Coursework

Coursework through my doctoral degree provided the formal training in what it means to be a community engaged scholar. This formal training took on diverse forms from in the classroom, to a national workshop, and even in a foreign country where I was able to put these lessons into practice. Through a foundational course on engaged scholarship, UNIV679, I was given a broad overview of the field including seminal works, theories and conceptual frameworks, and taught one of the core values of CES, which is that the work is not done in silos or isolation, but rather should cut across all areas of your work and continually inform eachother. Upon nomination and acceptance to a Summer Intensive on CES at Michigan State University, I had an opportunity to learn from senior scholars in the field alonside emerging faculty and staff. This Summer Intensive consisted of workshops, panels of faculty researchers and community partners, and presentations focused on best practices in engaged scholarship, and how to position this work within academia. Lastly, through an engaged course on comparative Public Administration, UAPP667, I was able to implement these lessons through a pyramid of the "engaged university," developing an applied research project with community members on educational access for youth sentenced to liberty-depriving measures in Romania. My coursework was an essential element of the certificate program in that I was able to learn the scholarship of the field, and the opportunity for guidance and mentorship as I applied these classroom lessons to the real world.