Hey everybody, I am someone who has joined late in the trip to Chicago. My name is Kevin Bansleben and I am a junior studying Mechanical Engineering here at UMD. I was born in Columbia, MD and have lived there all of my life. I graduated from Atholton High School and have always been interested in studying engineering as I have been fascinated with and excelled in courses in math and science. I am someone who has always loved to travel and learn about the cultures of the people who live in places I have been to.
My mother's family is from Italy and some of them live in Switzerland, so I have been to both countries almost every summer of my life and have enjoyed learning a lot of the French and Italian culture there is to offer. Because I have traveled to many places in Europe, I have become open to many cultures that exist in the world. I have never been out to the Midwest and Chicago, but I am elated to go and learn a lot about the city and its residents. I am excited to go out there and share my experiences with AB and learn a lot about the people I meet in the city.
Because I may be one of the only engineering majors in Alternative Breaks, I may not relate to many of the other people on the trip. However, the humongous advantage I bring to the table is my vast knowledge of math, science, and engineering for other people to learn about. I hope I can spread my knowledge to the students in need in the Chicago charter schools. Also, as an engineering student, I am someone who is very oriented with problem solving and helping people with technical problems. I am a good critical thinker when it comes to addressing issues.
I have been on two previous Alternative Breaks trips. The first one I have been on was in freshman year with the HIV/AIDS trip in New York City. I have learned quite a lot about how HIV/AIDS affected the community in New York City and how I can make a difference in people's lives there. The second Alternative Breaks experience I have been on was in the Bahamas. There was a lot of cleaning up to do in the Bahamas but my group has made a substantial effort to clean up to trash and support an eco-friendly environment in which we were to support the development of.
I am someone who is very sociable and easy to get along with and relate to, so I am very excited to meet the other people whom I am travelling with. I am looking forward to the weeks ahead so I can get to know everybody on the trip and have an awesome time! I am willing to share more about my past AB experiences and how it makes me know what great things to expect on this trip.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
About me-Niccara Campbell
Hello All!
My name is Niccara Campbell and I just joined the group. I was born in California and moved when I was five years old to Baltimore, Maryland. Both of my parents were in the Air Force, which is why I was born in California. I am the only child, but I have many cousins. I was the only granddaughter on both sides until recently, when my two cousins were born on each side of family.
I am a senior, African American Studies Major, concentrated in the study of Public Policy. I have developed a great love for education and all minority issues, especially pertaining to urban youth. This is my first Alternative Spring Break. I have always been interested so I figure why not do it my final year!
I am excited to go out into the field and see the role charter schools play in urban cities like Chicago. I cant wait to meet you all!
My name is Niccara Campbell and I just joined the group. I was born in California and moved when I was five years old to Baltimore, Maryland. Both of my parents were in the Air Force, which is why I was born in California. I am the only child, but I have many cousins. I was the only granddaughter on both sides until recently, when my two cousins were born on each side of family.
I am a senior, African American Studies Major, concentrated in the study of Public Policy. I have developed a great love for education and all minority issues, especially pertaining to urban youth. This is my first Alternative Spring Break. I have always been interested so I figure why not do it my final year!
I am excited to go out into the field and see the role charter schools play in urban cities like Chicago. I cant wait to meet you all!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
About Me - John Hallock
Hello! My name is John Hallock and I’m a junior accounting
and finance double major from Gaithersburg, MD, where I attended Gaithersburg
High School. On campus, I’m actively involved on campus as treasurer of Sigma
Chi and a member of the club baseball team.
Within the past year, Chicago Public Schools have been provided the proper resources from the Council of Education and Discover Financial Services to implement a financial literacy framework for K-12 students. I landed on a video from Edutopia's "Schools That Work" series that focuses on Ariel Community Academcy, a K-8 public school located on the south side of Chicago, for its success with financial education. In the video, Edutopia highlights how Ariel's financial curricula helps its students develop decision-making skills that will provide both short-term and long-term guidance. The curricula addresses topics such as personal finance, economics, and financial fluency. Financial literacy initiatives, such as Chicago Public Schools' new framework, shed light on the many issues surrounding urban education systems.
I'm really looking forward to working with the students and getting to know everyone on our trip!
Saturday, January 18, 2014
About Me -- Idara Akpan
Greetings, all.
My name is Idara Akpan, and I was raised very close to the city of College Park, in Hyattsville, Maryland. I actually attended the closest high school to College Park which is Northwestern High School (yup, the one you pass on Adelphi Road if you're going to Target or the movie theaters). I come from a family of eight which includes my dad, my mom, four sisters, and a brother. My family is from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, and our traditional language is Ibibio. This explains why I have a unique name which means joy in the Ibibio language.
This is my fourth year at the University of Maryland with a major in Special Education. My major is a combined bachelors in science and master's in education program. My greatest passion is to work in a field where I can better understand and help improve education equality, education curriculum and education policies. That is why I am so excited to be going to Chicago this Spring Break with ASB. Last year I had the opportunity to go to Gaston, North Carolina with Alternative Breaks where we volunteered at a school and learned more about the issues concerning rural education.
The article I chose, City Students Improve Test Scores, But Still Lag Significantly, comes from the HuffingtonPost Education section. I find this article especially helpful to read before our trip to Chicago because it discusses both the gains and setbacks faced by students from America's largest cities. Overall students in major cities have shown improvement in test scores, however, their results are still a great deal behind other students in the nation. Researchers are still looking to answer the question as to why larger cities face such a setback. It seems to be that because every city is different from the other, they must be treated as such; therefore, using the same researched-based strategies for one city's schools will not work for the other. For example, DC public schools have performed exceptionally well in the last few years but even though Boston had the same implementations and great teacher evaluations, they did not show much improvement.
I cannot wait to visit Chicago and get a hands on experience volunteering in an urban city school so I can see for myself how information is presented to them and how they interpret it. I also want to witness what effects living in a city with a large population can have on a students achievement in school.
My name is Idara Akpan, and I was raised very close to the city of College Park, in Hyattsville, Maryland. I actually attended the closest high school to College Park which is Northwestern High School (yup, the one you pass on Adelphi Road if you're going to Target or the movie theaters). I come from a family of eight which includes my dad, my mom, four sisters, and a brother. My family is from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, and our traditional language is Ibibio. This explains why I have a unique name which means joy in the Ibibio language.
This is my fourth year at the University of Maryland with a major in Special Education. My major is a combined bachelors in science and master's in education program. My greatest passion is to work in a field where I can better understand and help improve education equality, education curriculum and education policies. That is why I am so excited to be going to Chicago this Spring Break with ASB. Last year I had the opportunity to go to Gaston, North Carolina with Alternative Breaks where we volunteered at a school and learned more about the issues concerning rural education.
The article I chose, City Students Improve Test Scores, But Still Lag Significantly, comes from the HuffingtonPost Education section. I find this article especially helpful to read before our trip to Chicago because it discusses both the gains and setbacks faced by students from America's largest cities. Overall students in major cities have shown improvement in test scores, however, their results are still a great deal behind other students in the nation. Researchers are still looking to answer the question as to why larger cities face such a setback. It seems to be that because every city is different from the other, they must be treated as such; therefore, using the same researched-based strategies for one city's schools will not work for the other. For example, DC public schools have performed exceptionally well in the last few years but even though Boston had the same implementations and great teacher evaluations, they did not show much improvement.
I cannot wait to visit Chicago and get a hands on experience volunteering in an urban city school so I can see for myself how information is presented to them and how they interpret it. I also want to witness what effects living in a city with a large population can have on a students achievement in school.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
About me - Lea Patch
Hello all!
I hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing winter break (sorry to those of you taking classes...)! I am a senior, graduating in May with a double degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice and Psychology and a double minor in Global Terrorism Studies and Korean Studies. I am a Resident Assistant in Leonardtown and I used to work at the UMD Visitor Center. In my free time I am constantly on the campus farm riding horses and teaching horseback riding lessons with the Maryland Equestrian Club, of which I am a Director. I grew up in Newark, Delaware (that's New-ark, not Newerk as the Jersey-ites might say it) and went to a very mixed public school. Because of my experiences in my high school, I was always interested in education policies. When I got to UMD as a freshman, I joined America Reads*America Counts as a mentor for Counts. After one semester, I became a team leader and I am now the office manager and continue to be involved in education topics. As a shameless plug for AR*AC, our application deadlines are January 28th!!! So if you are interested, you should go to arac.umd.edu and apply today! It is a wonderful experience and you get to work directly with kids in the PG County schools! Plus, if you have federal work study you get paid a lot ;)
In the spring of my junior year I traveled to Seoul, South Korea and studied at Yonsei University as an exchange student. It was the most amazing semester of my life and I fell in love with the language, the people, and the country. Because of my love for Korea and my interest in education, I will be returning to South Korea next fall as an English teacher (as long as I get the job!). Although teaching is not my end-goal in life (I have always wanted to work in federal law enforcement), I think that it will provide me with invaluable experience and cater well to my other interests.
Although this video isn't about traditional education systems, I thought that it was relevant. This ted talk shows that traditional educations are not for everyone, and that this is one fault with the system. I thought this video took an interesting approach and showed some very cool examples of alternative learning that Logan calls Hackshooling. It also makes several references to the video that Michelle posted just before me. Plus, this kid is a better public speaker than I will ever be and he's only 12...I've got to give him props for that. I hope you enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY
See you all soon!
Lea
I hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing winter break (sorry to those of you taking classes...)! I am a senior, graduating in May with a double degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice and Psychology and a double minor in Global Terrorism Studies and Korean Studies. I am a Resident Assistant in Leonardtown and I used to work at the UMD Visitor Center. In my free time I am constantly on the campus farm riding horses and teaching horseback riding lessons with the Maryland Equestrian Club, of which I am a Director. I grew up in Newark, Delaware (that's New-ark, not Newerk as the Jersey-ites might say it) and went to a very mixed public school. Because of my experiences in my high school, I was always interested in education policies. When I got to UMD as a freshman, I joined America Reads*America Counts as a mentor for Counts. After one semester, I became a team leader and I am now the office manager and continue to be involved in education topics. As a shameless plug for AR*AC, our application deadlines are January 28th!!! So if you are interested, you should go to arac.umd.edu and apply today! It is a wonderful experience and you get to work directly with kids in the PG County schools! Plus, if you have federal work study you get paid a lot ;)
In the spring of my junior year I traveled to Seoul, South Korea and studied at Yonsei University as an exchange student. It was the most amazing semester of my life and I fell in love with the language, the people, and the country. Because of my love for Korea and my interest in education, I will be returning to South Korea next fall as an English teacher (as long as I get the job!). Although teaching is not my end-goal in life (I have always wanted to work in federal law enforcement), I think that it will provide me with invaluable experience and cater well to my other interests.
Although this video isn't about traditional education systems, I thought that it was relevant. This ted talk shows that traditional educations are not for everyone, and that this is one fault with the system. I thought this video took an interesting approach and showed some very cool examples of alternative learning that Logan calls Hackshooling. It also makes several references to the video that Michelle posted just before me. Plus, this kid is a better public speaker than I will ever be and he's only 12...I've got to give him props for that. I hope you enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY
See you all soon!
Lea
About me- Michelle Hahm
Hello all, I’m a senior Graphic Design major and Art History
minor. I mostly grew up in Potomac, Maryland where I attended Winston Churchill
High School. On campus I volunteer at the UMD Help Center and paint sets for
CSPAC. In my free time I like reading, drawing, and enlarging marshmallows to
extreme sizes via microwaves.
While I don’t intend to go on to teaching as a full time
career, education has always been of great interest to me. I’ve always found it
fascinating to read about diverse education systems, and how different
societies respond to the next generation’s needs. As someone who enjoys the
arts, I’ve continued to keep an eye out to see how schools might possibly
encourage creative thinking into their curriculum.
I haven’t chosen an article, but I’ve picked a TED Talk
discussing how schools currently might be detrimental to creativity. One
example emphasized upon was of a girl who couldn’t keep still in school or
complete her work her time. Instead of being diagnosed for ADHD, it was
suggested that she be put in a dance school where she would eventually thrive
in her career. Perhaps in the future
solutions might be generated for more specialized educations where students who
don’t fit in the current mold can prosper.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
About Me - James Cecil
I am currently the Coordinator for North Campus Facilities with Campus Recreation Services on campus and have worked for CRS in various positions since my undergrad graduation. I am married with a three year old son and currently live in Elkridge after spending seven years in Baltimore. I am a Maryland native and can never really see myself leaving the state (or the university for that matter). My wife is the athlete of the family, having completed an Iron Man triathlon in 2009 and running constantly since our son was born. I am working on it, but golf is more my sport of choice. We have three cats, one Katrina rescue, one from the MDSPCA where we used to volunteer and a stray that we couldn't bring ourselves to put up for adoption.
Going through college, I was certain that I was going to be a social studies teacher at some point. I grew up on Kent Island and while I joke about my high school being in a corn field (it was), it served me quite well. It also kept me pretty insulated from the realities that a lot of other students face and I develop a greater appreciation for the benefits I had for no other reason than being lucky I grew up in a positive environment. My time at Maryland has not just taught me about adversity in our country through textbooks, but it has also given me faces and names to go with it too.
I have met students who have had to fight so hard to earn everything that they have. As a result, education and the opportunities it provides will always resonate with me. That led me to my article about a partnership between Northwestern & CPS. Chicago has a long road ahead in terms of the necessary systemic change to make their system thrive, but programs like this provide opportunity and can demonstrate that there are there are people genuinely interested in the success of students. It also creates role models that can be appreciated and imitated in their communities. I'm really looking forward to watching you all work as role models in your own right.
Going through college, I was certain that I was going to be a social studies teacher at some point. I grew up on Kent Island and while I joke about my high school being in a corn field (it was), it served me quite well. It also kept me pretty insulated from the realities that a lot of other students face and I develop a greater appreciation for the benefits I had for no other reason than being lucky I grew up in a positive environment. My time at Maryland has not just taught me about adversity in our country through textbooks, but it has also given me faces and names to go with it too.
I have met students who have had to fight so hard to earn everything that they have. As a result, education and the opportunities it provides will always resonate with me. That led me to my article about a partnership between Northwestern & CPS. Chicago has a long road ahead in terms of the necessary systemic change to make their system thrive, but programs like this provide opportunity and can demonstrate that there are there are people genuinely interested in the success of students. It also creates role models that can be appreciated and imitated in their communities. I'm really looking forward to watching you all work as role models in your own right.
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