Hi! My name is Tamaya Mozell, I am a sophomore majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Psychology. I was born and raised in Suffolk, Virginia, where I began to develop a love and passion for sports. I intend to become one of the next sports physical therapist or sports psychiatrist for one of the professional sports teams one day. I chose to be apart of the Innovate Monarchs program because I believe that it would challenge the way that I think when solving problems relating to the world, the university, and the human mentality altogether. Besides this, I believe that being apart of this amazing program would help me focus on changing and better the not only the Old Dominion University but other universities and colleges all over the world.
MY INNOVATE MONARCHS EXPERIENCE
During my experience in the Innovate Monarchs Program, my group and I focused on how we could better the problems that many students and faculty face while being on the Old Dominion University campus.
Unlike any other group that also worked on how to improve the campus, our group focused on how faculty, administrators, and students could all understand the experiences and lifestyles of each other on and off campus. The program that we have created and are still currently trying to implement is called, "The Shadowing Experience."
Our main goal for "The Shadowing Experience" is for faculty, administrators, and students to all shadow each other to see what a day in the life is of the other person. We decided to create a program that targets specifically this because we believe that this program will help better the university and the campus as a whole.
We have created a website that introduce our program, which includes our prototype, mindset thinking, design thinking, steps, and so much more. Attached below is the link to my group website where you can easily access our program.
Mindsets of A Human-Centered Designer
I practiced the Innovation is for Everyone mindset when I had to work together with my group and all come up with similar ideas so that we could have a solid idea of the program that we are trying to create. This taught me that I will have to fully trust, and work with my team in order to come up with something successful on the Old Dominion University campus.
I practiced the Know Your Why mindset when I had to continually not give up on this program. There was some times where I have cried all because I could not think of any ideas to move forward with our program, but because of the amazing team that I do have, they motivated me that there is so much more to our program then we think there is. This taught me to not give up even when I want to, but to continue to push because something great is going to come out of this.
I practiced the Show & Tell mindset when I had to think on and act accordingly to our program. Even though there was much thought into it, there were times where I had to act and put my ideas to work by starting conversations with people that I am not familiar with and stepping out of my comfort zone. This taught me that it is okay to not be comfortable in certain situations instead, try it out and see how it goes.
I practiced the Radical Collaboration mindset when I had to reach out to my fellow classmates, faculty, and administrators. during our process. This taught me that it is important to speak to multiple different people so that we can have different perspectives on each side.
I practiced the Empathetic & Human-Centered mindset when I had to take the opinions from others and apply those to solving their issues and improving the university. This taught me that it is best to listen to others because when listening to those who have honest opinions on situations, try to find a way to help solve their questions so that others may not have to experience what they went through.
I practiced the Embrace Ambiguity mindset throughout my entire Innovate Monarchs program. I had to understand that it is not best to jump to conclusions so fast because that may not help solve problems easier. This taught me to take everything one step, and one day at a time.
I practiced the Iterate, Iterate, Iterate mindset when I had to practice and think on ideas that would be best suitable for our program. For our prototype, we focused on how we could improve and implement this program on campus. This taught me to not go with my first instinct, instead get many ideas from different people so that I can have a firm, solid understanding of what exactly I want to present to many people.
Applying Innovative Experiences in The Future
Now, that this program has sadly concluded, my first thoughts about this overall project is that it is dedicating something to improving and bettering the university is just so AMAZING! From participating in the last Innovate Monarchs program last semester, I have made more long lasting friendships and relationships with newly friends and faculty from just participating in this program for my second time. Aside from the friendships and relationships, this program has taught me how to become more devoted and dedicated to do something that that I believe will change the whole perspective of college and will be something that a lot of people would love to participate in.
Some of my most interesting discoveries while working on this project was that it required a lot of communication. So if you are considered a shy person, this would be the key to helping you get out of your comfort zone and make you feel more comfortable when speaking to others. Another interesting discovery is that if you do not know what to do regarding coming up with many ideas for starting your program, then someone is always willing to help you. You do not have to feel like you are alone in this, and that is what I loved about being apart of this program. I was one who also didn't have an idea of what to think of when developing ideas for a program, but because of my amazing Innovate Monarchs leaders, friends, and faculty that helped make this program successful.
Some of the most challenging moments that I have discovered throughout this program is when it comes to developing the prototype. In my opinion, this was the most challenging part when developing the website. The prototype is literally the icing on the top of your cake. It is the finisher, it is very important and should be explained and detailed correctly in order for anyone to understand the full idea of it. Around this time, I had shed a lot of tears, but I was able to push through in the midst of this, because I knew that this is something that I would love to see on campus, and I believe that it would be a great opportunity for all.
Some of the most powerful learning experiences throughout this program was the faculty friendships and relationships that I made with everyone, and the pitch event. The relationships and friendships that I have made with faculty have allowed me to network with others, and even assist others on their programs while I was trying to get insight on our program, which is something that I loved the most, because they were willing to assist me, and so was I. The pitch event seemed to be a different feeling of experience from my previous year. Our two student speakers that spoke in the beginning of the event was Taylor and Diego and both of their testimonies were outstanding. I thought that I could hold in my tears, but I could not hold them in at all because it was so touching and relatable.
I believe that I could teach this problem solving technique to many people because now that I have a firm understanding of what to expect, I believe that teaching this process to them will be a better experience for me and them altogether.