Cohort Meetings 1-3: Themes and Activities
Meeting 1: Why Engagement?
The first meeting allows Fellows to get to know each other, feel out the program’s culture, philosophy, and structure, and express their goals.
In Meeting 1:
We each share the story of an inspirational learning experience from our lives.
We introduce ourselves, and share why we each chose to be part of the program and what we hope to get out of the experience.
We discuss group norms and expectations.
We hand out and briefly discuss the “Ways to Engage” flyer and Principles of Community Engagement Fellows.
We review advice given by the past year’s Fellows for how people in the current group can make the most of the program.
We review the program structure and answer questions.
Meeting 2: Preparing the Self
The second meeting provides time for Fellows to reflecting on what we have to offer the community, and the ways our identities shape our perceptions and actions in the community (as well as how we are perceived and treated!).
In Meeting 2:
We reflect on which aspects of our identities most shape our approaches to campus-community collaboration, and share insights through conversation.
We discuss how each of us could become better prepared to lead effective, ethical campus-community collaborations. Often this takes the form of giving ourselves advice, which facilitators collect to share with the group.
Fellows are asked to write down several specific actions that they plan to take during the fall to better prepare themselves for their design clinic in the winter.
Patrick Roulet developed opportunities for WWU percussion students to mentor local middle school musicians.
"Participating in the CE Fellows program gave me an opportunity meet colleagues from WWU and the greater Bellingham Community. I enjoyed exploring and discussing the many projects and ideas of my colleagues in diverse disciplines. The CE Fellows discussions and meetings were always a highlight of my week."
- Patrick Roulet
Meeting 3: Preparing Students
In the third meeting, the last one during fall quarter, we think about how to nurture a wide range of students through our engagement efforts and help them prepare for and navigate their relationships with community organizations.
We also give Fellows time to prepare for their design clinic.
In Meeting 3:
We discuss the range of learning styles, assumptions and experiences students bring with them into community engagement opportunities.
We brainstorm about preparation activities that would work well to serve a range to students.
We model the design clinic format, and give Fellows time to write about or discuss the question they might bring to the group during the upcoming design clinics.
Prompts for Meeting 3