Reflection - 12/12-19
The closing of this semester's blog series hopes to address the following: reflection, achieving the learning outcomes, and future improvements. It is crucial to note that this final post can be used for those starting or considering their practicum; learn from my failures and successes in order to achieve something even greater.
Once the final board of my display was placed, I was officially finished with the after-deliverable of my project. What remained was finishing the website to include all of my practicum-related resources, blog posts, and extraneous information that could help any future McBride students. Now that I am done with my practicum experience, I must ask myself: Am I proud of my work? For the most part, I am definitely satisfied with the work I put in and the product that came out of it. Despite many of the compliments and good graces I have received from peers, administration, and faculty, I can't help but think I can always do more. I can always create an identical exhibit in the student center. I can contact other colleges and universities to implement similar projects. I can expand my list of quotes to include the general Golden, Colorado public. Contemplating such a task reveals to me that there may never be a point where I will consider this project enough. I certainly do not want my tone in this final post to imply disappointment in my final result, and both my after and during-practicum assignments turned out much better than I planned. I had very little experience with website design coming into this project, and now I feel like I can use Wix software to conjure up any website I may desire. In addition, I would never have thought that I would be so comfortable with interviewing students and staff about a sensitive topic such as mental health, but I did, and breaking this personal stigma has helped me in my other mental health-related endeavors in Peer Education and Active Minds at Mines. I finally got to use my proficiency in laser engraving and woodworking to aid in my last deliverable; I never thought that engraving quotes onto wooden boards would be such a large portion of my practicum. Lastly, I most importantly do not want to forget my experience with the people involved in my practicum. If I could have any one takeaway from my experience this semester, it would be as such: "if you want to do something, just ask." I developed this mantra around the latter half of my practicum when it dawned on me that almost every major iteration of my practicum corresponded to asking a certain person for help. The beginning of my practicum ideation started with asking Melanie if I could pursue McBride class alternatives. My research paper came to fruition after talking with Toni Lefton about an independent study, and it evolved into a practicum after asking for help from Justin. After asking Emma Griffis for assistance in connecting me mentors for my practicum, I was introduced to Every Oredigger, and it only took one meeting with Rebecca Flintoft and Roel Snieder to join the culture-change subcommittee. Finally, a twenty-word question granted me permission to display a project in the library. One could even say that there were numerous questions that I had to ask myself such as "Why am I doing this?" and "What do I want to accomplish?" Questions and self-contemplation proved to be a motivating factor that helped me remain on the path towards my vision.
A proper reflection would not be complete without mentioning my learning objectives and outcomes and whether or not I completed them.
Aid the Mines community in progressing its mental health agenda through ethnographic research and resource programming--> I can establish and lead an interview or programming event on my own using available resources
I believe that my contributions within Every Oredigger have perfectly aligned with this goal. I completed ethnographic research through purposeful interviewing, and I implemented all of my deliverables using the available resources on campus. Through feedback from Rebecca Flintoft and Roel Snieder, they have indicated that my work has progressed the Mines mental health agenda. However, the only concrete way to measure this standard is by merely waiting; I must see whether or not my blog, exhibit, or other practicum work will have an apparent or measurable impact on campus.
Become more comfortable in collaboration at the administrative level where decisions could impact thousands of faculty and students-->I can participate in committee meetings by mentioning at least one new idea and expanding off three others
After attending a total of eight Every Oredigger-related events and meetings, this exposure has made me become more comfortable with interacting with peers who are not students. The particular goal of interacting with three ideas and creating one of my own was reached at the last two EO culture-change committee sessions. There are various factors to why my participation could have been stronger, but I most attribute them to my newfound confidence within the organization.
Better understand mental health implications relating to my friends and peers in order to improve my personal mental health advocacy-->I can direct those who are struggling with mental health to available resources at Mines
Despite being an officer of Active Minds at Mines and a Mines peer educator, joining Every Oredigger has opened new resources and opportunities for my peers and I. Whether it is You@Mines, campus outreach activities, or faulty club, EO has strived to create more ways in which those struggling with a mental illness can receive help. I specifically grew in becoming a mental health advocate for staff and faculty; I was never aware of such a problem before, but the initiatives of my subcommittee made it clear that this was a unaddressed issue on campus. Overall, I conclude that I have become more aware and cognizant of the mental health climate at Mines.
Publicize the mental health advocacy agenda at Mines to deter any stigma about mental health-->I can influence and educate the public in regards to mental health education.
One of the intentions of my final deliverable was to subtly incorporate the idea of mental health stigma without making it seem like a "turn-off" to people. Through work in AMM, I have realized that some people have grown calloused to stigma because they already know what it entails; nonetheless, these people still do not fully understand the repercussions of it. The boards of quotes acts as an eye-catcher to have the audience drawn to the idea of motivational and inspirational messages. The plaque to the right of the display then discusses mental health stigma and education and where the general public can go to learn more. As my project continues to be in the library, this learning outcome is perpetually achieved.
For those who have made it this far in the final post, I would like to close by addressing further improvements for my practicum. As stated, this is mostly directed to future McBride students or those who want to pursue a similar project as mine, and I hope that the information I give you will help you start your own work.
The aforementioned first objective of the practicum relates to using 'available resources' in regards to my interview and programming process. However, the McBride Honors Program allows for an enrichment scholarship that could have been applied to any project: https://732a5312-f883-4a8c-84d7-48bae4ac62c7.usrfiles.com/ugd/732a53_3d9e58c6eb06492796e37eb6ba91ba67.docx
For this practicum, it was self-funded, so there existed certain restrictions in the available equipment used for the interviews and supplies for the final deliverable; a practicum budget would have allowed for easier considerations. Pertaining to my work, better video equipment would have produced higher resolution videos, and more supplies would have slightly increased the quality of my library display (better paint, wood, adhesive, etc.). Furthermore, I could have partnered with additional organizations in pursuit of my deliverables or overall practicum experience. I only worked within Every Oredigger, but I did consider reaching out to Active Minds, Peer Education, or the Counseling Center. I figured that my close ties with these resources would create a conflict of interest, but the hypothetical partnership could have opened new doors for my plans. Finally, one interested in this field could conduct a more thorough analysis on existing works. In my before-practicum deliverable, I discussed this topic in an annotated bibliography, but I never touched on any related studies or research conducted in other colleges or universities. As the focus of my practicum was specific to STEM and engineering schools, places like MIT, Stanford, GIT, Johns Hopkins University, or any other similar high-achieving school could be interviewed or considered when planning a practicum for Mines. As a general note, more technical and formal research could have been used in addition to my ethnographic studies in order to supply better background information.
As this is the last statements of my blog, I would like to wholeheartedly thank those who have spent the time reading my posts and looking over my work. I strongly urge you to browse the remainder of the website if you have not, and I hope that you find the same inspiration in my work as I have. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, comments, or criticisms, and my contact information will forever be ingrained in this website.
Best,
Ryan
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