Arrivederci

High school is coming to an end for me; this last week will be a bitter-sweet one. Bitter to say goodbye to seeing my closest friends every day, sweet because I can now look back and see what I have accomplished. Since my freshman year at I-Poly, I have heard about this big, scary, senior project. I am now proud to say that I have survived though it. I am now looking forward to graduation and taking in these final days with my classmates and enjoying the fun schedule that we have planned for this week. My hard work at I-Poly has paid off, I feel confident and ready to take the next steps in my life.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) I am proud of my mentorship experience. When I started my mentorship with CHAP,I had no idea what I would be getting myself into. The only information I had about the program was that they worked to help out the homeless community in Claremont, which made me a bit hesitant. At first I did not see myself being able to relate to CHAP, that I would have a hard time being passionate about  what I would be learning. I am glad that I was able to keep an open mind, stay positive, and take my hesitance towards mentoring at CHAP and turn it into a great learning experience. 

(2) a. P

    b. P

(3) What helped me with my senior project the most was my mentor. My mentor really gave me so much information and took the time to really understand the senior project. My mentor was always sure to make sure I had all the information I needed.

(4) Though I loved where how my mentorship experience turned out, I would have liked to have been able to avoid the stress of having to find a mentor late in the game. If I could go back I would ask more questions when talking to a potential mentor, so that way there would be no surprises that could get in the way of having them as a mentor. 

(5) My mentorship experience has inspired me to be involved in CHAP or programs like it. It has given me a new perspective and passion. 

Before I started my mentorship with CHAP  had a narrow minded idea of the homeless community, by spending time and getting to know the group of homeless individuals at CHAP, I was able to see that these people are working hard and deserve the opportunity at another chance. 

Blog 22: Mentorship

 What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?


Aside from giving me so much quality information to use  in my senior project. I have gained a new perspective on community organization. I was able to see how it helps people, it has inspired me o also volunteer and give my time to organizations similar to CHAP. I have also gained confidence in myself. I walked into my mentorship not really having a clue on what they did. I kept an open mind and took things step by step. This showed me I can do well I environments that are new and unfamiliar to me.

  

How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.


Being at my mentorship is what helped me the most to answer my EQ. I was able to observe and participate with people who were dealing with situations that are connected to my EQ, first hand. It was easy to create answers because I had real life examples right in front of me.

Exit Interview

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

EQ: what is the most important factor when transitioning a homeless client from dependence on a homeless shelter to independence?

Answer 1: Assign each participant with at one or more advocates.

Answer 2: Communication and support among volunteers and advocates.

Answer 3: To bring awareness to the community about the program.
My best answer is my first answer. All three of my answers are very crucial in a homeless client’s path to independence, but my first answer is the most unique one. It is what makes a program like CHAP successful and set apart from other program.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

Attending the Monday night CHAP meetings is what really helped me come to my first answer. At the meetings Advocates discussed their progress with their advocates, with that I was able to see the work they were doing for their advocates and what it provided them.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The only things that concerned me with my answer one was that it uses CHAP's vocabulary , at first i saw it as an inconvenience to have to explain the way my answer is worded, but, I realize now that is not too big of a deal.
 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

My two most significant sources would be my time at my mentorship and my interviews. Both of these experiences allowed me to get information from the people who are dealing with my topic every day.

Finance and Fundraising Working Group Meeting

Recently I sat in on and observed CHAP's Finance and Fundraising Working Group Meeting. This particular working group really help me back up my third answer  : The most important factor when transitioning a homeless client from dependence on a homeless shelter to independence is the act of bringing awareness to the community. All the members in the Finance and Fundraising Working Group offer something unique and different to CHAP because they come from different places. I think that this important in this group because it is where CHAP can get the money to provide for their participants.

Independent Component 2

•  “I, Nathalie Iannetta, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 35 hours and 30 minutes of work.”
•  My Mentor was the one who helped me most with my independent component. He provided me with valuable reading information that he wrote.
•  I did 5 CIRs and I read information on CHAP. The information really showed how CHAP'S model was made and what inspired it. This showed me how to go about creating successful community organization programs. By completing the Critical Incident Reports I was able to study the different working groups in the program, which gave me the information I needed to strengthen all three of my answers.      

     

Independent Component

My mentor has been giving me extra material to read for my independent component. I have been reading the packets he gives  me then going over them with my mentor in out meetings. The purpose of these packets is for me to understand the model that CHAP uses in their program.