IN THIS ISSUE:
*Events
*Volunteer Opportunities
*Internships, Jobs, and Beyond...
*In the Spotlight: Hands on Summer Service Experience
EVENTS
Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference hosts “Hyde Park, Challenging the Next Decade“
Wednesday, February 18
7:00pm
Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, 5480 S. Kenwood
HPKCC celebrates its 60th anniversary by asking you and their distinguished panel three questions: 5 things that most impact our neighborhood over the next 10 years, 5 institutions, aspects of community life, or Hyde Park most important to keep, and 5 assets you think need to change or be changed. These topics will be discussed to paint a picture of Hyde Park’s future.
OUTSpoken Speaker Series: Hate Crimes & Hate Speech
Wednesday, February 18
7:00pm-8:00pm
5710 S. Woodlawn, Community Lounge
Where does free speech end and hate speech begin? What legal rights are available to LGBT targets of hate crimes? Join James Madigan, Interim Executive Director of Equality Illinois in a lecture and discussion about hate crimes and hate speech. Dinner will be provided.
OBS’ Annual George E. Kent Lecture featuring William Julius Wilson
Tuesday, February 24
7:00pm-9:00pm
International House (1414 E. 59th Street)
The Organization of Black Students hosts a talk by former University of Chicago professor William Julius Wilson entitled “Framing the Issue: Political Discourse and Race Relations During the Era of Barack Obama.”
2009 Student Activist Conference
Saturday, February 28
10:30am-3:30pm
Ida Noyes Hall, Library/Lounge
Featuring a conversation with Bill Ayers on activism and education, the 2009 Student Activist Conference will bring together activists who pursue social change through a variety of vocations including education, art, religion, sex-work, and law. Panels include: Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago, People's Law Office, Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition, and the South Chicago Art Center. RSVP to hwjacoby@uchicago.edu
Info session for Urban Teacher Education Program
Wednesday, March 4
6:00pm-7:00pm
University Community Service Center – conference room (5525 S. Ellis Avenue)
If you want to hear from someone who has logged more than 40 years in and around schools about the incredible rewards of teaching in general and urban education in particular, this is the event for you. Stop by for pizza, conversation about the Urban Teacher Education program, and insight regarding Chicago Public Schools. **Please RSVP to Marv Hoffman: mhoffman@uchicago.edu**
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Blue Gargoyle is hosting an exciting fundraiser opera event on Sunday, February 22, from 2-5 pm. Needed: 12 ushers to support seating and departure at the end of the performance. Some can come early and some can come late, however ALL ushers must be present for a walk-through at 12:30pm. The performance is at the Merle Reskin Theatre – 60 East Balbo. If interested contact: Pam Bozeman-Evans at pboze@bluegargoyle.org or call 773-955-4108 x 305.
The UC Comer Hospital Pediatric Mobile Unit is looking volunteers to help team members improve access to primary care for children and teens in communities on the Southside of Chicago. Volunteers will assist in facilitating patient flow, improve patient compliance, and classroom and Health Education classes. To find out more about this opportunity, contact Dr. Icy Cade-Bell at icade@peds.bsd.uchicago.edu.
Chicago River is looking for 20 – 30 volunteers to participate Saturday, February 21st for the Chicago River Student Congress. Activities include workshop registration, student sign-in, closing ceremony prep, and more. All volunteers will receive event t-shirt, breakfast and lunch for helping out. Times are from 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Contact Cynthia Fox at (312) 939-0490 ext. 13 or via email at cfox@chicagoriver.org to learn about what opportunities are still available.
Students are needed to help with set-up for the “Taste of Hyde Park,” a fundraiser for the Hyde Park Transitional Housing Project, a charitable organization which provides help for homeless families. The event will take place on Saturday February 21, 2009, starting at 6 pm, at Hyde Park Union Church, 5600 S. Woodlawn Ave., but students are needed at 3pm. For more information, contact Susanna Rudofsky radbusa@yahoo.com.
Canter Middle School seeks numerous volunteers to complete hands-on facilities enhancement projects that will improve the learning and teaching environment. You’ll work alongside Canter students, staff and community members to paint, mural and make over the library, transforming the school into an place the where the students can develop a sense of pride in their school and studies. To learn more and sign up for this project contact Sandra Golden at sgolden@chicagocares.org. (Saturday, February 21; 9AM - 1PM)
INTERNSHIPS, JOBS, AND BEYOND...
Due: 02-28-2009
Nourish International is inviting you to be a part of the solution to global poverty by applying for our Chapter Founders Program. Nourish is accepting applications for its Chapter Founders Program and selecting students from 10 campuses across the country to receive professional training, support and $500 start-up capital. To start your application, go to http://www.nourishinternational.org/founders/nominate.php
Due: 03-09-2009
The Dr. Aizik Wolf Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship in Human Rights will fund one year of work, after graduation, at a non-governmental organization, government agency, or international body dedicated to human rights. The award consists of a $24,000 stipend for 12 months of full-time work, with some additional support for travel and/or relocation expenses. For more information on the application, contact Trudi Langendorf at Trudi@uchicago.edu
Due: 03-15-2009
The Fellows Alliance is a year-long paid fellowship program committed to building religious pluralism and organizing interfaith activities on campus. IFYC provides mentorship, a network of peer colleagues, access to a national network of interfaith youth work organizers, internship and professional development opportunities. Contact Hafsa Kanjwal for more information at hafsa@ifyc.org or at 312-573-8926.
Dr. Angela Perez Miller Scholarship 2009
Due: 03-27-2009
Named after the late Dr. Angela Perez Miller, who dedicated her life to the rights of Latinos in education and health, the scholarships are offered to first-year college students who are enrolled in an institution of higher learning in the amounts of $1000. To receive the application or if you have any questions please contact Melissa Gonzalez: (773)542-7077, melissa@latinospro.org
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Hands on Summer Service Experience
Mutisya Leonard, Staff Writer
In its summer internship offerings, the college at the University of Chicago has increasingly supported the idea of experiential education. “In an institution of rigorous, indulgent scholarly research as this,” Associate Dean of Students in the University, and Director of the University Community Service Center, Wallace Goode notes, “there is a void to be filled by substantive, engaging summer work. Summer internships are incredible ways of augmenting classroom work.”
Last summer, Wallace House Resident Assistant, a third year in the College, majoring in History, Philosophy & Social Studies of Science and Medicine, Klara Scharnagl worked as a Wilderness Ranger Intern in Idaho, through the Student Conservation Association.
“In the remote tracks of wilderness, we worked hard clearing trails so people could access the wilderness without destroying it,” Scharnagl recalls, ”and though cognizant of the fact that few would appreciate our efforts, it remained to be valuable work. The appeal of such a summer to me is that it took me from the limiting confines of an office… An important impression of service for me is its diversity of experience –of people you meet, of activities, and the incredible demand on initiative.”
Often, college students as Scharnagl, seek independent summer projects. “In the past though,” Assistant Director for Employer Relations at CAPS, Shayna Plaut notes, “ideas that did not fit the traditional mold for the College’s existing internship programs did not get funding.”
This year, CAPS, through the support of the Dean of Students in the College, offers two new, competitive Grants: the International Experience Grant, to which budget proposals may be written up to $5,000, and the Summer Action Grant, to which budgets may be written for up to $3,000. Both awards support up to six students each towards pursuing independent summer work. The International Experience Grant must be used abroad for at least 350 hours of unpaid work, while the Summer Action Grant may be used in the United States and may be combined with paid work if that secondary compensation does not exceed $500. Though either budget accommodates for personal expenditure, CAPS is looking to see, in an application, thoughtful financial assignments to project tasks.
“This kind of support is quite liberating,” Plaut exclaims, “you may do what always meant a lot to you, where you always wanted to be: at a senator’s office, a theater company, an organic farm, in Northern Uganda working with former LRA child soldiers.”
In embarking on a Grant Application, college sponsored or otherwise, Plaut cautions that students engage a critical eye to discover the spin in the competition. Applicants must pay attention to the precise fellowship requirements, and consider the language of the job description, applying that language to humbly demonstrate their fit. She adds that, “the cover letter too should demonstrate one’s willingness to learn, grow, and be molded. After all, employers want you to support their work.”
Associate Dean Goode considers that public interest work is different from say business or journalism, because of its deliberately experiential element: “this rich hands-on experience of connecting with a community.” Goode admits he went in to his Peace Corps assignment only expecting to help, and to learn more about new cultures, but that in the end, he took away more: “a change of attitude, life altering perspectives.”
“And I hear, many years on, today, students echo to me similar reactions in reflecting on their service engagements,” said Goode. “And what is key to this is that a lot of us don’t go into service expecting to be altered by it. Maybe it could, it might, we think. Students never expect to be changed by it.”
“We have destitute communities in Chicago,” he adds, “communities that have no hope, no options… and meeting them, knowing their situation, tears your heart in a different way.”
The University Community Service Center (UCSC) fosters the development of civic-minded students by providing substantive community service opportunities through community partnerships based on mutual trust and respect. If you have questions - how to get involved as a student or how to connect to students as a community organization - please contact us.
University Community Service Center
5525 S. Ellis Ave., Suite 160
Chicago IL, 60637
Tel: 773.753.4483
Fax: 773.834.1160
ucsc.uchicago.edu
