As a part of my undergraduate requirements to graduate with Honors, it is necessary for me to complete a service project in the Detroit community through a unique course called HON 3000. In order to complete this service requirement, you must complete additional service hours within one of your Wayne State courses. Students are allowed to either request their own unique service partnership with a class or volunteer though an already established WSU service learning course. I chose to do my HON 3000 requirement with the service course ENG 3020: Writing and Community.
During class, my classmates and I were given a list of the possible organizations we could choose to partner with. Out of the 12 options, I decided to work with Art Road Nonprofit. This organization targets Detroit Public Schools that can no longer afford to have art classes in their curriculum due to budget cuts. If the sponsored school allots the time for the art classes, Art Road comes in and provides all the tools needed to conduct class, including supplies and an instructor, completely free of charge. I have always appreciated the arts and love working with children so I thought this was the perfect match for me.
I never could have imagined how much Art Road would mean to me. It has awoken a passion in me to advocate for the arts in education and for the betterment of the public school system as a whole. It really opened my eyes to how much the schoolchildren of Detroit must go without. In the future, I plan to improve the conditions of these kids and provide them an opportunity for a more successful life through a strengthened education. My experiences with Art Road truly changed the way that I see Detroit and also has changed me for the better as a person. I am inexplicably grateful for the opportunity to partner with this phenomenal organization and have every intention to continue my work with them.
During class, my classmates and I were given a list of the possible organizations we could choose to partner with. Out of the 12 options, I decided to work with Art Road Nonprofit. This organization targets Detroit Public Schools that can no longer afford to have art classes in their curriculum due to budget cuts. If the sponsored school allots the time for the art classes, Art Road comes in and provides all the tools needed to conduct class, including supplies and an instructor, completely free of charge. I have always appreciated the arts and love working with children so I thought this was the perfect match for me.
I never could have imagined how much Art Road would mean to me. It has awoken a passion in me to advocate for the arts in education and for the betterment of the public school system as a whole. It really opened my eyes to how much the schoolchildren of Detroit must go without. In the future, I plan to improve the conditions of these kids and provide them an opportunity for a more successful life through a strengthened education. My experiences with Art Road truly changed the way that I see Detroit and also has changed me for the better as a person. I am inexplicably grateful for the opportunity to partner with this phenomenal organization and have every intention to continue my work with them.
Edison Elementary School Students having fun and showing off their artwork! Edison is one of the four schools currently sponsored by Art Road Nonprofit. All of these images were either taken by me or other volunteers that I work with through Art Road.
Research Proposal
In my Writing and Community Course, I was required to choose a project that would mostly greatly benefit Art Road Nonprofit. To help my community partner, I decided that founding a student organization at Wayne State University affiliated with Art Road was the best option. In doing this, I have begun to garner support from the community and students of WSU by means of gaining awareness, fundraising, and establishing a volunteer base. In order to make this project a reality, I, along with my two group members, developed a research proposal. This paper outlined our initial idea, how we collaborated with the faculty and founders of Art Road, the process of creating a student organization and building its reputation, and also a discussion section where we talked about how everything has panned out thus far. I have attached my Research Proposal below.
Click on the photo below to check out my blog and find out more about my experiences with Art Road Nonprofit!