Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of South Florida, Inc. Teacher of the Year Coalition 2017 Spirit of Service Learning Recipients and Finalists

Finalists – Higher Education u Maria Cendon

u Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus

u Oscar Gomez

u Miami-Dade College, Interamerican Campus

u Wendy Hinshaw

u Florida Atlantic University

u Kelly Kennedy-Everett

u Miami-Dade College, Hialeah Campus

Maria Cendon Anatomy & Physiology

u  Majors: Nursing, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, with service in hospitals

u  Students identified needs & volunteered to address that need

u  Volunteer experience put a face on academic learning and the hospital environment, fostering empathy and compassion

u  Students became EXTREMELY engaged: 30 hour volunteer requirement often turned into 100 hours

u  Patients benefitted from the emotional support of students

Oscar Gomez English Composition

u  Uses writing and research to identify and reflect on problems and propose an action plan to solve them

u  Students used “Solutions Story Tracker” to learn about previous approaches taken on this issue

u  They went into the community for local research and service-learning

u  Students gave class presentations on their projects in addition to a research paper

u  Based on a connection with Hands on Miami, students chose a class project of painting a mural in the Zen Garden

Oscar Gomez

Wendy Hinshaw Writing for Non-profits

u  Students had a choice of 9 different nonprofits to work with

u  They researched the agency and the issues it addressed

u  They learned the “voice” of the organization

u  They prepared an agency profile report and identified needs

u  Using the “voice” of the agency, the students assisted with communication needs such as public exhibits and social media

Kelly Kennedy-Everett

English Composition

u  Class uses the Global Citizenship Project model to enhance global knowledge, skills and abilities

u  Student groups chose a societal topic to research and volunteered at local agencies with ties to that topic

u  Ongoing student reflection of the service-learning experience - journals and group reflection

u  Volunteer experience provided foundation for required research paper

u  Students gave campus presentations, produced informational videos, provided links to petitions for change and brochures for the various community agencies

Finalists – K-12 u  Science

u Erin Cernuda, Miami Sunset SHS u Carmen Marroquin u Erica Martinez u Brooke Fatima Yubero

u  Social Studies u Amy Lander-Rolon u Rosa Carvajal Alejandro u Mabel Lopez

Erin Cernuda

u  DIG (Dream in Green) Green Schools Challenge and garden club sponsor

u  Led all green activities at Miami Sunset Senior High School which included student led hands on activities such as:

u designing and installing an edible garden on campus

u creating a composting initiative in coordination with the school cafeteria

K-12– Carmen Marroquin Science Educator: Coral Reef SHS

u  Brought the four pillars of Dream in Green to Coral Reef High School.

u  Created a culture of recycling through the water bottle challenge, where the Green Team collected and recycled over 2,000 plastic water bottles.

u  In addition, the Green Team completed a plastic bag drive and educated students and staff on the importance of using reusable bags when shopping.

K-12– Erica Martinez Science Educator: Mater Academy Charter H/MS

u  Created the recyclable water bin. 

u  The water jug was created from a container that was going to be thrown away (similar to a trash bin).

u  The Green Team cleaned it, sanitized and created a water jug collector.

u  This jug is used to collect rain water and used to water the plants.

Erica Martinez

Accepting Dream in Green Award

Science teacher at work - recycling

Going green for transport

K-12– Brooke Fatima Yubero Science Educator: Key Biscayne Presbyterian School

u  Led staff and students by raising environmental awareness through creative projects focused on water conservation, recycling and waste reduction.

u  Encouraged Kindergarten students wanted to create a reusable canvas shopping bag to help eliminate plastic waste on Key Biscayne and to protect the manatees.

u  Children hand painted over 100 canvas bags and sold them to friends and family to raise awareness.

u  The Mayor of Key Biscayne visited Kindergarteners who also received a special invitation to share their ideas at a Village Council Meeting.

K-12– Amy Lander-Rolon Service Learning Project : Miami Killian SHS

u  This class tackled 2 topics:

u  Pedestrian and Bike Safety

u  Student Mental Health education.

u  In their work with mental health they were able to develop a budget neutral plan to provide mental health education for Miami-Dade County students.

u  They were named M-DCPS 2017 Senior High School District Winners representing M-DCPS at the Project Citizen State Competition

K-12– Rosa Carvajal Alejandro Service Learning Project : Norman S. Edelcup Sunny Isles Beach K-8

u  These 7th grade students studied child exploitation and developed a plan to educate their classmates about the danger of human trafficking.

u  In the process, they became 2017 Middle School Florida State Winners, representing the Sate of Florida at the National Project Citizen Competition.

u  They were recognized for their Portfolio and Oral Hearing

K-12– Mabel Lopez Service Learning Project : Hialeah Gardens Middle School

u  These students addressed the needs of veterans.

u  They visited a homeless shelter, organized a toiletry drive and delivered donations to the VA hospital.

u  In addition, they were 2017 Middle School Florida State Winners, representing the Sate of Florida at the Project CitizenNational Competition.

u  Recognized for Portfolio and Oral Hearing, they won 3rd place.

Finalists – Higher Ed

u Laura Finley – Barry University

u Dadilia Garces Mejia – Miami-Dade College, Medical Campus

u  Susan Lichtman– Miami-Dade College, Homestead Campus

Higher Ed – Laura Finley Service Perspective Consciousness and Social Justice:

u  Study of gender inequality, systemic injustices and the importance of activism to reduce social inequalities

u  Specifically, studied the twin social problems of domestic abuse and dating violence

u  Capstone project was the College Brides Walk, an event to bring awareness both problems via workshops, performances and a Brides Walk from Barry to Johnson and Wales University

u  Service-learning students assisted in planning, promoting, implementing and evaluating the event.

Higher Ed – Dadilia Garces Mejia Physician Assistant Program: MDC - Medical

u  Classes: Integrated Behavioral and Community Medicine I and II

u  Students are involved in the annual Project S.E.E.D. health fair (Serving Everyone, Embracing Diversity) serving the migrant and seasonal farmworker population of Homestead

u  The health fair provides a variety of screenings and testing plus health information, awareness and prevention education to the population

u  Student participation exceeds 600 hours

Higher Ed – Susan Lichtman Fundamentals of Speech Communication

u  Class undertook a study of communication behaviors

u  Students choose an agency for their service experience based on personal interest

u  They identified a positive “change maker” in the organization and studied the various aspects of this person’s communication behaviors and how these behaviors contributed to their

u  Students gave a speech or wrote an essay based on their observations

u  2016-17 academic year, approximately 200 students volunteered 2600 hours at 90 agencies.

Finalists – K-12

u  Science – Asia Fernandez

u Caribbean K-8 Center

u High School Social Studies – Rukayat Adebisi

u Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High

u Middle School Social Studies– Ingy Cruz

u Bob Graham Education Center

K-12 – Asia Fernandez

u  Facilitated several environmental sustainability projects

u  Goal was expanding the projects to the community

u  Led the Green Schools Challenge, monthly green projects, and the school won 1st place overall.

u  Led a group of students who participated in the Eco-Hub Competition and won 1st place and a $5,000 award for a greenhouse to produce herbs, fruits and vegetables at the school.

u  School also won a 2nd place BrandsMart Premio Verde award and was featured on Univision 23.

K-12 – Rukayat Adebisi

u  Students focused on the problem of insufficient affordable housing in South Florida

u  Researched legislation and worked to support Barbara Jordan’s proposals

u  Created awareness of the problem and possible solutions

u  Presented their ideas in Project Citizen’s competitions

u  Became 2017 Florida State Winner in the 2017 High School Project Citizen Oral Hearing

K-12 – Ingy Cruz

u  Students tackled the problem of sunny day flooding and its impact on poor coastal communities

u  Won 1st place, 2017 Middle School Florida State Winners

u  Represented the State of Florida at the Project Citizen National Competition

u  Students were recognized for Best Portfolio and Oral Hearing