Cohort VI has arrived!! The IYFD program continues to expand, and it is exciting to have a group of thirteen students in this year's cohort. We will continue to post updates as the year progresses.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Cohort VI
Cohort VI has arrived!! The IYFD program continues to expand, and it is exciting to have a group of thirteen students in this year's cohort. We will continue to post updates as the year progresses.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Spring 09 Graduation Speech
Erin Andersons IYFD Graduation Speech
Spring 09
On behalf of the Intercultural Youth and Family Development Program I would like to thank you all for coming and bearing witness to the fact that after months of balancing coursework, finals, internships, professional projects, dissertations, full-time jobs, and somewhat of a social life, we have all finally reached this culminating, and for many, expensive day.
Three weeks ago, I received a call from a brilliant girlfriend of mine who is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail (she is always the friend that regardless of her whereabouts she somehow still manages to keep all of us informed about political and academic conversations taking place throughout the world). She referred me to a recent Op-Ed article in the New York Times written by Mark C. Taylor, the chairman of the religion department at Columbia. The article is entitled “End the University as We Know It.” Taylor states, “GRADUATE education is the Detroit of higher learning. Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market (candidates for teaching positions that do not exist) and develop skills for which there is diminishing demand (research in subfields within subfields and publications in journals read by no one other than a few like-minded colleagues), all at a rapidly rising cost (sometimes well over $100,000 in student loans).” He goes on to offer a six point list of strategies that academia can consider in order to change the infrastructure of our higher educational system. I mention this article not to discredit any of the work that we all have done, but to acknowledge that we are the individuals that will bring about this change and reform in our local and global communities.
In the past two years – and for some of you it has been close to four - we have cried because of social strife and red tape. We have worked with children, youth, and communities who have been endlessly oppressed and whose chance of recovery in their lifetime is often limited. We have witnessed and/or studied emotional and psychological trauma of local and global populations. We have engaged in battles-political and social agendas- where we have been misinformed and misrepresented. We have worked through endless hours of the night to finish a degree knowing that we may find ourselves in an economic, social, or occupational situation that Taylor references. And yet, we have continued to place our hearts on the line for the children, youth, and families we have worked with to make their voices heard. We have researched world issues, written grants, and contacted global and community based organizations in order to become more informed, to find a means to accomplish collective community goals, and to organize programs that promote sustainable social development. We have rallied, stood in line, and sent in absentee ballots to elect national officials who represent a voice of peace and social justice. And, we have invested whatever money we do or do not have in the local economy - in hopes that economic restructuring will happen soon. Our convictions combined with our upset have given us a sense of balance.
One of the most important ideas that I have retained from my IYFD Graduate School experience is also what Taylor presents in his article. Academia is needed because it pushes us to question, “The system” and in order to stand witness to change we need to maintain our resiliency, our open-mindedness, and, to quote Taylor, “create problem-focused programs that are constantly evolving.”
I feel that I am able to speak for my fellow cohort members who are here today, Joshua and Kendra, and those who could not be here Julia, Lynn, Lindsey, Becca, and Laura when I thank all of you: faculty, advisors, families and friends for your tireless dedication to our mental and emotional stability, our individual success and the continued mission to provide a comprehensive program invested in self-awareness and positive social change. So, congratulations to everyone.
I am, definitely, a cynic, but I am also an idealist, and I truly believe that our communities are enriched by our dedicated lifelong pursuit for equality, social justice, healthy families, and comprehensive education. I will end with Taylor’s signature parting note to his students. He states, “Do not do what I do; rather, take whatever I have to offer and do with it what I could never imagine doing and then come back and tell me about it.” So I encourage all of you to use what you know, be innovative, and take action.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Another Cohort Leaving
Well, we have almost finished another year, and another great one it's been. Students may want to add their 2 cents, but for now I just want to say that we are sending another inspired, hopeful and dedicated group of youth workers out into the world. So far we know that two are headed for Belize. Holly Armstrong is headed there with Peace Corps, and Polly Pillen is going a member of the Jesuit Volunteers. We have 3 other people awaiting their PC assignment, and will update this blog as soon as we have the information. Waganesh, our Ethiopian student, and Felicia, our student from Ghana will both be staying in Missoula and doing their internships with youth in this town.
Read more >>
Monday, November 10, 2008
Got Grants?
As Cohort V begins work on the grant writing aspect of Otto Koester's Applied Skills course, we thought it would be good to take a look at some of the funds that IYFD students and professors have secured in the past. Several proposals submitted by students in Otto’s grant-writing class have been funded in the past two years, providing needed support for a variety of community agencies. These include:
Julie Schillreff (Cohort III) - $5,000 training grant from the Montana Law Foundation to support the efforts of the Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula County.
Kendra Jimenez (Cohort IV) - $5,000 training grant for the Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula County.
Lynn Debilzen and Laura Corcoran (Cohort IV) - $8,400 grant from the Sliver Foundation, to be used for playground equipment for the Missoula YWCA.
Erin Anderson (Cohort IV) and Elizabeth Murphy (Cohort II) - $42,000 grant from the Llewelyn Foundation to Missoula Youth Homes.
Joshua Lisbon (Cohort IV) - 19,500 grant for a wilderness program he has designed for at-risk youth he has worked with through WORD in Missoula.
In addition, Lynne and Nancy were successful in obtaining UM Faculty Development Visiting Scholar funds to bring Dr. Martha Erickson to campus in April 2008. Dr. Erickson is Co-Chair of the President’s Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families at the University of Minnesota, where she also directs a certification program in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. She specializes in linking research, practice, and public policies in the areas of parent-child attachment, child abuse prevention, and children’s mental health concerns. Dr. Erickson and her colleagues have developed the STEEP program (Steps Toward Effective, Enjoyable Parenting) which is an outgrowth of more than 25 years of longitudinal studies regarding early prevention/intervention with families and young children living in high-risk circumstances. She has also developed a video feedback strategy for working with these families, and oversees training for people implementing these programs both nationally and internationally. IYFD students were able to attend Dr. Erickson’s workshop as well as a luncheon discussion of recent efforts on behalf of young children in Tanzania.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Welcome, Cohort V
Cohort V has arrived!
The fifth IYFD cohort arrived on campus August 23, 2008 for orientation. Fall semester is off to a great start with a bunch of fresh faces from all over the country and all over the globe! The group was welcomed in traditional Missoula style with a potluck during the first week at the Koester's home (see photo). A visit by Peace Corps Master's International manager Eric Goldman on September 8 already has people thinking about applications and what's in store for next year! Stay tuned to see what adventures Cohort V encounters...!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Kyrgystan NGO Executive Director Visits IYFD
In mid-March, IYFD was honored to host Garth Willis, the founder and executive director of The Alpine Fund. Garth was brought to Missoula by Jess Lewis and Lukin Murphy (both of Cohort III), who applied for funding through the Office of International Programs after meeting Garth in Minneapolis. The Alpine Fund is a small, locally based, non-profit, non-governmental, secular organization that uses the incredible mountain resources of Kyrgyzstan to help the country’s most vulnerable youth challenge themselves for future success. For more information, check out www.alpinefund.org and the article that was featured in the Missoulian.
Read more >>
Peace Corps Lessons
Arianna Robinson, a member of Cohort III, recently shared some great lessons for Cohort IV and future cohorts from Peace Corps Peru. A little bit about Ari and what she is doing:
Arianna Robinson began her internship June 2007 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru working with youth. She spent three months in culture, language and technical training while living with a host family in Chosica, Peru. Arianna will spend the next two years working in Catilluc, Cajamarca, a small rural town in the northern highlands of Peru, with a youth center and the local health center. She will be responsible for classes on health, women’s rights, and vocational training. Arianna was selected as a member of the Peace Corps Peru Women and Gender committee where she works to establish educational tools for volunteer use in the field. Her primary goal for her time in Catilluc is to make the youth center sustainable, but she also hopes to teach computer classes, create a group of youth health promoters, as well as teach Yoga. Arianna already is starting to see success in her early projects in Catilluc and with the Women and Gender committee.
Ari's lessons on internship:
Dear IYFD Cohort IV,
Greetings from rainy Catilluc, Cajamarca in the mountains of Peru. I hope this letter finds you all doing well and enjoying this very busy but rewarding year in the IYFD program. I can’t believe it was just a year ago I was sitting on the same chairs you all are wondering where life was going to take me, if I would ever complete my internship, and if I would ever use this Master’s degree, if I did in fact graduate. And now, I’m in beautiful Peru with the Peace Corps, and I have in fact graduated. No word on the future usage, although in the Peace Corps this degree has taken me further than I could ever imagine, but more on that later.
So I had the opportunity to talk to Nancy yesterday and she told me that many of you are frustrated, confused, or annoyed with Peace Corps at this point. Let me start by saying, “I have been there.” In fact, at the height of my frustration last year, I wrote a comic Yahoo! post about the crazy and slow Peace Corps application process. And if you are feeling down, realize that you are following a long line of Peace Corps Volunteers. There is not a person in my group (Peru 9) that doesn’t have a story about the craziness of the application process. The good news, it gets better. The bad news, not without a lot of sleepless nights and wondering what the crap Peace Corps-Washington is up to. As the only representative of IYFD Cohort III in Peace Corps, and one of the few in the entirety of the IYFD program that went Peace Corps let me just write a little bit about my experience and why I truly believe Peace Corps is a viable and valuable option (Peace Corps-Washington not with standing).
I decided to apply for Peace Corps at the same time I applied to the IYFD program, and in spite of knowing and continually learning the negatives of overseas work and development as well as the Peace Corps program, I barely wavered in this decision. I had just met so many people who found Peace Corps to be such a rewarding experience, I had to trust their experiences and hope that mine would be similar. That’s not to say I didn’t struggle with the decision, but all in all, even in this difficult moment of transitioning to a Spanish speaking small rural community I don’t have any regrets.
When I was applying I heard a bunch of things from Peace Corps that I later learned to be untrue or at least over exaggerated. I was told that I had very little option as to where I would go. I was told that I didn’t have enough Spanish to go to Latin America. And I was told that once an offer was made, that was the only one you would receive. I have since learned that those sentiments are not necessarily the case. First, I had only a year of University Spanish, but they sent me to Latin America anyway. During the call I received about my initial placement, I was told that if I wanted to, I could go to Africa which I was thinking about for more HIV/AIDS research, and since joining the Peace Corps I have met people that have no Spanish and are here with me in Peru, and two such people that turned down their initial offer. So don’t fret. I think if you get either a decent recruitment officer or a decent placement officer, you have more say in what happens to your life than you think. And one of the reoccurring themes in Peace Corps, is if they are going to spend all of this money on you (and trust me its around 80,000 dollars per volunteer), they want you to get the best fit and a placement that works for you. This was also the case when they looked for our two-year sites in country.
I also want to let you know that I receive a lot of support and encouragement from Peace Corps-Peru and the staff that works here. I feel very fortunate. I have heard good things about other programs in the world, and the truth is I have heard bad things from certain countries also. It’s partly the luck of the draw and your Country Director. My Country Director is a cool guy and very supportive. He, himself, is a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer) has been very positive with my group during our time here. The same can be said for our Associate Peace Corps Directors (APCDs). I have had extended conversations with my APCD about my fears. She is also a RPCV so she undertands, but not all of them are. The other good news is many (probably over half) of the staff members are Peruvians. There is a good blend of people who help with language and culture and those that understand life in the States. I feel very, very supported.
Another thing that I appreciate about Peace Corps is the extensive training process. I spent three months before going to site learning about culture, language, and the technical aspects of my job. The other day I was in Lima and I met a volunteer from another organization (couldn’t tell you what at this point), but I was talking with him about his time in country so far and he said the new language overwhelmed him even though he had plenty of experience with Spanish. I then spoke about some of the cultural norms and about working with the people, about some of the history of Peru, and some of the problems I encountered at site. His eyes bugged out of his head, and then he proceeded to sleep for two days. I thank Peace Corps for preparing me to face development with a realistic idea and ways to avoid cultural insensitivity (although I make mistakes anyway). You might not realize this, I didn’t, but we are practically getting a Master’s Degree in Peace Corps. I often was one of the few that understood what development work could look like, both the good and the bad. And I was more prepared than most to face the ambiguity that comes with going to a new culture. Our degree program is excellent partnered with an internship with Peace Corps.
Upon arriving at site, all alone, but well-prepared for the task ahead, I was given three months to do no work, but spend time getting to know people and research my community. As I’m sure you’ve talked about, before starting any development one needs to research. Peace Corps not only gave me three months to do this, they held me accountable by requiring a paper and a power point presentation at our reconnect (three months after training you return to your training class to talk about your research as well as you joys and struggles). Going to reconnect had a renewing effect for me as my research uncovered a lot of major and disappointing problems in my community.
Plus, I have the amazing support of 28 other Volunteers who are all in the same “class” or group. We have lost six people that weren’t up to the task, or were very sick, or need care in the States for other reasons. Yet, the 28 that are left, and even some that are now in the US, have been amazingly supportive. I have made life-long friendships in the States. We have cell phones in Peru, and we can call each other for free. My group set up their own Google group so daily we receive emails of new ideas, research, tips, and funny stories. It is much like my IYFD cohort, many of whom I still keep in touch with as well.
So I want to encourage you in this time, and say, it gets better. Peace Corps-Peru is often just as frustrated with the bureaucracy of Peace Corps-Washington. Please know that I am thinking of you, and wishing you a great year in classes and awesome internships in the future.
Cuidase,
Arianna Robinson
Read more >>
Arianna Robinson began her internship June 2007 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru working with youth. She spent three months in culture, language and technical training while living with a host family in Chosica, Peru. Arianna will spend the next two years working in Catilluc, Cajamarca, a small rural town in the northern highlands of Peru, with a youth center and the local health center. She will be responsible for classes on health, women’s rights, and vocational training. Arianna was selected as a member of the Peace Corps Peru Women and Gender committee where she works to establish educational tools for volunteer use in the field. Her primary goal for her time in Catilluc is to make the youth center sustainable, but she also hopes to teach computer classes, create a group of youth health promoters, as well as teach Yoga. Arianna already is starting to see success in her early projects in Catilluc and with the Women and Gender committee.
Ari's lessons on internship:
Dear IYFD Cohort IV,
Greetings from rainy Catilluc, Cajamarca in the mountains of Peru. I hope this letter finds you all doing well and enjoying this very busy but rewarding year in the IYFD program. I can’t believe it was just a year ago I was sitting on the same chairs you all are wondering where life was going to take me, if I would ever complete my internship, and if I would ever use this Master’s degree, if I did in fact graduate. And now, I’m in beautiful Peru with the Peace Corps, and I have in fact graduated. No word on the future usage, although in the Peace Corps this degree has taken me further than I could ever imagine, but more on that later.
So I had the opportunity to talk to Nancy yesterday and she told me that many of you are frustrated, confused, or annoyed with Peace Corps at this point. Let me start by saying, “I have been there.” In fact, at the height of my frustration last year, I wrote a comic Yahoo! post about the crazy and slow Peace Corps application process. And if you are feeling down, realize that you are following a long line of Peace Corps Volunteers. There is not a person in my group (Peru 9) that doesn’t have a story about the craziness of the application process. The good news, it gets better. The bad news, not without a lot of sleepless nights and wondering what the crap Peace Corps-Washington is up to. As the only representative of IYFD Cohort III in Peace Corps, and one of the few in the entirety of the IYFD program that went Peace Corps let me just write a little bit about my experience and why I truly believe Peace Corps is a viable and valuable option (Peace Corps-Washington not with standing).
I decided to apply for Peace Corps at the same time I applied to the IYFD program, and in spite of knowing and continually learning the negatives of overseas work and development as well as the Peace Corps program, I barely wavered in this decision. I had just met so many people who found Peace Corps to be such a rewarding experience, I had to trust their experiences and hope that mine would be similar. That’s not to say I didn’t struggle with the decision, but all in all, even in this difficult moment of transitioning to a Spanish speaking small rural community I don’t have any regrets.
When I was applying I heard a bunch of things from Peace Corps that I later learned to be untrue or at least over exaggerated. I was told that I had very little option as to where I would go. I was told that I didn’t have enough Spanish to go to Latin America. And I was told that once an offer was made, that was the only one you would receive. I have since learned that those sentiments are not necessarily the case. First, I had only a year of University Spanish, but they sent me to Latin America anyway. During the call I received about my initial placement, I was told that if I wanted to, I could go to Africa which I was thinking about for more HIV/AIDS research, and since joining the Peace Corps I have met people that have no Spanish and are here with me in Peru, and two such people that turned down their initial offer. So don’t fret. I think if you get either a decent recruitment officer or a decent placement officer, you have more say in what happens to your life than you think. And one of the reoccurring themes in Peace Corps, is if they are going to spend all of this money on you (and trust me its around 80,000 dollars per volunteer), they want you to get the best fit and a placement that works for you. This was also the case when they looked for our two-year sites in country.
I also want to let you know that I receive a lot of support and encouragement from Peace Corps-Peru and the staff that works here. I feel very fortunate. I have heard good things about other programs in the world, and the truth is I have heard bad things from certain countries also. It’s partly the luck of the draw and your Country Director. My Country Director is a cool guy and very supportive. He, himself, is a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer) has been very positive with my group during our time here. The same can be said for our Associate Peace Corps Directors (APCDs). I have had extended conversations with my APCD about my fears. She is also a RPCV so she undertands, but not all of them are. The other good news is many (probably over half) of the staff members are Peruvians. There is a good blend of people who help with language and culture and those that understand life in the States. I feel very, very supported.
Another thing that I appreciate about Peace Corps is the extensive training process. I spent three months before going to site learning about culture, language, and the technical aspects of my job. The other day I was in Lima and I met a volunteer from another organization (couldn’t tell you what at this point), but I was talking with him about his time in country so far and he said the new language overwhelmed him even though he had plenty of experience with Spanish. I then spoke about some of the cultural norms and about working with the people, about some of the history of Peru, and some of the problems I encountered at site. His eyes bugged out of his head, and then he proceeded to sleep for two days. I thank Peace Corps for preparing me to face development with a realistic idea and ways to avoid cultural insensitivity (although I make mistakes anyway). You might not realize this, I didn’t, but we are practically getting a Master’s Degree in Peace Corps. I often was one of the few that understood what development work could look like, both the good and the bad. And I was more prepared than most to face the ambiguity that comes with going to a new culture. Our degree program is excellent partnered with an internship with Peace Corps.
Upon arriving at site, all alone, but well-prepared for the task ahead, I was given three months to do no work, but spend time getting to know people and research my community. As I’m sure you’ve talked about, before starting any development one needs to research. Peace Corps not only gave me three months to do this, they held me accountable by requiring a paper and a power point presentation at our reconnect (three months after training you return to your training class to talk about your research as well as you joys and struggles). Going to reconnect had a renewing effect for me as my research uncovered a lot of major and disappointing problems in my community.
Plus, I have the amazing support of 28 other Volunteers who are all in the same “class” or group. We have lost six people that weren’t up to the task, or were very sick, or need care in the States for other reasons. Yet, the 28 that are left, and even some that are now in the US, have been amazingly supportive. I have made life-long friendships in the States. We have cell phones in Peru, and we can call each other for free. My group set up their own Google group so daily we receive emails of new ideas, research, tips, and funny stories. It is much like my IYFD cohort, many of whom I still keep in touch with as well.
So I want to encourage you in this time, and say, it gets better. Peace Corps-Peru is often just as frustrated with the bureaucracy of Peace Corps-Washington. Please know that I am thinking of you, and wishing you a great year in classes and awesome internships in the future.
Cuidase,
Arianna Robinson
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