COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
2011-2012
Shake it Up After School - An internship program through Boise State University:
I am an intern for “Shake it up.” It’s a non-profit, volunteer-based
program that brings Shakespeare and the wonderful and liberating experience of theatre to
elementary schools in Boise that would not otherwise be able to afford the opportunity for their
students. What we do is this; we offer an afterschool program each spring for three different schools,
where students have a choice to participate in a school play and learn about Shakespeare and his
works at an early age. The program is highly educational and from my experience I can personally
say that it is also highly nourishing for the imaginations and confidence of the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade
children involved in the program. The spring of 2012 will be my second year with "Shake it Up" and
my dedication and enthusiasm in 2011 has earned me an opportunity to direct a play at one of the
locations this coming year and to receive internship credit for it too.
Community Service & Internships:
I haven't completed my internship just yet, but I can tell you that it's going to feel nice to emancipate
myself from the classroom experience and immerse myself into "a working environment where my
academic accomplishments are appreciated and useful." Internships, I think, are simply spectacular.
In fact, I wish that more classes within the english department required, at least, a service learning
component. Nothing teaches you more about who you are and what you are capable of than hands
on experience -- taking on responsibilities outside of the traditional academic curriculum -- the
realization that you can apply your knowledge and passion in various ways and to actually witness
the result of your efforts through the eyes of others, or in the real-world-things that you create -- is
supremely beneficial for a student.
The English Department Community:
For the writing-student, it's important to find the writing community in your area and tap into that. "Get
out there and read your work!" -- Advice from the writing center. I've done my part. I've signed up for
poetry and fiction readings through the writing center, I've organized my own readings and got other
writers involved, and I've exposed myself. No matter how amateur I felt my work may have been I got
up in front of the crowd and let my voice out, that's what you have to do, if you ever expect to feel
comfortable reading your own work in front of people, if you ever want to get your work out there, you
have to initiate your own involvement. I'll admit it's been dramatically successful. The writing
community is no different from any other "it's about who you know," kind of communities, where your
success is measured by the opinions and the mass of your audience and the peer-relationships and
the resources available to you because of the relationships that you've cultivated.
Student Groups and Activities:
As I mentioned earlier, I have experience participating in the public display and exposure of undergraduate work. Thanks to Professor Karen Euhling's Senior Seminar class, and the English Majors Association at B.S.U. these opportunities were made possible.
I've also volunteered my participation to Professor Steven Monk Wells and what was formally known as The Boise State Cultural Center to an interactive theatre project called The Tunnel of Oppression. Tunnel' is designed to spread awareness of global to local conflicts pertaining to Genocide, Oppression, and Human Rights. It is a "free" theatre performance put on by students who care. It runs every November, and anyone who wants to participate (watch interactively) is allowed to walk through "The Tunnel" and experience how we "make the injustice visible." --Ghandi.
"Me in a cowboy hat, trailing sheep down mainstreet in Ketchum Idaho"
Every October I volunteer myself to help at The Trailing of the Sheep Festival. It's a bustling celebration of cultural heritage in the Wood River Valley. Considering I come from a Sheep Ranching background and have spent a good deal of my life working for my family's ranch, I will always do anything I can to support the lifestyle and share the stories of others who do. In fact, there are already many published authors who are involved with the very heritage that The Trailing of the Sheep celebrates and this particular year many of them (mostly women this year) came together and shared their stories. My grandparents founded the event about thirteen years ago and with every year I find myself becoming more and more involved and one day I believe I will have stories of my own to share, and hopefully a published book.