Group Artifacts
Above, a hiking excursion with youth at the Arcata Adventure Camp, 2021
Below are reflections on my group artifacts, the titles of the artifacts will link you to the document.
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This paper was a dive into a youth-serving organization to understand its mission and how they accomplish it. It also investigated a community and assessed its disposition to area youth. I was linking the actions and outcomes of the organization to frameworks and concepts learned in this introductory class. The assignment was designed to allow students to take theories we were learning and apply them to the world, creating real-world examples and linkages that underpinned the Youth Development Leadership Master’s Program. As part of the assignment, I interviewed one of the managers at the Arcata Department of Recreation, a municipal organization in the town I was living in and had worked for that summer. I was a ‘director’ of one of their summer camps, Adventure Camp, and had just completed the summer rotation of programs and had a sense that this was just a sliver of a more extensive program that had been developed for the youth in the area.
Before conducting the interview, I was instructed to run a Google search of the community I was to write about and assess the disposition of the community towards the youth that lived there. For Arcata, California, the results were mostly positive, yet the results were more varied for the larger area, including Eureka and other neighboring communities. Substance abuse and gang-related activity were evident in the areas that boarded Arcata.
The interview was an enlightening experience as I learned how the whole summer program and other local school initiatives were designed to build leadership in youth. I understood that the most successful programs were led by young adults and program alums participating in the various summer camps the Department of Recreation put on for their youth. This is not dismissive of the community members and College students that acted as leaders in the program; the youth were situated to understand the culture and core concepts in the summer programs. Ultimately the hope was that the child could stay in the community and become leaders. Relating to Lerner et al. (2011) and their discussion of the “Big 3” and bidirectional influence resulting in youth nurtured and connected with positive development can become positive leaders in the community. Anecdotally the community needed adults who were youth in the community to advocate and take leadership roles in the community, an attempt at rebuilding a community ravaged by the war on drugs, substance abuse, economic depression, and deforestation.
This artifact, the interview, and the activity of googling your community to understand its disposition toward youth in the area were and will continue to be very important for me in the future. Since the fall of 2021, I have moved twice, once returning to Southern California and the Santa Barbara region, where I lived and worked at a residential camp, and a second time to Santa Barbara proper to work with a nature-based youth-serving organization. Both times I researched the community perspective and the organization through informal interviews into the stands and frameworks they had set up to create positive changes in youth. In addition, this paper works as a framework that informs how I view an organization, how I look at the ideas and ideals an organization discusses, and weigh them against the actions and methods organizations use to create the changes they hope to see. This creates an idealized look into an organization and its hope for its mission that can be paired against the information learned in YDP 8030, “Creative and Ethical Leadership in a Changing Society.”
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While Listed Under Group Artifacts, this was an Individually Made Artifact.
For this artifact, you can find the ‘Newsletter’ on this website under the heading of ‘Outdoor Time.’ I wrote this to reach out to parents who would be sending their youth to the outdoor school program at the camp I was the assistant director; as fate has it, I am no longer employed there. The paper focuses on how ‘sleep-away science camps’ can facilitate the transition from middle childhood to adolescence, nurturing a love for nature and the environment.
While thinking and writing about this paper, two concerns were top of mind, the first being that many of the models and theories were designed and researched with European & White Americans in mind and the second being that the youth I was envisioning and writing about was just recently coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory and Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development are the theoretical frameworks based on European experience. While they give great insights and perspectives, they are limited to the immigrant and non-European experience, which accounts for many of the youth served by the camp. I hoped that I would learn from authors and theorists that can account for these alternative perspectives and experiences, as of the time of writing, I have not done this research. This creates a hole in the knowledge base and is one I plan on rectifying after completing the YDL Master Program.
The second concern addressed in the paper is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on youth. I firmly believe in the power of time outdoors and time in nature and its positive effects on humans of all ages and stages; this is especially true after the lockdowns in California that included the closing of parks and green spaces in some locations.
This paper had me think through many of the ideas and concepts of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and how I could apply them to the camp world. While I am no longer a camp director, I believe these concepts ring true and are essential for an organization that delivers sleep-away camp experiences. Using Bronfenbrenner and Erikson’s models as a first step, I am looking to expand my education to include the perspective of BIPOC communities, namely those in the communities I work. The communities include but are not limited to, immigrant and first-generation Mexican and El Salvadorian families, African Americans, and Chumash communities in the Santa Barbara region on Chumash land, where I live.
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This was a collaborative effort; everyone brought a unique experience and voice to the work. The idea was to create a program for youth, bringing in best practices learned in the course and personal experience. We set about discussing different models and ideas for programs, one that would challenge youth but also be a program that the community could run, one of the “Eight Features Which Promote Positive Youth Development” (Mahoney, Larsen, & Eccles, 2005).
The integration of time in nature was important for all involved, but we spent a good bit of time discussing what kind of nature, meaning a national or state park or a local park or green space. We decided on local county and city parks, accessible places for the youth we imagined implementing the program with; I was reminded of the privilege I had by starting the master’s program while living adjacent to the Redwoods of Northern California and at the time of the paper in the mountains and oak groves above Santa Barbara.
The privilege I was recognizing also led to the name of the program: “Acorn to Oaks.” While I was in California, one colleague was in the Midwest, and the other was on the East Coast; we all had a variety of Oak trees in our local and the name “Acorn to Oaks” was universal.
The program was designed to meet the “Eight Features Which Promote Positive Youth Development” (Mahoney, Larsen, & Eccles, 2005), and we felt that not only would this program benefit youth but also the community.
I wanted to see a program that, while designed, initiated, and scaffolded by professional Youth Development leaders, was accessible and run by the community. So often, many programs specialized to youth can be expanded to the greater community but are closed off and limited for mitigating and reasonable explanations. There are programs and good reasons why a program would exist that way, but we took an idea for a youth program and expanded it, and if implemented would serve not only the youth but the community.
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Tackling how to train staff with a thoughtful onboarding program is a monumental task, speaking from experience. As a participant and leader of various onboardings, this project let me and my colleagues take a creative perspective on the process. While this was written for a camp that had a religious focus, the whole project could be modified easily to fit secular organizations, camps, and non-residential camps alike.
The plan and discussion for training give a way to build trust and commitment to new and existing staff and, while focused on support staff, those who often work behind the scenes to make an organization work; they are the backbone of any functional organization. We wanted to give the same commitment to those who support an organization's mission, viewing them as essential as those who work with youth.
This project felt essential for me, as someone who has been in roles that were both working with children and behind the scenes supporting educators and youth leaders. Those who do not work directly with youth were not given the same onboarding and celebration of their role; in the development of this program, we can give them the same support and weight as their counterparts.
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This paper was an excellent example of taking a concept that I was familiar with, as I had designed similar programs and worked through the execution and development of the concept using a theoretical framework and evidence-based research. During the development of the program, my co-writer and I drew on experience to write the program's activities. We then developed the concepts and articulated the processes that the activities aimed to achieve. We learned how to apply the concepts of Authoritative parenting by developing a camp-based program that rearticulated and reframed the concepts learned in YDP 8050.
As an actionable plan, the artifact is a framework to be developed further, as neither my cowriter nor I are located within the organizations we described. The artifact is a rough draft of a more thorough plan that meets the resources and needs of a community and an organization that serves that community.
Similar concepts and ideas can be applied to differing versions of a family camp. The ropes course element is used in the paper as a focal point. These experiences can be outside the financial levels of organizations that do not have facilities with these present. Still, partnerships and connections with other organizations can realize these or present additional opportunities.
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Promising Practices for Talking to Youth about Racism
This presentation, presented as a pdf, was delivered to the class and developed with four others. This is a presentation I would like to develop again, having deepened my knowledge and understanding of youth development and racism. We presented the solutions to talking to youth on the topic by being allies and affirming youth voices, but these feel nebulous in the real world.
The development of an EQUIP, as seen in the individual artifact for YDP 8060, would work to not only explain how to talk to you but create a plan or program that tackles the concept. Presenting this information to a class prepared me to have competent conversations surrounding race and support a discussion concerning race and youth with researched and thought-out concepts.
Like many papers and presentations completed during the YDL program, the presentation is an entry into a larger discourse and body of knowledge. Concepts learned here continue to evolve, and so must my understanding and self-education. I will take the information learned in YDP 8060 and act as an ally to the youth I serve, using intentionality in the language I choose, valuing their words and
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Week Three Recap, Articulating Program Theory.
This is a weekly recap focusing on articulating program theory. The purpose is to develop a deeper understanding of program theory and describe how program activities will accomplish developmental outcomes. By developing the slides and being able to explain the concepts to fellow students, I developed a deeper mastery of the content and information.
I affirmed the content learned in the class and reinforced the use of logic models and theories of change. Saying a program works is not enough but developing an evaluation for both participants and those delivering the programs, keeping in mind how those who deliver programs may adapt content to meet their audience. Measuring and comparing adaptations to results is crucial to program development and evaluation.
The need for and understanding established logic models and theory of changes, evaluating them, and redeveloping them when needed is core to my understanding of YDL8040. While evaluations are not a strength, the development and redevelopment of programs based on logic models has been strengthened by this class, artifact and Master’s Program.
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This group artifact diagrammed how youth could be transformed into sustainability-minded adults, utilizing the Big 3, and relationships with adults and nature. Bringing in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and bi-directionality, how influence moves in both directions, we built a visual representation for influencing positive youth development and environmental mindfulness.
The visual aspect of this artifact hung in my office when I was an Assistant Camp Director, reminding me of my responsibility as a leader and the influence the environment can have on youth. Continuing as a mentor in youth nature connection, I am reminded of the power of positive nature-based experiences and the importance of intentional environmental education.
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Finishing the Proposal
This group artifact brought together three camp professionals to design and develop an infographic around a specific topic in grant writing. We chose to develop the idea of finishing the proposal, as so much time is put into writing, researching, and creating a proposal that developing a way to communicate the finishing touches seemed relevant to each of us.
The discussion about what details to include and how to portray the finishing touches contained a frequent phrase: “it depends.” Each grant is unique; there are not many standardized requirements or structures for a document that can determine if an organization thrives or suffers. We attempted to cover all the bases for details and explain when aspects would be required.
This artifact brought me closer to understanding the process of creating grants from start to finish. As we were told frequently, we engaged in an overview of the process, but in reality experience will be the best teacher.
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This artifact and the class encouraged a discussion and dialogue about what being a leader means as a manager, CEO, and, most importantly, with colleagues. Being a leader in the youth development field means putting the individuals who serve the youth first, listening, and empowering them to shape the organizational goals and future.
We tackled the idea of employee development, the why for employers, and the how through a case study of a workplace that invests in their employees, Google. We developed the argument, based on research, that employers who work to build up their employees’ functions at a higher and more productive rate. Through the in-class discussion, we developed the concepts of servant leadership, a tenement concept to the class and now a part of my ethos concerning leadership.
While the presentation does not display much information, the heart of the conversation dug into how an organization can flourish with quality leadership. The class discussed a dialogue between organizational and employee goals and creating a culture and space where both will develop and support one another. Developing and investing in employees can be considered synonymous in this context, an essential concept for anyone who manages or leads staff.
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Gender Differences in the Five C’s of Youth Development
This project measured the gender differences in Positive Youth Development (PYD) by measuring the 5’c through a Qualtrics survey administered to youth in the 3rd grade. They were primed with understanding how to answer questions and administered them during school. The results showed no statistical difference between genders in their PYD. After the development of the artifact, we were made aware that the measure was designed for an older demographic, and there might have been a more relevant measure for our age group.
For my part in the project, I developed the Qualtrics survey and harvested the data, collecting and translating it into the tables and charts for the paper; I also played a strong role in the discussion and general input during the development of the artifact. The processing and development of the survey by translating the acquired questions and inputting them into the web-based software was a steep learning curve.
Often referred to as the back-end development of a survey was a piece of learning that I can apply to future endeavors. I intend to use this knowledge and develop surveys for outdoor education and nature connection organizations to measure their impacts on the served youth. The learning that occurred in 8410 for survey development will serve me well.