Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
In my lesson I am most proud of the fact that I got my point across and was able to say all of my important information before the time was up. I thought it was the most important part of the presentation for me.
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why youearned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
I believe I earned an P because I had all of the information that was necessary and then elaborated on certain parts that I thought my audience would want to learn about. At the same time I didn't reach the time limit by 10 seconds because I talked a little faster than normal due to nervousness.

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?
If i could go back I would talk slower to get my point across better. Since this was the longest presentation i have ever had to do I was extremely nervous. Next time I will calm myself down and try my best to be as comfortable presenting as possible.

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

During my mentorship I normally volunteer at a store called upscale collectibles, where they raise money for girls who have aged out of the foster care system by selling home goods or clothes. Usually I help organize shelves and clothing racks along with setting up the store for the new and coming Christmas season. I have also volunteered at the group house in Whittier, where the girls normally live. I help Carol, my mentor, organize important papers for the store, upcoming events, and other fellow organizations.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you? 

 I have volunteered with Carol and the bridge of faith before high school and I have always been interested in the foster system and child services. Since Bridge of faith works with girls who have aged out of the system, I figured since I already have a lot of experience with them it would be a fun a project. It wasn't very hard to convince Carol to be my mentor because she already knows a lot about my work ethic and my commitment to the organization.

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

I am very comfortable with Carol, mainly because of our history together. My relationship with her has made it easier to talk to her and schedule mentor time with her.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

I obtained a lot of information about the organization that I didn't know, and I discovered more about my mentor than i thought i would. I believe the interview went well because of our history and how hard I tried to make her comfortable. I believe I could have gotten more involved with the questions. Next time I will ask deeper questions and contribute more to the overall interview.

Recording: https://soundcloud.com/kristen353/interview-2-mentor

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

My mentor is Carol Reza and our interview is scheduled for Monday the 26th.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.   

I have not completed all of my research, but so far I believe I am leading towards the process of ageing out of the system. The reason for this is because the organization I work for helps those types of girls and there is  not a lot of research on the topic. It would also help me better understand the girls I work with.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

Huffington Post has many article on my topic and I believe it would help me get more personal experience from past foster kids who have not been a adopted and aged out of the system.

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

How are foster kids being taught to live on their own? or What steps are we taking to support kids who are homeless and provide them with shelter?

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

- My mentor owns a thrift store to raise money for girls that have aged out of the foster care system and have no place to call home. The money mainly goes to their college funds and their necessities for health. 

- Some things i would be doing are; working at the cash register, talking to people and showing them around the store, and organizing with the girls how much money they would get for college.

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

- We have not discussed what my hours will be, but for now every Monday and/or Tuesday, whenever she needs me to work, I will be at the cash register or helping with an event. The events will most likely be held during the weekend and will contribute to my 30 hours.

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

- The main things I will be doing are, working with the girls at the store, helping out around the homes, and raising money wherever i can to contribute to their life funds. This will help me not only understand these girls but learn what strides have been made and what is currently being done to help kids who have aged out of the foster care system.

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

My mentor is Carol Reza and she owns an organization called bridge of faith. The organization raises money to help girls who have aged out of the foster care system.

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

1. Where did you go to school and what made you want to choose the degree program you did?

2. What is the most interesting experience you have had in the field and where were you when it happened?

3. Can you explain what you do exactly on a day to day basis, and how that contributes to helping foster youth?

4. What are some of your goals for the future and what goals have you accomplished in the past working with the foster system?

5. What made you want to help these girls?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?  

Finding a mentor has worked out, it took a while but with some help I was able to find one. My research checks have been surprisingly easy too, there is a lot of information about animal and plant conservation. It has been a positive experience because all of my friends and teachers have been able to find some kind of way to help me with my project.

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

A lot of people don't reply to my messages or calls, which makes getting involved and finding interviews difficult. I can try my best to ask as many people as possible, but overall I can't do a lot about other people not replying. I also haven't found anywhere to volunteer, but that has to do with a lot of research. I will keep working at it and hopefully keep everything up to date as much as possible.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

Throughout the interview I learned valuable information such as the effects of invasive species and how the Department of Fish and Wildlife has treated this problem. Doug, my interviewee, explained the many procedures  they take to check boats and prevent these muscles from spreading further damage to the ecosystem. He also talked about why the muscles are extremely invasive, for example they eat the plankton and that ultimately hurts the local fish in each lake. 

My interviewee was kind of uncomfortable, but next time I can work on making the interview feel like an open environment. The interview was shorter than I had hoped due to the fact that he had to go, next time I will plan better time wise. I also didn't have as many questions as i thought, after the interview had ended I started to think of better questions which I have written down to ask. Overall, I could have done better, I was nervous because this was the first interview, but next time I will have more experience and hopefully it will be ten times better.

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

Yes i did get more contact information, Doug showed me where to look on the Department of Fish and Wildlife for volunteer opportunities. He also said he would keep in contact with me and let me know about a woman that works in Ontario to preserve the ecosystems.  I believe the research on CDFW was the most useful because he took the time to teach me exactly how the website works and pointed out the areas that were most helpful to contributing to my project.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?

Doug has been doing internships with CDFW for a year now and has had a lot of experience in habitat preservation. He has also worked with many people that can hep me with my project and getting more information. He also goes to school at Calpoly Pomona for urban and regional planning which also plays a role in preserving ecosystems.

Link: https://soundcloud.com/kristen353/interview-1-doug

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

Through out the world, animals and plants have been disappearing from the planet and scientist all around the world have been trying to recover these species. In my senior project I plan to learn about endangered species and how society today is contributing to the decline in animal populations. In my project I want to also learn about the environmental impacts affecting endangered wildlife. I want to know what actions conservationist plan to take in order to bring back critically endangered species. I also plan to learn more about the impact these animals and plants have on the ecosystems they live in. Many of these species have been found to not only affect the ecosystems around them but also the ecosystems on the other side of the world. Lastly I plan to help in any way I can to reduce the risk of further endangerment.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

I plan to interview Steve Katnik from Rio Hondo College. He teaches environmental biology and I believe he is a good person to start with for my interviews.

2. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

I plan to ask:
- How did you discover you had a passion for endangered species?
-Where did you go to school and how was your experience?
-What has been the most interesting moments of your career?
-What is your worst experience in your field of work?

Blog 2 Summer Mentorship