My Practicum Review
What did I do for my practicum?
For my practicum I completed GVPT388B, a Government and Politics class that focused on a year long group project on a topic of our choosing. My group elected to focus on affordable housing. During the semester, we identified the problem of affordable housing in College Park and a solution to help fix it. We focused on the College Park-University Partnership that provides assistance to full-time faculty buying a home in College Park neighborhoods. We noticed that even though the program did a great job at encouraging faculty to join the community, it mostly benefitted white, wealthy professors. We wanted to figure out a way to to expand the partnership to include more part-time staff at the university and increase the diversity in the employees that use to the program. Our solution was to pair with other surrounding jurisdictions like Riverdale Park and Hyattsville to help diversify the housing options available, while also expanding the partnership to include part-time staff. This would help to make the program available to a more diverse group faculty at the University and provide more housing options.
What did I learn from my practicum?
Through my practicum I learned a lot about team building and group work. This was one of the first times that I had a semester long project that was truly just run by the students. There was not a lot of structure from the professor and it was our job to police ourselves and make sure that our project was on track. I learned a lot about managing people and what to say to get someone to pick up on work that they were slacking on. It can be difficult to call someone else out who is a student but I learned the appropriate way to talk through things with my group and manage everyone's abilities and restrictions. I also learned a lot about time flexibility and maximizing time available. We had small blocks during class to meet and tons of conflicting classes and clubs so we had to learn to make the most of the time we had together and trust each other to get work done on our own.
How have I grown as a Leader, Student, and Professional?
Through my practicum I have developed a lot as a leader, student, and professional by working on my teamwork and accountability. Being able to work in a team is one of the most underrated skills that a person can have and I am proud to say that I was able to do it successfully while completing my practicum. I learned to listen and learn to be a leader in the background, letting others take the lead with topics they exceled in. The time management aspect also helped improve my abilities as a student. In high school I struggled mightily with procrastination, but working in this group setting was a commitment device because I couldn't afford to let me group mates down as we worked on the project. Finally, I think my professional development grew exponentially because of accountability. When working with other you have to learn to have a soft touch because everyone working with you has the same goal and calling them out publicly isn't the way to get someone to listen to you. You have to hold each other accountable behind closed doors and also be comfortable calling yourself out, holding yourself accountable for your own actions too. The item I elected to upload was our midterm presentation. At the time, we were scrambling to figure out what to do and I learned to take a step back and trust my group mates and in the end I was happy with the product. It would have been easy to call each other out for not having the work done well in advance but we trusted each other and it led to a great result.
How can I apply my practicum to my Life/Career?
I think I can apply the skills from my practicum in any instance moving forward in life that involved working with a team. This felt like a real life situation where in a job we had to work in a team to identify and solve a problem. This experience will definitely help me with whatever I try and do moving forward because working in teams is something people have to do in every job that they do. Leadership in a group environment is difficult because you want to make sure the product is of the highest level but you don't want to boss around people that are your co-workers. This was a great experience for me to be able to draw the line between respecting people equal to me but also trying to take initiative so that our project could be the best possible.
What are my plans moving forward?
For the rest of my time at the University of Maryland I will be attempting to complete my double major in Government & Politics and Criminal Justice & Criminology. These are both fields that interest me and will help prepare me for my plan after college. After obtaining a bachelors degree I plan on attending law school and using that degree to take the bar exam and practice litigation. I feel that this is the best way for me try and help people in the justice system because I'm very interested in law and helping people. Litigation is the best way for me to have a direct impact on people's lives. I don't know what field I want to pursue at this time but I know that practicing law is what I want to do after school.
How Will I incorporate what I learned in PL into my job search?
The number one thing that I can take away from my time in public leadership is the importance of trying to take risks. At the end of the day, people want someone working for them that is confident in themselves and sure of their decisions. Whether it be volunteering in class or stepping out of my comfort zone in a capstone class, I have learned the importance of putting myself out there and will use that skill going forward when searching for a job. I also received valuable leadership experience through the peer mentor program that gave me a unique opportunity to get to know the freshmen below me and learn to be a mentor to others.
In Public Leadership we analyzed different Leadership styles and learned how we can use these styles to help us in our own lives. We discussed present day events, leaders, and crises all around the world and analyzed whether or not those in charge acted responsibly. We conducted a challenge where we gave out grants to different clubs and got to go through an interview process where we learned how to work within a group to a larger goal. This summer I will be taking a position as an Intern at the Health In Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University. There, I will have the unique opportunity to help conduct studies and analyze data related to drug policy and drug reform. I will be able to use my teamwork skills every day at my internship and will be required to work on a team remotely, similarly to how we did our Do Good Challenge. Public Leadership is prepared me immensely for my internship ahead, and I'm very lucky to call myself a College Park Scholar.