Jen Reid's Reflection:  Working Through It

Coming into this class, my eccentric blend of work experience already coloured my perspective.  At the time, I was only vaguely aware of how Dr. Smith's version of COMS463 was going to implement community service-learning (CSL).  It was the beginning of my final semester, and I sought a way to phase back into the work mentality.  Several years as a student makes you think a certain way, and I felt encouraged by the opportunity to think and work once again as a team member, as a leader, as a writer, and as a graduating student with great hope for a new career.

The past four months have been loaded with CSL experiences.  As "Editorial Coordinator" for this group, I've used the skill, knowledge and experiences I have in order to guide my team through a unique project in an already unique and refreshing course.  I was also enrolled in GNST313: Interdisciplinary Research Methodologies with Linda Vennard, where I participated in an in-depth group research project for the Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse team to research the Roughnecks' promotions and attendance by University of Calgary students. 

Another course instituted community service-learning more accidentally -- a seminar on sport and identity.  In the fall, I applied to be part of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games as a volunteer during reading week.  Early in 2010, however, they asked me to join them for the extent of the Games as part of the web communications group.  This was an opportunity too good to pass up, so I packed my bags and joined them for much of the month of February, during which time my group member Alee stepped into the role of Editorial Coordinator in my stead.

While VANOC was, originally, an unwitting community partner, my instructor (Lisa Stowe) encouraged me to look at my Olympic experience in two ways: as a personal reflection (through a paper and a photo essay presented to the class) and academically, as a paper regarding the Olympics and new media.  My supervisor was highly receptive to my thoughts on the experience, as a longtime sport event employee and volunteer, and he awaits a final report, for an academic insight into the process, which he sees as vital to the progress of a sport organization.

There are challenges in any course or project.  Sometimes your memory banks run out of space, or you misunderstand a concept, or some assignments become difficult because you cannot find any part of yourself in it.  The latter situation is tough to avoid at times -- I have retained very little from those courses, essentially purging the knowledge from my brain for lack of application.

All of these experiences have been memorable and invaluable.  The theoretical basis combined with projects serving real organizations is more organic and holistic; I feel as though I have a greater depth and breadth of knowledge and perspective in each of these courses than any others I have taken throughout my degree.  I truly believe that getting in and getting my hands dirty is the best way to experience the field, and is integral to my future.

The element of group work is vital to community service-learning, and is a great deal of what keeps it "real".  We have taken a "zen" approach to this course and the way CSL is implemented.  We have sought a certain level of harmony.  We have tried not to look at the origins, the process and the end result as discrete, independent factors, but instead, a unified goal (and for once, a unified way of getting there).  We have chosen to split up our tasks according to our strengths, but there is a full and open dialogue as far as the process and the knowledge we're looking to gain.  The final result is also worth so much more to us as it reaches beyond us as individual, connected students, and I guarantee that even this reflection will come back to me in the future, as a past lesson and an ongoing encouragement of potential.

To segue into the next stage, a graduating student requires a little push in the right direction.  Community service-learning this semester has given me several opportunities to show that I am a student, a citizen, and a member of a community; to show that I can manage my own projects, to see where strengths and weaknesses lie, and to truly engage in projects and research using methods and approaches which I can apply to future work and life.


Recommended Reading:  Reflections from Alee, Ann and Bryce; Contributors