For my Engaged Project, I collected quarantine stories and experiences from friends and family as well as strangers from all around the globe. Stories were sourced in person, over the phone/voice message, and through the quarantinestories.com blog. My collaborators and I turned these stories into monologues and performed them for a virtual audience in order to create a sense of community, togetherness and hope during these dark times.
Sponsor: Kinley Jones
Student reflection:
My key learning outcomes were:
1) Learning what it takes to bring a project from its planning phase into the “show time” phase.
2) Staying flexible and open to new ideas and understanding that it is ok and part of the process if certain ideas change or evolve into a slightly different direction through research and through action.
3) I also learned how to manage my time better and set little milestones in order to accomplish a larger goal.
Instructor feedback: What a joy it was to be on the sidelines of your Engaged Project journey this semester. You led with curiosity and an open heart, and that allowed you to create a final project that was better than what you had originally imagined. I was impressed with your work ethic throughout the entire process, and I was so pleased to learn that you will leave this experience with so much new insight about yourself. To quote your final course reflection: “I learned that I am a very flexible and adaptable person, and that I love working with others. I also really enjoyed taking on the leadership role, which is something that I never really thought I was particularly good at before embarking on this engaged project journey. I also learned that little steps and goals make things happen. With the right mindset and effort – things just become possible.” I hope you will carry these lessons with you always!
