About me
I am currently a Junior with a Dual Major in Sociology and Criminal Justice with a Minor in CyberSecurity. I will be graduating Fall 2021. I just became the President of Student Veterans of America at Old Dominion University and became a part of Innovate Monarchs to help create a community on campus that is inclusive and supportive to all walks of life. My intentions upon graduation are to work for the Federal Government as a Tactical Data Analyst or Victim’s Specialist. I enjoyed my experience with Innovate Monarchs by being able to embrace the “know your why” concept of the model. This is because it reignited my passions and my drive to finish school in order to get to my dream job.
Innovate Monarch Experience
The purpose of our prototype, Monarch Reach, is to give African American and LatinX students a space where they can go and converse with a certified Monarch Reach member that can listen and connect them with any resources they need.Based on our research, we found that many minoritized students feel they do not have people to come to or know of the resources available to them when they are struggling mentally and/or academically. By training faculty, staff, and students to recognize the cultural struggles of minoritized students, we can bridge the gap between minoritized students and mental health disparities that can affect their lives on and off-campus.This training will be designed to help faculty and staff become more culturally competent. By providing workshops and resources on the barriers that minorities face, we hope that this will help students feel more comfortable on campus. Through this process we believe through education not only will it create a campus that is better prepared for African American and LatinX students; we create a community that is ready, willing and able to help student by knowing what resources a students may need once they are able to understand the hurdles they face as a minoritized group. The strengths is that it involves students and faculty.
Mind Sets of a Human Centered Designer
I practiced the Innovation is for Everyone mindset during the empathy portion of our process. This taught me that when I had to look beyond just my own experiences and recognize the different perspectives that exist.
I practiced the Know Your Why mindset when I had to narrow down our rapid fire list that we came up with during our ideation process. This taught me that I can have a million ideas but taking the time to nurture one can make all the difference.
I practiced the Show & Tell mindset when I had to practice our pitch during our process. This taught me that I can have a great idea but carefully choosing your words with minimum time can make all the impact on how well that idea is perceived by the intended audience.
I practiced the Radical Collaboration mindset when I had to start working with my team during our process. This taught me that even though I was in Navy and met so many people around the world; that practice doesn't stop. Having so many people with various ideas is what can give you the feedback you need to make all the difference.
I practiced the Empathetic & Human-Centered mindset when I had to hone in on my own experiences as a Hispanic woman during our process. This taught me that my identity isn't a limitation; it can be used to inspire those who don't have a role model that looks like them.
I practiced the Embrace Ambiguity mindset when my team were discussing the "How might we" question in our process. This taught me that everyone's feelings and opinions are valid and necessary in order to gage the community your working for.
I practiced the Iterate, Iterate, Iterate mindset when I had to discuss why this is important to my team during this process. This taught me that sometimes you have to defend what you care about even if you think that you shouldn't have to.
Applying Innovate Monarchs in the Future
Now that it's over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project? I am happy with what my team came up with and it was interesting to see how the other teams interpreted the challenge as well.
What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? About the problem? About myself? Some discoveries I made in this process is how to make a survey but also how different mindsets are between generations. I also learned that I sell myself short a lot. I didn't want to be team lead because I was use to leadership in the Navy. However, my team picking me to do so was a reminder that people see the potential in me that I forget about in the midst of the chaos called life. Lastly, I learned that this problem exists across the country and if we can make a difference on campus it could help so many people.
What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so? The most challenging moment was starting. I had never been taught to not look for a solution right away. Instead I was shown how to slow down and think about what people need; not just what I thought the community needed.
How does this experience relate to my future career goals? This experience can relate to my future career goals because ultimately I want to serve my community in some capacity. Being able to slow down and use human center designing will help me understand the needs of the community/individuals and being able to address them appropriately. Whether I become a data analyst or victim's specialist I know I can carry this ideology with, especially the "know your why."
Credits:
Created with images by PublicDomainPictures - "two view person" • Peggy_Marco - "financial equalization help stock exchange"