Community-Based Capstone

Gaining a profound comprehension of the world is vital for nurturing critical consciousness. It enables individuals to recognize and illuminate social and political inconsistencies.

Being chosen to intern with the King County Pay Equity Coalition (KCPEC) opens up opportunities for significant community involvement. When we adopt a critical perspective to deeply analyze our surroundings, we engage in constant reflection. Thus, we embrace the praxis method to ensure a holistic approach. This method facilitates the incorporation of essential components such as self-reflection, active reflection, and collaborative reflective practices. Through this transformative journey, individuals develop a heightened sense of awareness and proficiency in engaging with and contributing to the community.

KCPEC is dedicated to addressing and overcoming barriers and policies that hinder youth and communities from participating in play. Long-term engagement in play offers numerous physical and socio-emotional benefits for youth, including improved academic performance, increased likelihood of maintaining physical activity into adulthood, reduced obesity rates, higher college attendance rates, and more.

My responsibilities focus on developing comprehensive social media campaigns for upcoming events, bills, and beyond. I have successfully created engaging graphic series featuring bike trails, parks, coalition partners, and King County Play spaces. The high positive engagement by followers reposting our content on their Instagram stories, highlights the value of our educational and engaging content. Ultimately, increased play engagement leads to enhanced physical and socio-emotional well-being for youth.

Equitable Community Engagement:
Identify the capacities of individuals, organizations, and the community through a strength-based (or asset-based) lens.

Captures a moment from the Adaptive Coach Training hosted by our partner Seattle Adaptive Sports. Participants are deeply engaged, learning about structuring adaptive programs, setting goals, and coaching physical activity for youth with disability. The event promotes dialogue among leaders, coaches, and community members to foster attentiveness and inclusivity in adaptive sports. Thoughtful questions and interactive learning enrich the session, reflecting a responsibility to understanding and enhancing adaptive coaching techniques.

Equitable Teaching & Learning:
Differentiate goals and teaching strategies with/for individuals and groups based on needs, skills, and desires.

We conducted empathy training. We were able to facilitate dialogue between individuals that are coaches or sport leadership roles where they can share their personal insights based on their field. It was an opportunity to merge ideas or workshop them. It is important to learn from other people's experience to gain more insight on what is a possible solution for the players. Empower people to be trained, aware, or prepared.


Equitable Leadership:
Demonstrate knowledge about positionally, privilege, and intersectionality as they relate to societal influence and individual identities.

Showcased in the our coalition partner, Seattle Seawolves' flier for their "Run with the Pack" event, extending an invitation to kids aged 5-12 to explore rugby, either for fun or as a first-time experience. As community champions, the Seawolves make the sport accessible with low requirements and welcome participants of all genders. It's a fantastic opportunity for girls to delve into this traditionally male-dominated sport and discover if it ignites their passion.

Growth
Throughout my capstone, I have honed my skills in creating high-quality Google Sheets, showcasing proficiency in utilizing shortcuts, formulas, formatting, and ensuring readability. I have streamlined our Instagram content management by organizing it on a sheet for clearer information dissemination. This system includes a dropdown for supervisor approval of Instagram posts, facilitating direct feedback and minor adjustments. I have also excelled in social media content creation, consistently maintaining brand consistency through cohesive feeds featuring our brand colors, green and black. I have actively sought feedback and made improvements to enhance accessibility, such as incorporating nearby bus information for ease of access to our events and spaces.

Communication
One of my objectives was to improve my communication skills, especially when managing ongoing projects and deadlines. Leveraging tools like Slack, I have effectively communicated with team members, ensuring timely responses and efficient collaboration. I have learned to summarize tasks effectively and execute them with precision. Additionally, I have enhanced my presentation skills by effectively communicating our organization's goals, mission statement, and meeting agendas, culminating in a presentation to the KCPEC staff. While my role did not involve direct interaction with youth, I remain committed to enhancing my interpersonal skills to better engage with younger audiences in future opportunities.

Productive Relationships
My relationship with my supervisor, Cha Cha Sawyer, has been invaluable. She has served as a mentor, providing guidance, flexibility, and trust in my creative ideas. I have also taken the initiative to connect with other coalition members through email communications and by spotlighting their organizations on our social media platforms. This engagement has provided me with a deeper understanding of our collective efforts and how we are progressing towards our organizational goals.