Hi everyone! My name is Madelyn Contreras, however I go by Maddie. I am a rising senior and my major is sociology with a sub major of health and medicine. Community has many different meanings, but for myself, community is unity and a feeling of belonging. It is a group of people coming together and enjoying each others presence, working together to make their environment and city better, more equal, and peaceful. A community comes together and cares about one another, they have similar beliefs and make a change together, on topics including things like social justice. Support comes from a community and creates this feeling of safety, belonging, and being able to be there for each other in times of need. I think one skill I have that can help me be successful in my community project is the ability to adapt quickly and be flexible. Things do not always go as planned and many things happen unexpectedly, however I have learned to handle situations well and have learned to be very flexible when things pop up. One skill I would like to develop this summer is learning the behind the scenes of events and programs. The budgeting, the planning, and learning new skills in excel as well. For my program our main project is running a sports camp for youth, and I think if the kids are happy and I am able to contribute to the happiness of the youth and the community I will be proud of myself. As long as I do the best I can in doing the things I need to do, and succeeding in helping Chandler Park, I will be happy with whatever it is I was able to do and help with. It is an amazing opportunity and I am beyond excited to work with Chandler Park and bring the community together in a place that is so beautiful.
2 thoughts on “Week One: Introductions”
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It sounds like your project has a very heavy community engagement component! During my first week here, I realized that some parks have been underutilized while others are thriving. Since Chandler Park seems to be an important anchor to nearby communities, I would really love to hear your insights in the end about public space place-making.
Yesss! Sociology majors represent!! I really appreciated your description of mutual support within a community– it really drives home how we all need to contribute and help one another to help any space (a group, a friendship, a city, etc) become a real community. Best of luck with your goals for this summer!