OACS Update

Posted by Eileen Remley on Friday, March 31, 2017 in News Blurbs.

The Office of Active Citizenship and Service invites interested undergraduate students to apply to be part of Local OACS DIVE cohorts launching Fall 2017. DIVE (Design as an Immersive Vanderbilt Experience) is a new, innovative university program with both curricular and co-curricular components that expands access to design thinking methodologies to students, faculty and staff. DIVE participants will learn human-centered design skills in order to solve complex, real-world problems, working in multidisciplinary teams on immersive, mentored projects. Local OACS DIVE cohorts will include direct service with local community partners and the opportunity to apply the human-centered design process to support community-identified challenges, all through the lens of critical service-learning

The Local OACS Dive Experience will include:

• DIVE Boot Camp ideally before, but possibly during, their co-curricular project
• Opportunity to partner with a variety of campus offices, including OACS, the Wond’ry, the Curb Center, and the Jean and Alexander Heard Library (depending on the available projects)
• Multidisciplinary project teams working with local community organizations and members to solve real-world challenges over the course of a semester around themes similar to the ones below:
  • The experience of displaced persons living in Nashville
  • Progression of juveniles through the justice system
  • Food waste
  • Affordable housing
  • Access to equitable education
  • Glass recycling
• Participation in an end-of-the-year showcase to share findings

Applications are now open for the Local OACS DIVE programs that will begin Fall 2017. Local OACS DIVE programs provide students a unique opportunity to work together with local non-profit organizations to address community-identified challenges in innovative ways using the processes of Human-Centered Design. Throughout the semester-long experience, Local OACS DIVE programs will include a theme-focused seminar series, service with a non-profit organization addressing the cohort theme, and hands-on experience applying human-centered design to address community-identified need. Applicants accepted to a Local OACS DIVE program will be invited to join a specific theme-based cohort. Selection will be based on a review of applicant theme interest, major, and skills to strengthen cohort diversity and the learning experience. To learn more about the DIVE program, visit the website.

Cultivating Roots

Thank you to tnAchieves for speaking with the Cultivating Roots cohort about tnAchieves’ success increasing the number of high school students pursuing higher education. The reflective discussion led the cohort to examine how power and privilege affect access to higher education and the content that is taught in schools, the importance of working across the political spectrum towards effective policy creation, and provided a critical analysis of what it means to be a meaningful, reliable, and consistent volunteer at a non-profit organization.

Global Service Programs

The OACS Global Service Programs to Ecuador, South Africa, Morocco, and London are midway through our seminar series. Seminar topics have included Critical Analysis of the Connections between Core Values, Identity and Empathy; Ethical Community Engagement & Critical Service-Learning Theory; International Development & Social Change; and service with the Nashville Food Project & Feed the Children. Cohort members also met with the Islamic Center of Nashville on March 28^th, attending their Islam 101 presentation. This summer will see 55 students participating in the 6-week service immersion experiences between May and August. For more information about Global OACS, please visit the webpage.

VIEW

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations Christina West and Tennessee State Representative John Ray Clemmons were guest speakers for the Vanderbilt Internship Experience in Washington, D.C. (VIEW) program on March 28^th. Assistant Vice Chancellor West and Rep. Clemmons shared about their careers in public service and answered students’ questions about getting started in the field. Many thanks to our guest speakers!

OACS Senior Sendoff

The second annual OACS Senior Sendoff took place on March 31^st in honor of our seniors who devoted time and energy to service, activism, and advocacy during their Vanderbilt tenures. Held in the late spring annually, the Sendoff is hosted in the OACS Lounge and includes snacks, senior gift presentations, and a thank you from OACS staff. The Sendoff marks the first opportunity for OACS to connect with soon-to-be young alumni. Seniors are encouraged to maintain their relationship with OACS and service at Vanderbilt after graduation and are provided with information about alumni opportunities and resources. With increasing the brand of community service at Vanderbilt at the top of the list of recommendations from the Vanderbilt Alumni Association following the results from the 2016 Alumni Attitudes Survey, OACS is keen to increase alumni involvement with the Office of Active Citizenship and Service and build an engaged and active alumni base through programs such as the Senior Sendoff, which values alumni as equal stakeholders.