Civic Leadership Conference

Attending the Fall leadership conference taught me many things about community organizing and activism. The Friday afternoon session taught me the importance of evaluating the reasons behind why we serve. We need to be aware of the biases and privilege that exist within the system in which we are participating. Radical hope is not a glossed-over and blind optimism about one's own ability to change things, but involves having a more humble and informed approach to our service. Radical hope is hope in the face of a true understanding of the complexities, challenges, and difficulties involved in the endeavor. The Saturday session discussed our approach when conducting research that involves diverse communities. For the Saturday session, I also had the opportunity to practice interpreting part of it. Practicing our interpreting skills and receiving feedback from our teacher and members of the Deaf community in this way is invaluable, and supports our goal of serving and being allies to the Deaf community.