Civic Identity

Pearl Tate, Kate Alexander, & Anagha Inamdar

Civic Identity → You will gain a greater sense of how your personal skills, abilities, and interests may aide in community development and leadership.

OUR STRENGTHS & THE IMPACT

KATE

Developer, Restorative, Belief, Context, Input

People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements. With my top strength being developer, I was able to use this skill when working with children through our service with Beyond Basics. I was able to identify what the children's strengths and passions were so that we could utilize them within the stories we created.

People who are especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it. As a person who likes to problem solve, I know this skill was effective when working at Arts and Scraps. Our service there required organizing and restructuring of aisles, which had its challenges. By using my problem solving skills, I was able to assist our team in making sure the tasks we were assigned were completed to the best of our ability.

People who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life. I believe serving and giving back to others is one of the main purposes of life. It was moving for me to be serving along others who had the same beliefs as I regarding service. The people we met in Detroit were so passionate and dedicated to creating a better community, it motivate me to want to be better in my own community.

People who are especially talented in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history. Much of this course in preparation to leaving for Detroit was learning about the cultural history of Detroit and its rise and fall. Learning about Detroit's history allowed me to have a better understanding of the circumstances that has shaped Detroit over the years. We also got to experience the Motown Museum, which educated us on the historical importance and influences Motown and Detroit had in music throughout the twentieth century, and even today.

People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.While in Detroit, I found myself always wanting to know more. I wanted to know the stories of the people we met. I wanted to understand the city and learn about every corner. Rachel Zuckerman was kind enough to give us a tour, as well as join us in a reflection one night on the trip. She spoke to us about Detroit's history, its current attempts to better the city, and what the city government is doing to make Detroit a thriving community. I appreciated this very much.

ANAGHA

Empathy, Intellection, Input, Restorative, Achiever

People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations. As empathy is my strongest strength, I was able to understand the situations of the people of Detroit better. I believe that empathy can allow people to provide service to communities with their perspective and priority towards the community members.

People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions. Being introspective really allowed me fully appreciate our visit with The Heidelberg Project. Our team had the opportunity to meet with Tyree Guyton, the artist behind the works. As he spoke of the meaning behind his artwork, while also making us think more about the world, I had a greater sense of perspective about Detroit and its community.

People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information. I found that this strength helped me a lot as we met with Rachel Zuckerman. She was absolutely wonderful in educating us about Detroit's history and present community. Having the Input strength allowed me to take in the information while also processing how our team and future teams could best help with positive improvement.

People who are especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it. Finding solutions to issues is something that really intrigues me. I was able to use this strength as we worked with the Mosaic Youth Theater. My team and I helped with organization, and I was able to help my team by contributing to figure out how best to complete our tasks.

People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive. With this strength, I really believe in doing something to its fullest potential. In regards to service in Detroit, this strength motivated me to provide service as best as possible to make sure that we were truly were helping the community and its people develop positively.

PEARL

Includer, Positivity, Adaptability, WOO, Developer

People who are especially talented in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them. As an includer I was able to create connections with children specifically when working at Beyond Basics and was put into groups with more than one child OR when I was put into a position where I was working with another member of the ASB team. Working together with the team, and the kids we talked to we had to make an overall inclusive atmosphere for all the variety of personalities we interacted with.

People who are especially talented in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do. My positivity helped the overall entire trip for me. By keeping a positive outlook on our overall trip it allowed me to experience more and keep an open mind towards all we experienced.

People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time. Adaptability, in partnership with my positivity allowed me to experience more, and gather a more full experience from all the volunteering we did. Our volunteer positions rarely ended up being wheat we had expected, but using the experiences to their full potential, even when they weren't the original plan, increased the opportunity to learn.

People who are especially talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person. I felt the power of my WOO strength most when we were working at Arts and Scraps and another team of volunteers came in. In this situation, I was able to learn more from them about Detroit and their experiences-even though it wasn't planned.

People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements. When working with the kids at Beyond Basics I was able to utilize my developer skills, and improve on them in trying to keep the kids see that they had stories worthy of being told. The entire Beyond Basic's purpose is that of a Developer, so I felt right at home here, and had the feeling that I was having a direct impact on the kids I was working with.

Use this link to find your own Strengths!

https://uiowa.gallup.com

how can we help in the future

Use what we learned about the arts in Detroit to provide service in other communities
Educate others and encourage them to be active in their community
Provide and engage in spaces that encourage dialogue surrounding civic engagement
Teach others how art programs can make a difference in communities
Educate others that small tasks can still contribute to big change

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