JAGS Capstone Service Project

Explanation of Service

Presentation about Stuttering

Steps and Goals:

The primary goal of this service project is to reduce inequalities for stuttering people. I wanted to focus more on the educational aspect, as one of the biggest stages of life for stuttering people is school. It's a place where bullying can occur, teachers often do not understand the struggles and accommodations that students need, and overall it can lead to a heightened level of social anxiety and harmful behaviors that can heavily impact the stuttering student. In turn, the main direction of my project was to create an environment in Jackson Local Schools where all stuttering students would be accepted and encouraged to speak. Oftentimes, stuttering students do not realize that stuttering does not make or break them. As a stutterer myself, I used to believe that stuttering was preventing me from building relationships and succeeding at speaking due to the stigma that I faced, but ultimately it was up to me to make the decision to speak. However, certain conditions can allow stuttering students to feel more comfortable in their own skin, and I really wanted to inspire teachers. In turn, I decided to perform a speech about stuttering on a staff day to inspire teachers to be aware of when a kid is stuttering, and how to properly approach the situation. I also made the project more of a motivational speech, and a speech based around equality and acceptance. That moment of speaking in front of all those teachers was really inspiring to the audience and to myself, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to share a positive message about stuttering and to educate others about stuttering. I also found that this project was the main culmination of my JAGS journey. I often found myself through my high school career lacking the confidence socially to participate in class, engage in relationships, and simply be a normal student. However, with this project, I was able to go beyond those previous barriers and grow as a person and as a communicator. 

Mentor Connection:

My mentor for my service project was Mrs. Schumann. She is the speech language pathologist at Jackson High School. She helped me with the logistics of my project, by being a connection to Mr. Ziders to schedule my speech on a staff day. She also supported me by filming my speech, with the purpose of the film to send the video to the guidance counselors of all the schools in the district, in order to truly spread my message to all teachers and staff. Mrs. Schumann also read my speech and overviewed the content to ensure that the speech was sufficient enough. Overall, Mrs. Schumann was a huge help and we had meetings and email chains throughout the year to continue the project. Along with Mrs. Schumann, Dr. Palasik of Akron University supported me the entire time. He provided positive feedback about my project, the best ways to communicate my ideas, and helped me practice before the big day. I am indebted eternally to these two wonderful people, and I am beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to work with them both. 

Sustainable Development Goals:

The sustainable development goal that was most similar to the direction of my project was goal #10, Reduce Inequalities. I hoped to accomplish this goal by providing education to the teachers about stuttering, in order to remove many negative stereotypes and stigma that can sometimes exist in the classroom. In theory, if the teachers are aware of stuttering people's needs in the class, then the classroom will be a more suitable environment for stuttering students. I have experienced personally a negative environment to stuttering kids, and my goal is to craft an environment where the students can flourish. The entire message of this goal was to create an equal playing field for all, and stuttering people have historically been in an uphill battle to be represented equally in the public sector and to be respected equally in the public sector. With this project, I hoped to expel those negative stereotypes about stuttering people, and provide methods for teachers to accommodate the students who stutter in a more positive way, rather than being ignorant of the issues that this minority group faces.

Memoir

Introduction

Last year, when I still had many difficulties with my confidence, I wrote an essay documenting my personal experiences with stuttering, and the many hindrances that my speaking difficulties caused me. It was a negative essay, with a self-pity type of message that I am not proud of, nor endorse anyone doing. The goal of a memoir is to grow as a human being and demonstrate an element of change, and this new memoir hopes to show my development as a person due to this project, and the exemplification of the JAGS cornerstone ¨communicate ideas,¨ a cornerstone that I personally lacked in the past, but have come to fulfill the promise with this project. Enjoy!

My Way

The soft beginning of the song in the car caused me to keep my head held up high. I adorned a black suit, with a white shirt in the same way that he did, with black pants and black shoes. I wore a professional scent of cologne, and tore away the previous hoodies that I had worn during my years at Jackson. Frank Sinatra's lyrics preached to me, related to me. I felt like the great performer himself, but in a different way. Instead of performing a masterful rendition of a song, I had to face my biggest fear, speaking in front of others. In years past, I would have longed for accommodations for assignments, never raised my hand, nor my voice. I felt like Chief from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, someone of grand stature and voice but who lacked the confidence to speak his mind, despite intelligence and importance. 

Tears began to drip from my eyes when I realized the magnitude of this moment. My past history of shrinking and floundering due to my stutter was soon extinguished. My Way continued to play with passion and intensity, which furthered my tears. Freshman year me would have never imagined that I had the guts to do something like this, something I shied away from for so long, too long. Sophomore year me would have found some excuse to avoid the speech. Junior year me would have run away from vulnerability with a facade of masculinity. However, with this speech, I was performing a service to the staff by teaching about stuttering, and to myself by plundering those islands of fear. I thought of the lyrics that Sinatra sang, ¨But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up, and I spit it out.¨ 

The foggy and gray day did not reflect how I felt on the inside. My shoes made a  profound clicking sound as I walked up to the doors of the high school, with my suit freshly dry cleaned and pressed. This life, which had been taken away from myself, would not be seized. My soul was boundless and open, and the fire was ignited in my heart. All previous expectations were gone, all fears and insecurities finished, this was my moment–and it would not be taken from my stutter. I had something valuable to say. 

As I processed to the middle of the congregation, I saw the peering eyes of my past teachers and supporters. I soon realized that I wasn´t the only person who waited eagerly for this moment, but all my past teachers knew the magnitude of the moment for me, and were waiting for this moment of brilliance as well. I stuttered throughout the entire speech. But I did not allow it to overcome my thoughts. I spent so much time running away from my stutter that I forgot to embrace this unique aspect of myself. Something that was not negative, nor positive, but simply neutral. The only thing that was stopping me was myself, and the label of the stutter being negative. I spoke with eloquence and determination, and I fulfilled my six foot 2 stature. Oftentimes in the past I thought of myself being small when I spoke, but I was big. I kept my chest and head held high, and I stuttered with no consequence. 

When the speech ended, I was met with thunderous applause and hugs from my biggest supporters. I never would have imagined a room clapping for me, a stutterer, but they did. The content of my speech helped teachers understand my perspective, and the perspective of the future of stuttering students that they may have. I ultimately faced the daunting task of facing my stutter head on, instead of shrinking like I did previously. I ate up my past doubts and insecurities, and spit them out. I can imagine my third grade self stepping into speech therapy for the very first time, and I could see myself that day leaving speech therapy for the final time. I was ready to face the challenges of life, and the speech was only a precursor to future confidence to speak whenever I wanted to speak. I felt like a phoenix, reborn from the previous ashes and transformed into completion.

Teacher Response Book

This book documented the impact that my speech had on many people in the audience that day, and contained words of encouragement and acceptance. Evidence of the impact that the speech had on the staff at Jackson High School.