-08-05T14:01:00.001-07:00

Today I'm a little angry. Here's why:
http://northsoutheastcoast.blogspot.com/

SOS Week 9

2010-08-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

So I went from a fabulus week to a really trying week. I was sent to the DeLand Police Department this week and let me tell you...they were not very intested in having a volunteer inturn. I learned a lot about how to keep a smile on my face even when there was NOTHING to smile about. And I also learned the value in making sure the people/orgs we are working with want our help.

SOS Week 8

2010-08-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hi!
This week was one of the funnest weeks I have had this summer! I spend this week with Mainstreet DeLand and if anyone is looking for a service site that has to do with community and econ development and even planning please please come see me! Mainstreet was a great place to work :)
I was able to sit in on many planning meetings and I was also able to work in the marketing and PR area of the organization.

SOS Week 7

2010-08-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hello!
So again I apologize for my tardiness (I am so bad at remebering to blog).
For my 7th week of SOS I had to opportunity to work in the Public Services Department. On the whole this department incumpasses city water, waste water, storm water and landscaping; however, they are very much wanting to move into public service that goes over and beyond these nessecities. Such as community deveolpment and betterment through outreach!
During my week here I worked very closely with the City Forester and the City Nursery staff. (If anyone is wanting to start a community garden please let me know because I have contact information for you!) I also got the chance to do a little grant writing and then lots and lots of organizing and filing, its not the most exciting work but it needs to be done :)

D.R. Entry 4

2010-08-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

Day 10

The American surgical team arrived yesterday. We started seeing patients for consults today. There were hundreds of people here. It was a mad house! I helped out in the prosthetics department (giving people artificial limbs). It was so amazing to see people walk for the first time in years since they had been in accidents. It's a VERY long process to fit a prosthetic, but the people were patient and appreciative.

It's going to be a very different week this week--- I can tell already. I guess the only diplomatic way to describe this group is to say they definitely do not approach service in a community like Bonners do. =( It's been a long day.

The D.R. Entry 3

2010-08-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Day 8

It's the weekend so I get to spend some time in the community (outside of the clinic) today. We went to the "barrios", which is a small, poor village right down the road from the guest house. I was so looking forward to just hanging out with the kids. Putting aside medicine. Just playing with the kids like I would at the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA. But life hands us crazy surprises! ...

It started out great! A few of us walked toward the village and small children ran to meet us yelling, "Americanos, Americanos aqui!!" It was so cute! We walked hand-in-hand with them down to a little creek nearby. Some of the kids played in the creek, while others skipped rocks. I immediately realized this combo was a very bad idea, but I didn't know how to say "throw the rocks further down the stream" in espanol. =( A few minutes later a little girl got hit in the head with a rock that a little boy threw. Her head bled a lot but I knew she would be okay because I had seen head wounds like it before. Long story short, I fixed her up and every time I saw her after I asked her how her "cabeza" (head) was. =)

That day I thanked God for how He always places me where I can be used and links my passions together.

The D.R. Entry 2

2010-08-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what love and lolly pops can do....

Day 6

I helped with a lot of cool surgeries and consultations today. The culture here is amazing. Everyone is so affectionate and passionate. Doctors here are seen as healers and their patients are so appreciative. It's a whole different system of health care. Clearly, it has its flaws, but the doctor-patient relationship is something to strive for in the states.

The funniest thing that happened today, though, was when a little three year old girl came into the clinic today. She was very sick and screaming from the moment her mom carried her into the clinic. She screamed and cried the whole time UNTIL I pulled out one off my Dum-Dum lolly pops (I brought a huge bag from Sam's Club before I left). Her tears stopped immediately and after I asked her mom if she could have it ("claro que si" - yes of course was her reply) she grabbed it from my hand, hid behind her mom, and squeaked out a "gracias" through a gigantic smile. =) It made my day! --- I guess kids love of sweets is universal. =)

Almost Done...

2010-08-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

So I only have a little bit of time left at Girls Inc. My time there has gone by so fast it is crazy. Each day has been so chaotic and so fun that I am going to be sad to say goodbye to my girls. Last week was kind of crazy because it was the end of us doing our planned programs with the girls. We finished up all of our recycling projects and counted all of the pennies that the girls had been collecting for their project called Pennies for the Planet. Tomorrow I will find out the total amount of money that the girls raised. All of the pennies they collect will go towards protecting and preserving wildlife. The girls also finished putting the final touches on the garden that they started with one of the staff members. They are all really excited to have something from the summer that they can continue to work on and add to as the school starts, since many of the girls also attend Girls Inc. after school program. This upcoming final week will be a lot of free time for the girls to play and some themed days planned by the staff members. Tomorrow is a spa day. The girls will be making at home face masks, hand rubs, shampoos, and lip glosses. I'm sure it is going to be a total mess so it sure to be a ton of fun. I will blog again soon to let you guys know how my final day goes!

Week 6 Lowry Park Zoo Camp

2010-08-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

~~ For this past week I have been working at the Lowry Park Zoo School Camp instead of HoundHaven. I had already made a promise to the Zoo School before the summer started that I would be an intern for the week of July 26th to July 30th. For one week I have gone to the Zoo to help out in a classroom. The Lowry Park Zoo summer camp internship was amazingly wonderful. My classroom theme for the week was "Things That Make You Go Ewww!". On Monday we fed the stingrays and visited some of the animals in the park. We did some arts & crafts, and watched some movies. The kids learned about the Portuguese man-of-war, scorpions, and black widow spiders. The children were great the first day if not a little excited. They definitely liked to talk a lot but they were cute and fun to be around. Monday was definitely eventful especially in the morning. On Tuesday, we had some more zoo hikes but we went on the rides this time. There are only a few rides though. We went on the Safari ride and were surprised when the Giraffes got in front of the tram and ate the moss on top of the tram and then as we drove by they stayed by the tram so they were only feet away from us. Then we went to feed the Budgie's, which of course is a small bird. We made the Budgie sticks in the class room with popsicle stick, melted wax, and bird seeds. It was so much fun for not only the kids but for the interns as well. The birds would fly around us and if you were the only one with food you would have at least five birds on you arm and they would fight for the food. After feeding the Budgie's we rode a few of the rides they have in the park. The kids went on the carousel and a small roller coaster called the Tasmanian Tiger. Of course we got to see some of the animals. The animal encounter on Tuesday was a type of toad that is an evasive species. The Ewww factor about this toad was that it peed a lot. It was funny when the toad first jumped out of the handler's hand and then towards the end it peed all over her hand and ran down her arm and onto the floor. The toad itself was quite ugly. On Wednesday we had water play day. This gives the kids a chance to play in the water play areas in the morning. The interns and the teachers sat in the shade and mnonitored the children to make sure they were not breaking any rules. Thankfully we didn't have many problems. After lunch we worked on the daily packet and made snails in arts & crafts. Agter that we went back out into the Zoo and fed the Warty Pig's mealworms. I, of course, did not touch but all the kids took a hand full and tossed it over the fence for the pig's to eat. After that they came back to the school and played on the playground until 3:00. At the end of the day they watched Animal Planets Most Extreme. It started to rain really badly right before we all left, so that was tons of fun (sarcastic remark). On Thursday we had a substitute teacher because the regular teacher had a meating to go to. Mr. Danny was a good teacher. We got to see a zoo keeper feed the Hornbill's. Then we went around the zoo and saw some more animals. After lunch we made owl's in arts & crafts. The kids fed the goats and and went into the petting zoo to pet the goats. I did not get to go in because one of the kids did not want to go in because he doesn't really like to go near animals. He is also an autistic child. He was eleven years old in eight to nine year old class. He threw a few tantrums when he didn't get his way. He was definitely a special little boy and needed one on one attention. On Thursday I had a meeting in the afternoon with some of the other interns and the youth volunteer coordinator. For our intern training we did a scavenger hunt through out the zoo. We got split into two teams and went out into the zoo and answered a few questions about the animals. We had to do this in half an hour too. Thankfully my group knew a few of the answers anyways because we have been through the zoo many times this week and we listen to our teachers as they explain a few things to the students about the animals. The coordinator said that we all win because the group in the morning scammed her earlier and we actually did the right thing. Of course my team got the most answers right compared to the other team. Friday was an interesting day. The kids got to feed the skunks and then go and play in the water for about an hour. We ate lunch inside on Friday instead of outside like we did the other days. The kids got to watch "Night at the Museum" and have cupcakes because one of the kids had a birthday and their mom brought cupcakes and then the other intern in the class room made cupcakes for the kids and cake for the interns and teachers. After lunch the kids made spiders in arts & crafts and then we all went to the aquarium part in the Florida section of the zoo. We also got to see the Birds of Prey show. When we went back to the school and I played referee to the kids as they played kickball. During afternoon snack the kids got to finish watching the movie as they waited for their parents to pick them up. The whole week was very enjoyable and eventful. I can't wait to go to the zoo to actually visit with my family and do all the things that I missed out on. I was lucky to get three free tickets to the zoo so I can take my mom and brother one day.

Sharptop Cove, Week 3

2010-07-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

So, it is now half-way through the session and everyone is really getting to know each other well. I'm having a great time with everyone and we are starting to know each other on a deeper level, not just things like, where are you from, whats your major, etc. I knew I would become close with people, but I didn't realize how close. In the third week I started to learn where people want to go in life and talked to them about what I want to accomplish. Everyone was saying that week three would be the hard week, but it wasn't for me. I think it was because week two was so tough and week three the camp was not too full, so we only had two morning rides scheduled. This gave me more time really think about why I was at camp and why I was serving.

This week was fun, especially because we had gotten good at our jobs and found that we had little more free time. Also, since we were used to the early morning schedule I decided to get up for and early morning mountain bike ride on Sunday, which is usually our sleep-in day. It was awesome. I had never been mountain biking and we decided to go on the hard trail. Going up was tough, but coming down was such a rush. You get to the point where you almost lose control as you come down the mountain. I also had a chance to go on the high ropes course. That was also a thrill, because you are about 5oft up in the air suspended on thin wires and walking across different obstacles. By the end of this week everyone was realizing that we were going to be there only one more week so we were all trying to cram in things we hadn't had a chance to do yet.
I'll leave you with some pictures of me at my job and the view from the tower:

This is my view of the camp from the top of the tower:
This is what it looks like when you are sitting on top looking down:
Here is me getting ready to come down after a long day:

Here is my tower team from left to right, Harris, Me, Mallory, and Blake:

My Life as an American Girl in the D.R.

2010-07-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Back in the U.S. ....

So because I am not so great with international technology, I kept a journal while I was in the Dominican Republic this summer. I will try to hit some highlights for each day. If one word could sum it all up though it might be: life-changing or humbling or awesome.... ok, so I need more words. You all will just have to read the whole thing. =)

Day 1

So far this trip has been AMAZING! I am working with a large group from Colorado and a small group from Indiana. I flew in to the DR by myself and took a cab to the hotel by myself. Let me tell you, I am so glad I am with a group now. I ordered a cheese burger and accidentally left a 70% tip. I haven't quite mastered the peso/U.S. dollar conversion yet. =(

Day 2

I feel as though I've been here much longer than one day. The D.R. is very beautiful. The guest house is nice too. Even though I feel like I am in a different country, I feel comfortable here. There is musica playing all night long outside, but I prefer it over the rooster. He brings in the morning at about 4 AM. =( Today was my first day at the clinic. I watched 3 surgeries and helped Dr. Valdez with consultations all morning. The first surgery was rough, but I recovered and the rest of the surgeries were fine. One of the patients was a young woman who was having a hysterectomy (they remove the ovaries). They don't put you under full anesthesia (the patient is awake, but can't feel anything) and she looked very scared at the beginning. I took her hand and just smiled at her reassuringly. I went to observe part of the procedure a few minutes into the surgery, but as I walked away I could feel her hand tighten. I took a quick look, but I stayed with her for the rest of the surgery. It was quite an empowering experience -knowing the language didn't matter. I feel as if, in a small way, I joined a small part of the Dominican community today. All I had to do was care.

Day 4

Everyday at the clinic is full of surprises! We had a busy day today. Most of our consultations were actually screening sessions for the U.S. surgical group coming next week. We saw some really interesting cases. It's so sad to see what these people have lived with: women with burns from men throwing acid on them, children with various deformities, men with missing limbs who must provide income for their families. Still, these people have such joy and gratitude. Instead of looking at me - someone so blessed, healthy, with shoes and clothing, etc- and thinking of me as a snobby American, they try to talk to me and kiss my cheeks. They thank me for my help as we tell them nothing can be done for them at this time. They thank God for the blessings in their life as they carry their pre-teen aged children out of the clinic because they can't walk and they can't afford a wheel chair. More than anything today, I feel humbled.

Sharptop Cover, Week 2, Tired Week

2010-07-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

This was probably the hardest week for me all summer. The reason it was so difficult was because the camp was so full. This means that we had to schedule morning rides. Now, just to update you, the tower, the high ropes course, the quantum leap, and the mountain bikes are all scheduled rides. This means that cabins were assigned a slot of time to go on them. When the camp is really full we have to book morning rides at 7:00am. Now, in order for them to be set up and ready to go we had to get up at 5:45. This week was so booked that we had a morning ride every day. So, I would end up going to sleep around 12:30 or 1:00 and then get up at 5:40 for the entire week! It was crazy. I wish I could write some of the random things that happened that week, but honestly, it was such blur. By the end of the week if I sat down for more the 5 minutes I was asleep. This worried me because all the morning ride staff were getting pretty exhausted. It was inevitable, by the end of the week, we all got sick. It wasn't too bad, it was just an annoying cold, but lasted for the entire third week =/.

However, I did have and awesome experience with one of the kids this week that I can't forget. His name was Mitchell and he was having trouble getting up the rock wall, so we sent him up the pole on the side that we use. On this particular day I was on the repel side. When a person goes down the repel rope, they are also attached to a safety belay rope that I have control over, so if they go too fast or let go of the repel rope, I can stop them from falling. So, I am attached to the kid going down with the belay rope and a post behind me so it the camper weighs more than me, I'm not thrown up the wall. Some kids are to scared to control the repel rope and end up just being belayed down by me. Mitchel was one of these kids. It took him all of the courage he could muster and a lot of trust to step over the edge. Now, just keep in mind he was a lot heavier than me, and I'm a girl, so am not quite as strong as the guys working with me on the tower, but being attached to a post and harnessed in, and with the equipment we use it isn't a problem. So when he finally went down the wall, his whole cabin was standing there watching me belay him down the wall and me getting lifted up about 3 ft in the air. When he made it to the ground he was so happy and thanked me so much. He even took a picture with me =) It was awesome that I could work with him and help him get over his fears. Here is the picture:

Sharptop Cove, Week 1

2010-07-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

Sharptop Cove

Alrighty, so I haven't had access to a computer throughout my SoS. So I'm going to sum up my month at Sharptop Cove in four posts. I know its a little crazy posting them one after the other, but these are just some experiences pulled out of my journal from each week I was there.
Week 1:The first week at camp flew by because everything was so new. It started out on Sunday June 20. We woke up at 7:30 to be trained on our assigned jobs. I knew I was on the ropes team, but I didn't know what ride I would be working all month. So, that morning the team met in the gym and were assigned to or jobs. I found out I would be working the Tower. The Tower is a 55ft. climbing wall on one side and a repel wall on the other side with a small platform on top to transfer from one wall to the next. For the next couple of hours I learned how to belay someone up the rock wall, transfer them at the top of the tower, and repel them down the repel wall. It was pretty scary knowing that just the next day I would be working the Tower and have high school kid's lives in my hands. So, the next day I worked the top of the Tower. That's right, 55ft up for 6hrs straight. Working the top is awesome because you get a lot of kids who are really afraid of heights and you get to help them face their fears. One girl came up and started to cry because she was so happy that she made it. I was so proud of her. I've never worked so hard and had so much fun doing it in my life. Here is a quick overview of my schedule for one week:

Sunday: breakfast at 8:30, Chores (for me was collecting frisbees from around camp and out of the lake with a canoe), camp sweep (getting ready for a new camp week), lunch, making water balloons for the night event, free time, dinner, camp tour (showing the kids what the camp has), then the night event, which for Monday night is the obstacle course. This is a picture of me on the dining hall roof, showcasing the ropes team. I'm the middle person. Monday: Breakfast, chores, devotional, lunch, and then working the Tower (transfers on top), dinner. Then, Monday night's event is the hoe down and we pass out ice cream sundaes to the campers.

Tuesday: Breakfast, chores, devotional, lunch, and then working the Tower (repel side), dinner. Then, we don't work the event on Tuesday nights so we have a little bit of free time.

Wednesday: This day is called "the day that never ends". I do all the regular stuff (work the belay side). Then after dinner we do and event called Tableau. This is where we dress up in old western attire and act out a particular scene. For example, I was in the wedding scene, so my job was to get married:

Now, when the campers first see us in our scenes we are frozen, then a gunshot brings the scenes to life and we act it out for about 20 seconds. Then, the gunshot goes off again and we have to freeze wherever we are. It just so happens that in my scene, my groom picks me up in his arms to "take a picture". Well, on the the last week we ended up being frozen in that position for a while.
Now, after the campers see us all dressed up, they are told to get western outfits on for dinner. While they are eating dinner, us summer staffers are setting up and entire carnival in the gym, complete with games and food. This is why it is the day the never ends, because carnival doesn't start till late, and we end up finally getting everything cleaned up at 1:00am.

Thursday: This is day is a little more relaxed for me, because, like Tuesday we don't run the night event. Oh and I work on top of the tower again.

Friday: The beginning of my days are always the same, as you have probably noticed. The event for this night is Banquet. All of the campers get dressed up and eat a fancy dinner. We also get dressed up, just to go along with the camp. Then, that night is Work Crew night. Work Crew is all of the high school kids that come and work at camp. They work at the dining hall, the laundry, and they clean. On work crew night they are assigned to a camper cabin and they go and tell their life story to that cabin. So, our job is just to show our support for them through out the night, so one thing we do is clean the dining hall for them and set up for the next meal.

Saturday: This day is hectic. Camp rides close early and the campers have to pack and clean their cabins. We do and all camp sweep in which we do our chores for a second time that day and also help the campers get checked out of their cabin. They eat dinner and then leave around 7. After they are gone, we help clean the dining hall and then we get to break for the night and have the whole camp to ourselves =)

The next day is Sunday and we do it all over again. So yes, I was married 4 times in 4 weeks.

Last weeks in Germany tear

2010-07-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

So the last week or so have been full of goodbyes... and cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. It has been really weird these last few days. Sometimes I'll be doing something and it'll hit me that I'm leaving soon and going back to 'normality'. Of course, being here so long has sort of distorted what I consider normal but I'm sure I'll readjust.

At last Sunday's church service my congregation said goodbye and my bosses gifted me with a funny gift. A bear shaped backpack. The bear wearing, naturally, a sweatshirt with the USA flag embroidered on it. They said the reason it was a backpack was because I'm always travelling. Well they're right with that I guess.

I've recently found an Aupair family. In December, through April, I will be in Germany AGAIN to be an Aupair for a really nice family.

I don't think the idea of leaving has really sunk in yet. When it does, I'll write another blog about how it feels and about my reflections on the past 12 weeks.

Monday

2010-07-26T16:43:00.003-07:00

This is my last week in New Jersey. I walked by Cornel West today in Princeton. Check it out:
http://northsoutheastcoast.blogspot.com/

Weeks 4 & 5 at Girls Inc.

2010-07-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

These past couple of weeks have been both really fun and really tiring. The girls have been doing awesome. We have done a ton of interesting projects. A few examples: we made purses out of old blue jeans, we made different stuffed brown paper bag animals, we had a walk-a-thon, and we had a huge slumber party. One thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment here. These girls keep me on my toes all day everyday. Today we are having a luau here at Girls Inc and then the girls are going bowling. I think the best activity we have done in the past two week was the slumber party we had last Friday. The staff, the volunteers, and the girls wore their pajamas all day. We had different things going on in the different classrooms and the girls rotated among the rooms. In one room we had them making sleeping masks and decorating them, in another we were doing nails, they made tie pillows in another, and then in the gym they watched movies. The girls and the staff all had a great time. I'm not sure what all we have going on next week but I do know that the talent show is coming up. Girls have been practicing their singing and dance routines every chance they get. They try to go hide in classrooms and in corners of the gym so that nobody sees their "secret" routines. It's really cute to watch and I can't wait to see them all perform.

HoundHaven Week 5

2010-07-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

"What ever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it" ~ Mohandas Gandhi

This quote has touched me so much and made me think about all the community service I do. Sometimes the smallest thing that we do may seem insignificant at the time but in the long run it is very important that we did it. I think about this everyday. I do not always know if helping to clean kennels and walking dogs is helping the animal shelter in the long run but I can sometimes see it. The dogs that get attention have gotten healthier and they are responding well to learning their commands. I hope that by the time our dogs get adopted they will be good at training and it will be a good start for them for when they go to their forever home. Recently I have been working with some of our more difficult dogs to learn their commands. Our puppies are learning how to sit on command now. The other dogs are learning to not jump up on us. One of our dogs, Deke, liked to put his mouth on our arms or hands while we were trying to put his leash on but after extensive discipline and control Deke has stopped nipping as much. I feel like I was supposed to go to this organization. I believe God sent me to this place to learn a few lessons of my own. I have never felt more loved by dogs and more appreciated by individuals. I have been told many times from the other volunteers that I will be sorely missed when school starts back up and I won't be working anymore. I really don't want to leave this group but hopefully I will be able to come back some weekends and work the Petsmart day and meet some of the new dogs that come in.

Final Week :(

2010-07-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

This past week, I completed my SoS. I have to admit, I was pretty excited to not have to wake up at 6am or spend my entire day filing but at the same time I was sad to say goodbye to all of the wonderful people I worked with. I was also sad because this was my second and final year working with Meadowbrook. Volunteering there has become something that I look forward to as a part of my summer but since I will be graduating this spring a summer spent at Meadowbrook is most likely not in my future. Over the past two summers that I have spent at Meadowbrook I have learned so many things that I would have never expected to discover. Here are a few things that the past two SoS's have taught me:

1. Sometimes the impact is more important than the action.

-Ok so I have to be honest, when I sat in the SoS meeting towards the end of the school year I wasn't exactly super super excited about my site. As I listened to other Bonners' plans for their summers I felt like volunteering at a school wasn't as interesting or "out of the box" as it could be and because of that I felt like I may not be able to make a true impact on the community that composes Meadowbrook. By the end of the first week I was proven wrong. The principal of the school as well as the other office workers continually told me how grateful they were for my help. Although I often did things that don't seem important like filing or organizing a closet, the impact it made on the school was great and greatly appreciated. Judging by the constant thanks that I received I was completely wrong about not being able to make an impact.

2. Don't forget where you come from.

-As I may have mentioned before, I graduated from Meadowbrook Academy. I was home schooled my first two years and from 2nd grade through my senior year I was a Meadowbrook student. Needless to say, coming back to volunteer was a completely new experience. I was no longer under the authority of the staff but more like a co-worker. Even though I had a new "position" at Meadowbrook it was a great way to reflect on how much the school has shaped who I am as a person. Going away to college was probably the best decision I have made in my life so far because it helped me to discover new things about myself. Even though this change was good going back to Meadowbrook really helped to remind me how I got to where I am today.

Overall, this SoS was great! I went into it knowing what to expect but I was still amazed by how much I learned. Although sometimes the work wasn't the most exciting, I was truly miss Meadowbrook and all of the people that have taught me so much about what it truly means to be a servant.

Agro, Bro

2010-07-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

So, as much fun as it to work here most of the time, it comes with it's annoying times. We had a big meeting earlier today to flesh out what were doing with our social media and the boss basically set us back to square -57. Goal setting. So today I've spent around 6 hours goal setting. I would show you the page, but it's intranet..classified information, ya know? Regardless, it ends with us having a cool blog, an active Facebook and Twitter and a strong PolicyOptions website. So really I came on here to say that you all should create a Twitter and follow us at http://twitter.com/bonnernetwork. Now, I resisted forever before jumping on this Twitter wagon, but it's actually pretty cool. We're going to be sending out job opportunities and such and we already had one person sign up for IMPACT because of an update we sent through it. Also, we created a new Facebook profile called "Bonner Love" which is a personal profile and a Bonner Fan Page called Bonner Network (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bonner-Network/142428915769333) so we can connect and update everyone more. I'm not sure if they will stay alive, but I sure hope so. Hope all is well everywhere.
-Jack

Weeks 5 & 6 SOS

2010-07-16T06:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

So for weeks 5 & 6 of my summer of service I was working in the Human Resources Department of City Hall. My big task for the week (and i'm still working on it) is to write the Rules and Regulations document for the City. When my boss for the week, Mark Hayword, told me this I was thinking, "Oh, ok I am going to be proof reading...this should be fun" but it turns out that he gave me a copy of Lake Mary's Rules and Reg. and a file folder full of emails, comments, ect. and said, "have fun and get started". He really ment that I was writing the Rules and Regs. It took me to whole two weeks of non-stop work and I am still not done, but on my last day in his department he called me into his office and told me that when I get the project done he is going to let me present it to the City Commission and when it is adopted it will have my name on it!