Students will study professional behaviors appropriate for placement in fieldwork sites. Successful work skills, advocating for the Occupational Therapy profession, creative planning and client-centered practice in the community will be explored. This is a designated Community-Engaged Learning course.
Service Learning Reflection
Community Partner
1220
We quickly formed a group, consisting of five of us and chose to partner with the IRC or International Rescue Committee. I was excited to work with this specific group of ladies as I knew that each would be an asset to the team. I was eager and looking forward to meeting up with the director of the IRC which was located in Salt Lake City.
Yda set a date for us to meet and begin our collaboration on the service project. Although she was unable to attend our meeting, we were greeted by Jonessa and another employee. They led us through a winding hallway that connected large rooms that were awkwardly divided. The narrow halls were lined with bins that contained donations half full of unused diapers, clothes and miscellaneous items.
After a brief introduction we were given a run down on their mission at the IRC of helping new commers integrate into the community. Many of which do not speak the language. After listening to their needs, we agreed to work on developing a document that focused on utilizing the transportation system in Salt Lake County and surrounding areas through the UTA transit system.
This was going to be an overwhelming project on top of an already busy schedule. We made a plan and divided the load. Each of us worked hard and through much correspondence back and forth we were able to deliver two different documents that they were able to utilize. One is a simplified version with QR codes and pictures and the other with more step-by-step instructions, with the ability and control to manipulate and change it as they need.
This project really stretched me. I learned a lot of about how to use and edit a document and Canva. I learned about the IRC and the work they do there. There are over 600 people who will benefit from our work and six different languages that will be addressed. Individuals can meet with the transportation specialist to receive the information through a printed hand out and access more detailed descriptions through the QR codes. I learned just how difficult it is for an English-speaking person, like myself, to navigate the transportation system, so I can’t imagine how difficult it is to do so in another language. We received all positive feedback so it is my hope that it will be a useful tool for the IRC.