By Salley Schmid
I am an advocate for people making use of Mental Health Services.
I wish everyone could have the opportunity to speak with a supportive someone who is relatively objective and not tied in any way to the outcome of a person’s decisions. Many people have never gone to counseling so my goal here is to give readers a sense of what counseling is like and why it is worth trying when in emotional or relational distress. I use the analogy of a water fall to describe the counseling process. If you were standing under a pounding waterfall in the gap between the cliff wall and the water careening over the cliff’s upper edge, facing the cliff and pushing against it, trying to create change; this would be that place where you are relatively alone in your emotional pain. Counseling is like turning around and facing the waterfall. Pushing against the cliff was not changing anything. Looking at the waterfall equates with facing the distressing situation and painful emotions. Not hiding your face from it any more. Then through counseling, a hand reaches through the water fall to take your hand and help you step into the waterfall. The waterfall (your emotions) pounding on you is like letting yourself feel and spend time in the painful emotions. You don’t want to feel the pain, but staying stuck under the waterfall is not tolerable either and not helping. And you are stuck. So you step and you feel and you have a hand to hold to help you through, that’s your therapist’s hand. You must be careful walking through the pounding water but it can be done and it is the path out of the intolerable situation. It may take a while to walk through the pounding water and the waterfall will still be there when you emerge stronger on the other side. You now can choose to step back to it, but you are no longer stuck under it.
A therapist can serve many functions. A therapist is there, fully present to listen and understand, encourage, engage, challenge and facilitate digging deep to explore the range of possibilities leading to an individual making a decision for themselves. Therapists teach skills to help people manage distressing situations or thoughts. Therapists facilitate processes to help people push through a difficult time in order to reach the other side with strength and authenticity. Therapists make space for you to purge painful thoughts and emotions, wrestle with the unknown and unwanted, and to both rage and make peace. The therapist’s office and the therapeutic relationship serves as a safe place, a judgment free zone, a place to find and embrace authenticity and to take the risk to live out loud. If you are hurting, show mercy and kindness to yourself, love yourself enough to get help and take that walk through the waterfall…emerging strong and successful on the other side.
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Salley Schmid. Salley is a transplant from Kansas by way of Colorado (where her spirit soars). She also loves Vitamin SEA (YES, as in the ocean not the real vitamin). Salley is the mother of nearly graduated twin daughters and a nearly graduated step son. Can you say almost triplets? Salley has never given birth but is the proud mother of these three. As you can tell, since she is a step mother, she is in a “blended family” and since she has never given birth she is an adoptive mother. Salley has known painful relationships, loss, grief, love, loss of self, finding of self and both searching for and making deep soulful connections. All of her life story informs her work as a therapist as much as her training as a Therapist / Counselor. Salley is trained specifically in Marriage and Family Therapy and in “The Daring Way” work of researcher and author Brene Brown, and Positive Discipline Parenting.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
by Fiona Bond
When Baylor first approached my husband about considering an academic position, my response was less than enthusiastic (“it’s where?!”). Our family and professional life pivoted around the artistic and cultural vibrancy of European cities, so Waco was not an obvious fit! I admit it. Waco was not (at that time) on our list of top ten “places we’d like to live.”
So what puts a city on your top ten list? That’s an important question to ask when people can increasingly choose where to live, work, play, and raise a family. Cities that people aspire to call home become the places that attract and retain talent, grow businesses, and become successful and prosperous. There are multiple metrics that evaluate quality of life in terms of education, transportation, sustainability, cost of living, levels of poverty, and access to amenities. However, what truly gives a city its unique personality, vibrancy, and energy is harder to measure. But we recognize it when it’s done well.
We call it “culture”- that cumulative effect of people, place, history, and creativity that connects, delights and inspires us. It’s what humans have been doing since they painted the walls of their caves, or honored their dead with symbols of faith and beauty. It’s the reason that the “after” home is more valuable once Chip and Joanna have performed their creative Fixer-Upper magic. It’s the reason you love to spend time in…(insert your favorite city destination here!). It’s the reason people who can choose where they live choose places that are culturally interesting, authentic, vibrant and distinctive.
“Successful entrepreneurs recognize the importance of creativity. The companies and people we need to attract to Waco are looking for a lively artistic and cultural scene.” Terry Stevens, Former Board Chair of Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce
I was raised in a time and place where art, creativity, and “cultural investment” were thought to be luxuries to be added when resources are available. Interestingly, analysis of the evidence suggests the exact opposite: Investment in a city’s creative sector is often the tipping point – the catalyst – for economic growth, and a cascade of positive impact. Cities that take a strategic approach to growing their cultural life have consistently seen knock-on benefits such as growth in tourism, success in growing, attracting and retaining talent and jobs, success in community resilience and revitalization, better educational outcomes in schools, reduced unemployment, greater sense of community pride and social cohesion, and even a reduction in crime. [1]
When my husband and I set aside our prejudices and visited Waco, we discovered a city much richer in history and culture than we anticipated – a city that owes its existence to the strategic crossing of a major river (like London, Paris or Rome!), creating a dynamic collision of peoples and styles and a culture of hospitality. We discovered music, theatre, museums, festivals, and art of all kinds – often of a quality and standard that would be impressive in a larger city (and without a big city price tag!). We also found a city on the brink of exciting development, with visionary leadership prepared to make bold investments. Long story short…we were persuaded. We moved. We love it! Waco has so much that makes us proud to call it home. However, if we are unflinchingly honest, these things don’t yet define Waco as much as they could or should.
Kids in Rwanda participate in an art exchange with kids in Waco.
As Waco undergoes all kinds of visible blossoming, we have a unique opportunity to leverage that in order to tell the world about the cultural renaissance that is unfolding. Creative Waco is a new organization tasked with bringing together people and organizations in this city to get Cultural District recognition for Waco. This statewide designation would give us new resources to grow and promote the artistic and cultural life of our city ($5m new funding for Cultural Districts was just announced from the State Legislature). It also gives us the opportunity as a community to celebrate what we do well and to make plans for a vibrant cultural future.
If you are reading this, then YOU are vital to this process. A successful bid depends on community participation. The good news is that your involvement will be fun, will quite possibly connect you with new information, people, and events, and will be good for our city. What’s not to like?!
- Have your say! What do you love about Waco? What do you love about other cities? How do you describe Waco to out-of-towners? Click here to participate in a simple 3-question survey that will help us tell our city’s story at state level. While you are there, don’t forget to sign up to receive information and updates from Creative Waco (and tell us if you are willing to get involved).
Act Locally! Check out the amazing art, performances and attractions here in Waco. Actlocallywaco has plenty of information about events. You can also look here to learn about all the online ways you can access Waco’s cultural activities. If you want to learn to paint, sample some wine (or whisky), see a musical, hear YoYo Ma perform, commission a sculpture, buy art from a hot new artist, hear anything from Jazz to opera, attend a festival or visit an archaeological site or museum of national importance, check out Waco first. All of that – and much more – is already here.
- Tell the World! If you love something about Waco’s cultural life, write online reviews, tell your friends, be the change, define your city! We get to be the generation that shapes Waco’s cultural personality…people in London, Paris or Rome can’t do that!
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Fiona Bond. Fiona is Executive Director of Creative Waco. She has a background running arts festivals, organizations and cultural projects in her native England and Scotland and is author of “The Arts in Your Church.” In her spare time, she can be found doing an MBA at Baylor, hanging out with husband, Bruce Longenecker, (who teaches religion at Baylor) and their two sons, or playing the bagpipes.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
[1] There are lots of great examples of communities throughout the USA and beyond that have transformed themselves through strategic cultural investment (think Portland, Fort Worth, or Wynwood). If you’d like to take a deeper look at research and evidence, check out: “Rise of the Creative Class Revisited”, Richard Florida (2014); “Measuring the outcomes of creative placemaking”, Mark J. Stern, Kenneth L.M. Pray, University of Pennsylvania, May 2014; “Arts & The Economy”, Chris Hayter and Stephanie Casey Pierce, National Governors Association (2009). There’s also great research from Waco’s own Ray Perryman and, more recently, the Texas Cultural Trust, that explores the impact of the arts on economic and other metrics such as educational attainment.
By Dr. Fred Hills
The Heart of Texas (HOT) P-20 was created over 6 years ago to promote streamlined, transparent degree pathways for students in Central Texas to help them move quickly and successfully through their education and onto college and/or a career. We are part of the larger P-16 movement, a state-wide initiative in support of the “Closing the Gaps“ initiative dedicated to increasing the number of Texans to be college and career ready. The HOT P-20 includes representatives from the independent school districts (ISD), institutions of higher education (IHE), Region 12 Education Service Center, and industry and government across six counties: Bosque, Hill, Falls, Limestone, Freestone and McLennan. Among the higher education representatives are McLennan Community College, Texas State Technical College, and Hill County with representation from both Tarleton State University, Texas Tech through MCC’s University Center.
The HOT P-20 mission is to maximize the utilization of educational resources, programs and services for all students while instilling in them a culture of life-long learning. To accomplish this, the HOT P-20 has three main goals:
- coordinate activities among ISD, IHE, government and industry to improve coordination of activities and set common goals in promoting college and career preparation,
- provide educational and support resources to member institutions, and
- advocate for promising and best educational practices and models.
Some of our ongoing projects include:
- Offering Academic Vertical Alignment Training and Renewal (AVATAR) program that brings together faculty from the high schools and post-secondary institutions who teach Math and English to discuss differences in instructional techniques and ways to better prepare students for college-level work while in high school. This year we also included high school and college counselors to address ways to better advise students in preparation for their transfer to college and/or a career.
- Partnering to support local educational initiatives and programs such on Region 12 ESC’s Connect 3, Teacher’s Gone Tech, Girls in STEM, career fairs, etc.
- Building collaborative agreements among secondary, post-secondary and industry to offer degree pathways and college preparation courses for students while still in high school.
- Providing an annual forum on “State of Education in Central Texas” in the fall for partner institutions to share ongoing educational initiatives and career preparation opportunities.
- Working with Prosper Waco and the Waco Chamber to inform them on ongoing educational initiatives and promote education to career programs.
- Surveying the community for ways to better serve all partners in this effort.
HOT Regional P-20 operates as a voluntary organization with operating expenses paid by Region 12 ESC and TSTC.
For more information on the HOT P-20 and its programs, email Fred Hills at [email protected] or Chris Holecek at Region 12 ESC at [email protected] .
Dr. Fred Hills is the current president of the HOT P-20 and Dean of Arts, Science and Business at McLennan Community College. He has worked and lived in the Waco community for over 20 years and has served on the HOT P20 for the last four years.
by Daryl Meyer
My days are filled with the welcoming of newborns, listening to children laughing and talking– and the occasional cry– as my office sits inside the Pediatric Unit of Baylor/Scott and White Hillcrest Medical Center. Children are a gift – they represent new beginnings, hope, a fresh and innocent outlook –but not for everyone. Part of my day includes rounding on the unit to visit with the new mothers and I witness a myriad of other emotions – worry, fear, and anxiety, generally feeling overwhelmed –as they want to be the best parent they can be, and provide more opportunities for their child then what they may have had. Some feel ill-equipped for this task –partially because close to 40% of these new mothers are under the age of 21.
“Children having children” was just media garble until I took on this role as Coordinator for Nurse-Family Partnership. On my first day of work, a young girl- age 16 – came to labor and delivery to give birth to her second child. Yesterday, I visited with a very pretty, very smart and very scared 8th grader who will deliver her first baby in August. Last month at Hillcrest we celebrated the delivery of nearly 250 live births. 62% of those births were to women living below the poverty level and 9% of those babies needed time in the Neo-Intensive Care Unit. As a facility that cares for women and children, our goal is to improve the overall health of mothers and infants, and now through a relationship with the Waco Foundation we have begun the implementation of a program proven to do just that.
Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based community healthcare program that empowers low-income, first-time mothers to become confident parents and strong women by partnering with nurse home visits. Nurse home visits begin early in the mother’s pregnancy and continue visitation until the child’s second birthday. Nurses provide support, resource connections, education and counseling on health, behavioral and self-sufficiency issues. NFP is one the most rigorously tested programs of its kind—randomized, controlled trials conducted over the past 30 years demonstrate positive multi-generational outcomes for families and their communities. These include improved prenatal health, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased maternal employment, improved child school readiness, reduced criminal involvement, and less child abuse, neglect and injuries.
The Nurse-Family Partnership program makes a difference today and for generations. A report from Harvard University and the Center for Developing Child studied the extent to which very early childhood experiences influence later learning, behavior and health. It supports positive results when skilled home visitors interact with vulnerable families expecting their first child, and continuing during that first 30 months of a child’s life. Basic brain functions related to vision, hearing and language development can be hugely impacted during this window of opportunity – and will impact the future of both mother and child.
Our NFP program at Baylor/Scott&White Hillcrest Medical Center is scheduled to begin accepting clients in October, and will utilize a nurse supervisor and 6 Bachelor Prepared RN’s to visit clients within McLennan County. Partnering with other local social agencies targeting women’s health- like those who are part of the Healthy Babies Coalition – and collaborating on important resource referral tools with the Texas 211 program and Baylor Social Work interns –we can ensure teen mothers get the right care, at the right time, through the proper agencies –to produce a healthier outcome and future.
How does all of this affect you? Independent analyses have shown that communities benefit socially and financially when they invest in NFP; the RAND Corporation calls Nurse-Family Partnership “a wise choice” that has favorable economic return to communities of up to $5.70 for every public dollar invested in the program. At this time we will have grants and state funding to finance our model but our five year strategic plan includes sustainability campaigns to support growth and capacity building.
Please visit the website www.Nursefamilypartnership.org
or feel free to contact me [email protected] or 254-202-1130
Daryl Meyer came to Waco 16 years ago when her husband accepted a position at Baylor. She is a mother of two daughters and grandmother to 3 dogs! She has worked as a patient advocate for the past 15 years and has her certification as a Recreation Therapist, Senior Advisor, a Licensed Nursing Facility Administrator, and an Early Childhood Educator. In her free time she enjoys cooking, volunteering, and watching Baylor sports.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Sarah McPherson
On June 30th, just a couple of weeks ago, I launched my new personal and professional project, a website called Not My Taboo (read about it at the end of this post!). Not My Taboo has been in the works since April, and in my introductory post from early June I mention how every two years or so I would get the idea to start up a new online project, but I would only get so far as the name and a vague idea of what the site was going to be. But this past April, when I got the name and vague idea for Not My Taboo, I was moved to actually follow through and make it happen.
I was inspired by a few different things this time around. I am a new mom; my daughter Eleanor was born in February. I’ve completed my master’s degree and I’m out of school, which had a tendency to deplete me of all my creative (and otherwise) energy. I’m 26, nearly 27, so, I don’t know, maybe I see things a little differently than I did at 22 and 24. And yes, I now live in Waco (I moved here in December from Temple, where I’d been commuting from for two years), and I do believe that had something to do with it.
What is it about Waco that inspired me to finally do something I had been putting off for four years?
What is it about Waco?
Waco is home to brilliant minds. I am fortunate to have been taught by some of them, like Dr. Helen Harris and Dr. Gaynor Yancey at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University. From them I learned (so many things, including) the importance of community, and the awareness of my own ability and skill to be a world-changer.
Waco is home to exciting organizations. I am lucky to have been a part of some of them, like the Texas Hunger Initiative, working to address and end food insecurity in our state. From them I learned that talented, passionate people, doing innovative, smart things, can create effective, systematic change. (But really- they can, and they do)
Waco is home to conflict and contention. I am honored to work to ease some of these wounds and to emphasize that Waco is more than that. From this I learned that we have a long way to go, and more good will always be welcome.
Waco is home to great success, and deep struggle. I am witness to both sides. From this I learned that motivation, and inspiration, are all around.
Waco is home to the Waco Downtown Farmers Market. I am a frequent patron on Saturday mornings (you can also go on Tuesday afternoons!), and I can always count on seeing smiling and familiar faces, and purchasing delicious, locally-grown and made food. From this I learned that community can serve multiple purposes, and nourishment comes in many forms.
Waco is home to poverty, hunger, gender-based violence, inequality, racial discrimination, homelessness, and abuse. I am surrounded by people whose eyes are open to these issues and hearts are set on fixing them. From them I learned that change takes time (often a very, very long time), and small victories should sometimes be celebrated with the fervor of monumental success.
Waco is home to Dr. Pepper. I am inclined to share this fact whenever my people up North ask about Waco, so it just kind of slipped into this list, too.
Waco is home to the Brazos River and Cameron Park. I am refreshed by the beauty of nature (less refreshed during the unforgiving summer heat) and the simplicity of putting one foot in front of the other. From these walks I learned the importance of spending time doing what you love.
Waco is home to my friends and colleagues, who have welcomed and loved me and my daughter like family. I am made better by their friendship and support. From them I learned that this isn’t just a place for us to live until we can leave.
And now that Waco is my home, it’s really no wonder that inspiration hit.
*
Not My Taboo is an online space and host for taboos, stigmas and stereotypes to be normalized and explored through the sharing of stories, fact, and good dose of humanity. It is somewhere between a social media campaign, social justice venture, a creative outlet, and an ambitious attempt to change the world. In addition to posts by the (currently one-woman) Not My Taboo team, each week NMT features posts by contributing authors who in some way reflect on taboos, stigmas or stereotypes in their lives– whether they have experienced stigma themselves, witnessed taboos in their communities, or they are reflecting on stereotypes that have weighed on their minds. Based on the famous and debated Plato quote, “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,” Not My Taboo seeks to make this premise more accessible and easy to live-out in the real world, where it is sometimes easier to judge and skimp on kindness. Head over to www.notmytaboo.com to find out more and see what others have shared so far (you can also check out Instagram and Twitter @notmytaboo)! If you are interested in contributing to NMT, send me an email at [email protected]; I would love to hear from you!
Sarah McPherson is originally from Toronto, Canada, and arrived in Texas by way of California, Pennsylvania, Finland, and Washington, DC. She received her MSW from Baylor University in 2014. Sarah is wife to Kyle, mom to Eleanor, and feeder/snuggler/vet bill-payer to Darwin, Huxley, and Luna (two cats and one dog). She is the founder and editor of Not My Taboo.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Jenuine Poetess
Here at the Act Locally Waco Arts & Culture blog we muse often about events, programs, the value of arts and cultural activities and the inclusion of creative health as a matter of justice along side employment, education, hunger initiatives, and other aspects of cultivating a sustainable community. Hopefully, something here has inspired some of you to pick up your own instrument, pen, brush, or tool-of-choice to begin making your own art works. For some of us though, it can be difficult to know where to begin, even when we are inspired. And even people who create on a regular basis sometimes find themselves in a dry spell.
In this month’s post I share some of the resources I have turned to through the years to get started or to get through a creative block. I hope you find something here to prime the pump.
Books:
My personal selection of books reflects my primary creative discipline of writing. Recently I’ve started branching out to more visual art mediums as well.
These three books are an excellent starting place for any writer:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is a witty, candid, exploration of where to begin and how to continue a healthy writing practice. Lamott assures us that whether we are writing a novel, memoir or multi-volume series, it will be accomplished, one sentence at a time.
Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones works by shaping the person who is the writer. By challenging mental blocks and obstacles, she helps us stretch our imaginations to make space for all of our uncensored thoughts.
Just like athletes must move through the paces of pushups, sprints, and weight-lifting to get ready to perform on the field, strong writers engage in exercises to get ready to perform on the page. Naming the World and A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves (not pictured) are two excellent sources of varied writing exercises. While what you compose in an exercise may not be a masterpiece, hopefully it will move away the clutter so you can access the real writing gems later.
For those who specifically wish to hone their poetic craft and practice, I highly recommend these three books: Poemcrazy by Susan goldsmith Woolridge, Writing the Life Poetic by Sage Cohen, and Poetry as Spiritual Practice by Robert McDowell as well as an on-line resource Writing from the Soul both website and social media site. If you follow the social media site, new writing prompts are posted in the form of photos every week. From taking a walk, to collecting trinkets, to identifying and practicing technical poetry forms, these resources offer commentary, exercises, and invitations to explore one’s inner and outer worlds in order to enrich one’s poetry pages.
For those like me who dabble in both writing and visual arts, Natalie Goldberg has a new memoir out, Living Color: Painting, Writing, and the Bones of Seeing complete with full color photos of her visual art works! I can’t wait to dive in and learn more about her practice. Memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies of artists whom you admire are also fantastic resources to learn about practice and process!
Another possibility is art journaling. There are a myriad of resources out there to help a person get started. This Art Journal guide book by Traci Bunkers, complete with DVD, provides step-by-step directions for how to achieve a variety of mixed-media looks throughout a journal book resulting in a creative collaboration between collage, scrap-booking, writing, and painting. The results are vibrant reflections of one’s own life and journey.
For those who want to get into visual arts there is a new outpouring of “Grown-up Coloring Books” to enjoy. I recently picked up Joanna Basford’s Enchanted Forest from BookWoman; it was a difficult decision between that and her Secret Garden collection of what she calls, “an inky quest and coloring book.” The pages are filled with intricate patterns and designs, complete with hidden images and themes throughout each book. There are many “Grown Up Coloring Books” which include mandalas, templates to make your own designs, starters for doodling, and even something called, Zentangles—a kind of meditative intentional doodling.
I also included in this photo, a sample of a mandala I found online. Coloring, especially mandalas, is an incredible relaxation creativity exercise.
Local Classes/Resources:
Waco has some wonderful classes available to artists of all ages. For one-time experiences try Practically Pikasso where you can form your own fused glass or mosaic creations, or create custom glaze designs on a vast array of blank pottery shapes.
If you’d like to try your hand at a canvas, check out one of these options:
- Painting with a Twist guides participants (18+) through a specific project while sipping on a favorite adult beverage (BYOB). Each event offers a specific design, so check out their calendar and pick whichever painting you’d like to try!
- Paint the Town Waco offers painting guidance for artists of all ages. During the summer classes for kiddos are every Tuesday at the Art Center of Waco. Adult classes are held periodically at the CAST on Austin Avenue or parties and groups can book the founder & teacher, Sarah Weatherly for private events. To learn more, check out this interview she did with the Art Center of Waco!
Speaking of the Art Center of Waco, they offer classes for kiddos throughout the year. Resident ceramics artist, Jonathan Martin offers occasional adult ceramics classes as well. For more information contact the Art Center of Waco.
McLennan Community College offers a wide variety of arts classes through their Community Continuing Education program. Once you get to the site, click on the upcoming season’s program for a listing of available classes. I’ve seen anything from quilting to ceramics to photography to tango listed at quite reasonable prices for multi-session classes. It’s a great way to learn new skills and meet new friends who are learning too!
Finally, another wonderful resource is the Central Texas Artist Collective. Most recently they have been holding a series of pop-up painting in the park sessions—these are impromptu gatherings of artists of every level and ability getting together to paint, enjoy each other’s company, exchange ideas and technique, and build community through art. Supplies are usually provided and donations are always appreciated. Follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter to stay informed about upcoming events.
I hope you have now been both inspired and motivated to get out there…or stay in and create. Please share in the comments classes you’ve taken, books you’ve read, and volumes that are must-have resources on your shelves! I can’t wait to hear about what helps you get started or what gets you through your creative deserts!
Jenuine Poetess is an artist, visionary, and community organizer. In 2010, she founded In the Words of Womyn (ITWOW), an international, grass-roots, written and spoken-word arts project with chapters throughout Los Angeles, CA; Waco, TX; and Lebanon. Jenuine is the founder of Waco Poets Society and co-founder of the Central Texas Artist Collective. She writes, organizes, and creates rooted in the fierce conviction that holding intentional space, access, and opportunity for all people to foster their creative health is a matter of justice and is a vital asset to the sustainable thriving of communities. She currently lives and poems in Central Texas where she enjoys finding new ways to disrupt the homeostasis of her city. You can contact her at: [email protected].
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Catelia Vazquez
(This is part three of a three part series about “Project Promise” a Baylor School of Education initiative funded by a grant from the City of Waco. The program provides summer enrichment opportunities for gifted students in grades 4-12 who come from low-income households. Click here to read Part 1. Click here to read Part 2.)
I was a Project Promise student at the University for Young People every June from 2001 until 2008, and I absolutely loved it. It was always the most anticipated event of my summer vacation. What kind of kid was excited about “going to school” while on break from school? The gifted and talented kind. I was identified as a gifted and talented student early on in elementary school, and at the end of my fourth grade year my mom heard from word of mouth about a summer camp for students like myself. Luckily, I was granted a Project Promise scholarship from the City of Waco that year, and thus began my Project Promise experience.
As a Project Promise student I took a wide variety of classes over the years: calligraphy, cooking, Swahili, French, weaving, painting, The Real Game of Life, debate, chess, forensic science, poetry/creative writing, theatre, and logic just to list a few. I was assigned a counselor (now known as mentors) and a group each year. My counselors played a vital role in my Project Promise experience. My counselors were people I could have open conversations with regarding everything from family life to my hopes and dreams for the future. They helped me to sort through my thoughts and actively think about how to go about obtaining a college education.
Being with the other Project Promise students in classes, during free time, and everything in between was also an important component of my success at Project Promise. I was surrounded by like-minded students, and for the most part we shared the same goal: be the first in our family to go to college. I made lasting relationships to this day with a few of my counselors, and several Project Promise students.
After my senior year summer at Project Promise, I returned to the program in the spring of my freshman year at Baylor as an office student worker. I had a strong desire to continue to be a part of this program that had helped me tremendously. Had it not been for Project Promise I may have never ended up at Baylor. Project Promise made Baylor a realizable goal for me. Project Promise allowed me to feel very comfortable on Baylor’s campus, to the point where there was no question in my mind as to where I was meant to go after high school. Although I loved my time spent at Project Promise as a student, my four years as a student worker there gave me an even deeper appreciation for the program. Seeing the gratitude of the families new to the program, and being an example of the success of the program to the students really reminded me of how lucky and grateful I was to have been a part of it.
Now that I have completed my Bachelor’s degree, I look back on my time at Baylor, and as a Project Promise student, and am appreciative of the opportunity given to me by the City of Waco to have attended Project Promise for as long as I did. I truly believe that my Project Promise experience gave me the confidence I needed to pursue a higher education. While working for Project Promise, I realized that I enjoyed interacting with the families, and doing my best to assist them however I could which played a huge role in me switching my major from pre-accounting to child and family studies. I hope to someday contribute to Waco, in any way possible, and Waco’s residents in the same impactful way that Project Promise did for me. I believe that if more students were exposed to a college campus in the way that I was on a regular basis, the possibility of obtaining a college education would not seem so impossible. My hope for Project Promise would be that the program could reach more students and allow them the opportunity to grow up at Baylor just as I did.
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Catelia Vazquez. Catelia is the Executive Administrative Assistant of Secondary Education for Waco ISD. She received her degree in Child and Family Studies from Baylor University. Catelia is currently enjoying newlywed life with her husband Eduardo.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
(This is part two of a three part series about “Project Promise” a Baylor School of Education initiative funded by a grant from the City of Waco. The program provides summer enrichment opportunities for gifted students in grades 4-12 who come from low-income households. Click here to read Part 1.)
By Kianna Ford
As a teenager, I remember pacing around the living room with my brother waiting for the squeaky, golden bus to pick us up for the first day of University for Young People. As we approached the Baylor campus, my heart grew increasingly more excited. I couldn’t wait to step off the bus and be greeted by the Project Promise mentors.
University for Young People, “UYP” for short, is a summer enrichment program for gifted students, grades 4-12, from Waco and the surrounding area. Students who participate in UYP get to come to Baylor campus and take special classes for young people. There are dozens to choose from. You can take one in the morning and one in the afternoon. “Project Promise” is an initiative funded through the City of Waco by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). This program helps gifted students from low-income households participate in UYP.
In my first year, I will admit, I took the camp for granted. I thought about it as just another summer camp, something to force me out of the house for the summer. Each summer after my first year, however, I found myself scrambling through the mail for the course catalog. The last day of my final year at UYP hit me hard. I was very emotional that day and I cried a lot. In that moment, I knew that UYP was much more than just a summer camp.
Now, as a Baylor student, my job is serving as the office manager for the Center for Community Learning and Enrichment; that’s the office at Baylor that runs UYP and Project Promise. The first day of UYP is a little different for me now. I walk into my office answering parents’ questions, preparing roll sheets, and helping the mentors prepare for the moment the students step off of the bus just like I did. Behind the scenes of UYP is a tough job, but it is very fulfilling to see the students have the same opportunity I had. It also feels good to step back on the last day as the final bus rolls out and know that I contributed to something that will change their lives.
UYP was great because it helped me discover my interests and strengths. My first year, I took a poetry class and one of my poems was published in a book. I had no idea that I had a gift for writing. I continued to write throughout my years in school, perfecting my craft. Now I am journalism student at Baylor. I will use the skill I discovered in UYP in my career.
Project Promise gives under-privileged students an extra boost of confidence they often times need. It is hard to believe you will be successful when there are so many socioeconomic factors holding you back. When others tell low-income kids they can’t, Project Promise reassures them that they can.
I am very proud to say I was a Project Promise student. It gave me a great foundation to sprout into the scholar I am today. I hope that my role as office manager, student, and former attendee will encourage at least one child to continue her (or his) education, and will encourage her to give back to people who contributed to her success.
Kianna Ford is a former University for Young People and Project Promise student. She is a Waco native and is now a Junior at Baylor University majoring in Journalism with a Public Relations Concentration. She has worked as the office manager for UYP for two summers.
(This is part one of a three part series about “Project Promise” a Baylor School of Education initiative funded by a grant from the City of Waco. The program provides summer enrichment opportunities for gifted students in grades 4-12 who come from low-income households.)
By Dr. Mary Witte, senior lecturer, Baylor School of Education
Can low-income gifted students benefit from a summer enrichment program? Recent research from Baylor School of Education says “yes!”
I had an inkling that former participants in our Baylor School of Education (SOE) summer enrichment program were doing well, because I keep in touch with several of them. When a survey confirmed my assumptions, I felt overwhelmed and proud, but I can’t say that I was surprised. I had heard too many anecdotes about the students’ successes. I’ve always said they are the best kids in the world. They really are amazing. They just needed a hand to guide them — not to pull them or push them.
I am the director of University for Young People (UYP), a program for gifted students. For more than 30 years, Baylor has hosted UYP, and Wacoans have paid to send their children for valuable enrichment. Baylor UYP runs for three weeks each June on the Baylor campus, and our 180 students may choose from dozens of courses, taking one in the morning and one in the afternoon. An all-day option provides lunch and a recreational time between the two class sessions.
Since 1999, low-income students in grades 4-12 have been able to attend UYP also. Project Promise students, about 60 of them, are a subset of UYP gifted students, who also meet U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) federal low-income eligibility requirements. Tuition for these students is funded through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the City of Waco from HUD.
The goals of Project Promise are to develop students to aspire to higher education and to identify their strengths and interests. Most Project Promise participants attend UYP several summers in a row, beginning in 4th grade and through high school.
The survey of Project Promise participants, conducted by Baylor School of Education master’s student Corina Kaul, showed that of the 89 who responded, 100 percent graduated from high school. Almost all of those surveyed had either enrolled (81 percent) or planned to enroll (9 percent) in higher education in 2014. At the time of the survey, two former Project Promise students had earned graduate degrees. And I know two others since then — one graduated from Baylor with a master’s degree, and another earned a graduate degree in architecture from Yale.
Former students said that being part of Project Promise led them to choose more challenging courses in high school, prepared them for college, and influenced their decision to attend college. And that is definitely one of the program’s goals — to suggest the idea of college to these students at an early age.
One student said in the survey, “It definitely opened me up to the idea of attending a university at a very early age, which caused me to work harder toward one day going to college. I can definitely say that I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for [Project Promise.]”
The fact that the program is on Baylor’s campus makes a difference, I believe. The first big step is just coming onto a college campus. For Waco students to come to Baylor and for their parents to be invited to campus for meetings and celebrations… it makes a difference. They are comfortable now on Baylor’s campus.
The survey also found that a lot of Project Promise graduates stay in Waco, making their hometown a better place for future generations. Through this unique collaboration, Baylor and the City of Waco are working together to improve Waco — one child at a time.
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Dr. Mary Witte. Dr. Witte is a senior lecturer in the Baylor School of Education and director of the SOE’s Center for Community Learning and Enrichment, which sponsors University for Young People enrichment program. In addition to Kaul and Witte, co-authors of the Gifted Child Today article are Dr. Susan Johnsen, professor of educational psychology, and Dr. Terrill Saxon, professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology in Baylor SOE. You can see the full research article here: Project Promise Research.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Matthew Polk
For the last three months, the Prosper Waco Education, Health, and Financial Security steering committees have been working to identify the most important issues facing our community and setting measurable goals for how we can work together to make positive change for people in Waco. They have reviewed data and community input and debated which issues should be attacked first. While there are some details to be finalized, the committees have reached consensus on a set of goals that will form the common agenda of the Prosper Waco initiative. These are big goals—goals that will take a true community effort to achieve. And if we achieve them, the entire community will benefit. What are these goals?
Education
Kindergarten Readiness: For children to succeed in school, they have to be prepared to learn when they start Kindergarten. This means that they need a healthy start in life so that they develop strong bodies and brains. It also means that they need to know certain things (like letters and numbers) that will help them understand what the teacher is teaching so that they can stay on track academically. The Prosper Waco initiative will work to make sure that parents and families have the resources and information they need to help their children grow and learn so that more students in Waco are ready for Kindergarten.
Post-secondary completion: Students who complete a college degree or a workforce certificate have a better chance of getting a job that will provide enough income for them to support themselves and their families. To help our community members move out of poverty, we need to help more students find the college degree or certificate that is right for them and give them the support they need to finish that program. The more community members who have workforce training or college degrees, the stronger our local economy will be.
Health
Access to Care: Too many people in our community can’t afford to see the doctor when they are sick. This means that too many people end up visiting the hospital Emergency Room when they could have saved time and money by seeing a doctor for a minor illness. The more community members who have health insurance and can afford to see the doctor rather than visiting the ER, the healthier we will be. And when more people get the primary care they need, our hospitals and emergency rooms can do an even better job of serving those who really need them.
Obesity: Obesity is a health challenge facing more and more Americans. Many communities struggle to build a culture of health that will encourage all community members to take care of their bodies so that they can be as healthy as possible. Reducing obesity by helping Wacoans understand their health, stay active, and make better food choices is a goal of the Prosper Waco initiative.
Women’s Health: Our community’s health data shows that too few women get the annual checkups they need to stay healthy. When pregnant women don’t have access to good healthcare, their babies can be born unhealthy. Babies born to teenage mothers often have worse health and education outcomes than their peers. The Prosper Waco initiative will work to make sure that all women have access to the healthcare they need and that all babies born in our community have the best chance to be born strong and healthy.
Mental Health: Mental health issues affect all types of people, regardless of race or class. Effectively serving the mental health needs of a diverse community is challenging. A lack of mental health resources means that many people must rely on the hospital Emergency Room for mental health needs. Often these patients do not receive the type of care that they most need. The Prosper Waco initiative will work to increase access to mental health resources for our community.
Financial Security
Employment: Having a paying job is the first step to financial security. There are nearly 2,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 in our community who are not enrolled in school and do not have a job. Connecting these young people to the workforce will give them the chance to build financial security and will strengthen our local economy.
Income: Many of our community members are working hard to make ends meet, but their paycheck isn’t enough to provide real financial security for their families. The best way to increase the income of hard-working people in our community is to help get a job that pays enough to support themselves and their family. This could mean helping them develop new job skills or helping them overcome barriers such as transportation or child care needs that may be blocking their ability to get a job that pays enough.
Wealth: Financial Security means having enough to be sure that your family can handle a financial bump in the road. Wealth is measured by a family’s assets—how much it can save and invest, how much the home it owns is worth, etc. Helping families understand how to build assets that will provide more financial security is a goal of the Prosper Waco initiative.
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If we can achieve the goals set by the Prosper Waco steering committees, more people in our community will be able to get a good education, find a job that supports their family, and make sure that they and their family stay healthy. If you are interested in how we will measure our progress toward these goals, be watching our website — www.prosperwaco.org —where we will be posting more information about the initiative’s goals, the data that supports them, and our progress toward achieving them.
Are you interested in helping our community work toward these goals? We are building working groups that will focus on each of the goals listed above. If you want to be part of the process of developing strategies for achieving these goals in your community, we welcome you to join the Prosper Waco team. You can email Jillian Obenoskey, our Community Engagement Coordinator, at [email protected], or call her at 741-0081 to learn more about how you can be involved.
You don’t have to be an expert in Education, Health, or Financial Security to help our community achieve the goals of Prosper Waco. You just have to be willing to contribute your ideas and energy to coming up with creative ways to help people in our community measurably improve their lives.
Matthew Polk is Executive Director of Prosper Waco. Prior to that, he served as Superintendent of Rapoport Academy Public School. He and his wife attended Baylor, and after spending a few years in the northeast, they returned to Waco to raise their family. They have four children, ages 8 to 3 months. You can contact him at [email protected].
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.