Vanderbilt Register:SNAP training serves as a lesson for all

SNAP training serves as a lesson for all

by: Staci I. Shipp

Spending two months together over the summer, the Vanderbilt students who make up Student and Native American Partnerships learned not only about themselves, but each other, the needs of different communities and how easy it can be to help others even if it means just listening.

In mid-June, SNAP leader Jason Dinger, eight Vanderbilt students and a teacher from the University School of Nashville, set out in a 31-foot RV to visit Seba Dalkai School, located on the Navajo reservation near Winslow, Ariz.; Chief Leschi School and Cascade Christian School in Puyallup, Wash.; and Enterprise Middle School in Compton, Calif., one of the poorest school systems in the country.

SNAP spent a week at each of the schools providing hands-on training in information technology using culturally specific training programs SNAP designed. They also connected the schools to SNAP's e-mailing and videoconferencing network. In addition, SNAP visited Narrows Glen Retirement Home in Tacoma, Wash., to introduce its residents to the technology and include them in the network.

The SNAP members, who returned to campus Aug. 6, are seeing the results of their work in such forms as e-mail. Sixty Enterprise Middle School students, who did not receive SNAP training, recently sent individual messages to SNAP, proof that some of the 60 students who were trained have been serving as resources for their schools, teaching others what SNAP taught them. That sort of transfer of knowledge is what the group hopes to accomplish, said Dinger, a public policy major who will graduate in December. Before attending medical school, he will serve a one and a half-year stint as PathFinder of SNAP, continuing the responsibilities he's held since he established the organization in 1996.

In addition to the technology training, SNAP also conducted communication activities to encourage the students and teachers to learn about each other's differences and break down stereotypes in an effort to improve communication. SNAP also worked at "empowering" the students, building confidence in them by having them develop a technology plan for their school and present it to the principal.

In addition to teaching and implementing technology, the Vanderbilt students dedicated their time to learning about the people and the area they visited in order to assist their needs. As a result, one of SNAP's current projects involves the development of satellite technology to provide affordable Internet access much needed on the Navajoland, where Seba Dalkai High School is located.

Dinger said most of the people SNAP encountered were not only grateful for the technology training, but also for having someone who will listen to their concerns for their schools and communities.

"I think what motivates us is working with people who aren't heard," said Dinger. "All we really did was go and listen. It's difficult for us, especially after being there for only a brief period of time, to comprehend the isolation that some teachers and students live in and at the same time, what it really means to have people listen to what their needs are. There is a lot to be gained from saying, 'Where are you What are your needs How can we help?' that can be a great service that we all provide."

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