May Blog

I'm done. I presented my senior project already and felt good about it. I received several compliments on my presentation which was much appreciated. This chapter of my life is coming to a close and it's coming really fast, but I am ready for graduation and cherishing these last few days with my IPoly friends.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

• I most proud of being able to have a topic that most people would find boring, and make it interesting. I feel that I got a good response from my audience and I completed my goal of being entertaining.

(2) Questions to Consider

A. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

• AE

B. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

• P +

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

• What really worked was the great experience of my mentorship. I was able to witness so many things because people were always around and communication was always there. Seniors talked to me and the employees always helped me brainstorm ideas for everything throughout my project.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

• I would have probably tried to put in more hours and try to do other things at mentorship. The tasks I did seemed a bit repetitive, but I felt better about that when I did unique tasks for my Independent Components.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? 

• I personally love audiences and I hope to work with them a lot in my future career whether it be on a stage or through advertising. This project really helped me gain a new appreciation for senior citizens, which helped widen my range in knowledge about different audiences.

• It also has helped me work on different skills I need for my college major of communications. Talking to employees, interviews, and organizing events, etc.

Blog 22: Mentorship

  Literal

• Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog ---- Senior Project Hours
• Augustine Alvarado from the West Covina Senior Center

    Interpretive

•  What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
• The most important thing I learned is how to better communicate with senior citizens. Being around them often and learning by doing allowed me to learn more about their interests and habits. I have gained knowledge on the senior audience and how to better attend to them and talk with them.

   Applied

• How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.
• I have worked with seniors and on small projects to better serve them, which increases participation due to the seniors having more pleasant experience at the center. I have watched first hand what the seniors like to do most at senior centers. Working on boards and the famous lunch program really got me into the social conversations with the seniors.

Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question, and what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?

• My essential questions is; what is the most effective way to maximize participation at community senior centers?

• My first answer is, senior centers must have activities and services that cater to each senior generation

• My second answer is, senior centers must offer services that cater to all the needs of seniors

• My third answer is, seniors must be informed about their opportunities through proper messed  channels.

• My best answer was my first because senior centers need to keep up with the times and modern seniors trends. Things become trends because they are well liked and in demand. Each generation has unique interests, and these generations will eventually pass and younger ones will come in. Keeping up with each senior generations interests will keep the senior centers in demand.

2. What process did you take to arrive to this answer?

• It took months of observing how my senior center has been adapting to the different likes of the Baby Boomers, the youngest senior generation. Another source for my best answer was an article on the website A Place for Mom, a senior care referral business. The article is called "From the Greatest Generation to the Boomers: Senior Living Evolves" by Jeff Anderson. This article gave me information on how important it is for senior centers to evolve. With the information I learned from the article, I applied it to my senior center and realized how they both must be used, which helped answer my essential question.

3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

• A big problem I faced was finding resources that was not repetitive. A lot articles told me the same basis of how senior centers increase social interaction, well being, etc. So I resolved this problem by going into specific topics within my senior project topic. In example, I researched "seasonal affective disorder" which causes a lot of death amongst seniors during the holidays. I also researched senior health and organizing health fairs.

• Another slight problem was my health fair for my second independent component. For a short time, I was overwhelmed and was not sure if it would be a success. It was good that I set the date for it to be held during my spring break. this allowed me more time to organize everything. I resolved it by learning not to doubt myself so much.

4. What are your two most significant sources to answer your essential question, and why?

• My first significant source was my mentorship. I honestly believe that one learns most by doing, and first hand experience. Mentorship was my best source because I learned personally how to deal with problems that senior centers may face. I also had great communication with the senior center employees, and was able to get their point of view on what is needed and what is already being done for seniors. My mentorship is the result of finding most of my answers. I am very grateful to have a great mentorship that allowed me to do that.

• My second best source was the "From the Greatest Generation to the Boomers: Senior Living Evolves" by Jeff Anderson.  I cannot emphasize enough on how important to know who your working with, at any job. At senior centers, employees need to know and understand each generation of seniors. Just like a performer must know their audience to reach them, employees must do that with any customers or people they serve. This article really helped me understand each generation of seniors that I have currently been working with.