extra blog post for december

This month at Union Station was pretty uneventful, but definitely very busy. I aided my mentor in preparing for Dinner in the Park for Christmas, which is so so similar to the Thanksgiving event. It was a whole lot less work however, because since people, for whatever reason, feel more need to give back on Thanksgiving and not on Christmas, there is less preparation to be made. That doesn't mean there is not your fair share of work, as my mentor and I had to deal with several angry volunteers, saying how mad they are that they missed registration and can't give back, or trying to drop off food that we cannot accept. Luckily, the event turned out great, like it always does, and I look forward to volunteering and mentoring in 2014.

Extra Blog Post: November

This month at Union Station, we were all focusing on the upcoming Dinner in the Park event that's held annually at Central Park, where we feed the homeless a delicious Thanksgiving meal. 

So, for a lot of the time we would be putting together several signs and making flyers, making phone calls to volunteers and working out logistics. It was stressful. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, however, it really helped me understand planning out events and work on my skills as a manager of sorts of a program.

blog assignment 9

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if it meets the rule of 3 criteria.
• Tell why it does or why it doesn't

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

-The question is too vague, with no specific group of people that the EQ is targeting.
 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

-The question is very specific and is clearly not a yes or no question.
 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

-This follows the rule of three as it is specific and allows for additional research.
 d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

-This follows the rule of three as well, as it gives possibility for several different answers and is specific as well.

3. How can a social worker best provide support for the homeless community?

Blog 8

Content:

1.  What is your working EQ?-How can a homeless social worker aid the homeless community to get off the streets of Los Angeles?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.  Examples:
-Reaching out to the community and getting as many people involved in the cause will help get shelters running faster and more efficiently, therefore, allowing more of the homeless to find permanent housing and stability.

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 
- Talking to my mentor, she is very knowledgeable and provides me with very in depth and accursate information.

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?
-My mentor is Octavia Sisley, and I volunteer at the Union Station Homeless Services Administrative Offices, the Family Center and the Adult Center. At the Administrative Offices, I create several brochures, fliers and marketing ads that would encourage more people to become more involved in the volunteering and helping the homeless.

Blog 7

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
-For my 30 hours, I plan to do some community service in some of the other facilities of Union Station, such as the Adult Center, where we cook and prepare meals for homeless, or at Passageways, where homeless come in to begin the Union Station program.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

-Get my volunteer hour paper signed, as well as take a log.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

-It will give me more perspectives of the environment, and different opportunities to work and communicate with the clients.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your mentorship log and call it the independent component 1 log.

-Ok.

Additional Monthly Post

This month at Union Station, I did a lot of office work with my mentor, helping create different manuals,  slideshows and spreadsheets. But, if there was one thing that stood out in particular, it was the day I had to go into the Family Center for the day to do my daily jobs. So, I went in, and the first thing I notice is how many families were there. What really made me pay attention to all of them was that they were all so grateful for everything we at Union Station do for them. It really warms my heart to see how much of a change we can make in people's lives.

Blog 6

Content: 
The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

Octavia Sisley at Union Station Homeless Services (Family Center) in Pasadena.

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

-Did you ever plan on becoming a social worker?
-When did you realize you wanted to become a social worker?
-What college did you attend and what did you major in prior to beginning your career?
-Did you work anywhere else before Union Station?
-If you from 15 years ago saw what you're doing right now, career-wise, what would they think?

Blog Assignment 5

The Pentagon: 
(1) Positive Statement: I'm seeing the homeless community in a whole new light. (I didn't see them in a bad way before, I just understand their problems and struggles a lot more now.)

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

I had an article that just really discussed statistics on homelessness, like how many are drug addicts, how many are single women with a child, etc., it improves my understanding because it gives me more of an idea on how wide the variety of people are in the homeless community.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
My mentor's are very easy and fun to work with, and this is a topic I quite enjoy.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?  
My mentors schedule doesn't always work with mine, but other than that everything is going very well.

(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year? "What is the best way to aid homeless people in getting off the streets of Los Angeles?"
•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  I actually do a wide variety of things for my mentor, such as helping create ads to recruit new volunteers, planning events, or just doing basic office work like going through files.

Blog Assignment 4

Content:

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
-I plan to interview one of my two mentors, Joseph Saceric. I'm choosing him because he was been working for Union Station for a very long time, and has a deep knowledge of the homeless community, as well as being very involved in helping the community.
2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?
-Some additional open ended questions I would ask are:

• What about homeless social services appeals to you?
• What makes this a great profession for you?

Blog Assignment 3

1.  List your topic here:

Homeless Social  Service

2.  What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

• iPoly Citizen - As a citizen of iPoly, I plan to participate in several school events, fundraisers and house activities. Participating in these will bring people within houses closer together, which is the main idea of all being citizens of iPoly, or being part of a big community.
• Effective Learner - I will take advantage of all opportunities given to me by my mentors, fellow students and teachers. Any information that I have not yet learned is just waiting to be learned, and I plan to take full advantage of that on several occasions this school year.
• Effective User of Technology - I will take advantage of different research websites, along with the purdue owl for help with MLA formatting. I will also not use Wikipedia!
• Effective Communicator - I will take initiative to lead a group during house activities or for a project, communicate with teammates throughout the year, and share my ideas with fellow students while doing assignments.

Blog 2

Literal:  

1. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoJh49-D2423dElfUXNRV2lFMG9WUGRabVY0VE1LQlE&usp=drive_web
2. I worked at Union Station Homeless Services, with Joseph Saceric and Octavia Sisley. Joseph's number is:
(626)240-4594  
3. What kind of education is needed for work in social services? What are the full responsibilities working in an office for social services as compared to at a soup kitchen or food bank?

Interpretive

4. That it takes a lot of commitment to aiding the homeless community, and one of those commitments is getting people committed to helping your cause. Also, you really have to be dedicated to this job as well, it requires a lot of extra hours, but I think it's worth it.

Applied
 
5. My first choice for my senior project was sports broadcasting, but after being unable to find a mentor I decided to chase another topic I am interested in, social service, more specifically, helping the homeless. I chose it because I enjoy helping the homeless community find food, shelter, and job opportunities, really giving them a reason to smile is the biggest reason I enjoy it, as cliche as that sounds, its cliche cause its true!

Senior Presentation Reflections

1.  (Know) What presentations did you see?  Name the topic and the person's first name.
Soccer Player - Salvador Gutierrez
Event Planning - Ana Soto
Daycare centers - Roxanne Castaneda
Navy: Basic Training - Jaime Plascensia
Toy Racecar Racing - Raul Suarez
Caring for Animals - Reann Brownfield
Integrate Native Species - Joseph Gautreau
Zombie Culture - Leslie Lopez
Teaching History - Jacob Ruiz
Cake Art - JD Pabon
Painting - Andrea Romero
Autism - Jada Hall


2.  (Need to know) What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  
Are there any group projects senior year?

Interpretive:

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?
Keeping the audience intrigued, and making sure they understand what you are talking about and that they follow you clearly.

Applied:

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?
I'm considering doing "Sports Broadcasting" because it is a topic I am very passionate about and I feel that I could excel at.