January Blog: Electronics Day

• As part of my independent component, I said that I would be a part at an event that benefits seniors and related to my survey results. I noticed in my survey that most senior did not use social media. I also have had conversations with senior center employees in the past, about seniors and electronics.
• Staff members at the West Covina Senior Center put together an Electronics Day event on January 17th. Student volunteers from various high schools would come together and teach senior citizens about technology and answer any questions that they had about their electronics. 

• I volunteered and got paired up with a nice lady named Millie. I helped her download apps, use Facebook messenger, and use FaceTime on her phone and tablet. She was really sweet and was very thankful. She even dropped off a gift for me at the senior center days later, with a thank you not. This event was a wonderful experience. Millie even asked if we could take a "selfie".
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

• I am most proud of my audience engagement. I felt that I executed my presentation well by being informative while keeping the audience interested by incorporating subjects they would  find entertaining or relatable. I was able to use certain aspects of my topic to further entertain my type of audience, teenagers.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation?

• AE because I feel very confident in meeting the requirements, such as the area in engaging the audience and the activity helping to further teach my answer. I felt like the audience was paying attention and that I was very informative on my topic. Walking around throughout my activity allowed me to see that people really did understand what I had taught. The audience easily completed the activity. I also went above and beyond by talking further about subjects within my topic, after I had thoroughly explained my answer.

3. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• I had brought my prop to school with me, but I left it on my school desk during my presentation and forgot about it by the end. If I could do my presentation again, I would use it. My prop wouldn't have made a big impact in my overall presentation because it isn't something really important. If it were up to me, I wouldn't use it because I don't need it personally, but it was on the contract so I wish I would have remembered to present it.

4. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

• My second answer would most likely be "Senior centers must offer services that cater to all the needs of seniors" and I might add "to encourage well-being".  This would include needs such as nutrition, entertainment, health, education, and social services.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

•  I am doing my mentorship at the West Covina Senior Center.

2. Who is your contact?

• My contact is Augustine Alvarado. He is a Program Recreation Leader at the senior center.

3.  How many total hours have you done?

• I haven't been able to record many hour I did in October and November. I have to go to ask for the volunteer records at the center to find out the specific date and hours. But I currently have  a total of 31.5  hours logged.

4. Summarize the ten hours that you did. 

• In my ten hours I got to get a sense of how things are run at the senior center, and the daily routine. I helped to give out lunch tickets, and to serve the lunches. I also spoke to some seniors and listened to their stories of the past. I redecorated some of the boards because a lot of them seemed old, faded, and outdated. 

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1. What did you do over the break with your senior project?

• Over the break I continued going to my mentorship for as much as I could, and also took a step further for my Independent Component. I created a survey and passed it out at the Senior Center.

2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

• The most important thing I learned from what I did was what the seniors enjoy most at the Senior Center. My source was my survey, where I collected the data and was able to get a sense of what today's seniors enjoy.

Here are some of my findings:

• I've also learned what I can improve on the next time I want to do a survey. I have learned that I could improve because even thought I did receive a good amount of data, I could have gotten more. My source was this experience I had with the survey.

3. If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

• I would talk to the head employee or manager at the West Covina Senior Center because in order to be in there position, they must have plentiful knowledge on my topic and answers. 

December Blog

• Last blog post before the new year! I began today with volunteering at the senior center for their end of their year party which included desert and entertainment. I really enjoy helping to decorate the facility with their theme boards and I sometimes draw on the whiteboards. 

• Below are some pictures of the boards I made for New Year's Eve.

•  I help decorate along with a senior from the center. She is very kind and creative, and has explained to me how she creates certain decorated pieces. She is like a human "Pinterest" and is known for her delicious food dishes. For New Year's Eve celebrations, she made shiny origami swans and I was able to take one home.

• For my independent component, I said that I would create a survey to have input from the seniors on what they would like to see at the center. I passed our my survey and received some predicted responses and others were quite interesting. The Mayor of West Covina visited the center to speak with the citizens and he also delighted to take my survey.  I spoke with him briefly and found out that his daughter is an Ipoly alumnus which was really cool to know.

• My survey was only 5 questions and did not require any personal information or name because I know that most seniors value their privacy. The process of handing out the survey wasn't much trouble, but some seniors did ask what "Social Media" was because many did not know what it is. The survey included the following questions:

• 1. I am part of the _________ generation.
• Greatest (1901-1925)
• Silent (1926-1944)
• Boomers (1945-1964)
• 2. Do you use Social Media?
• Yes
• No
• If yes, which?:

• 3. How did you find out about the senior center and it's services?

• 4. What do you enjoy most about the center's activities, features, etc.?

• 5. What would you like to see more of at the center? ( classes, entertainment, etc.)

November Blog: Thanksgiving Party

• On November 26th I volunteered for the Senior Center's Annual Thanksgiving Lunch. On this day, the Center serves a Thanksgiving lunch to 200 people and provide entertainment. Usually the center only serves about 120 people a day, so this was one of the busiest days of the year.

• I first helped order ticket numbers, which are distributed to seniors at a "first come, first serve" basis. Seniors lined up for these tickets before the center even opened, so these ticket ran out fast. It was difficult for the employees to keep hectic crowd so organized but they managed it well.

• Before lunch, the center had a band playing oldies but goodies hits for the seniors to dance too. It was a woman singing and a man playing the keyboard. They played songs like Achy Breaky Heart, Sway, New York New York, and the Chicken Dance. The seniors had a lot of fun dancing with friends and in couples. 

• Employees later walked around to converse with the seniors and to take pictures of the holiday event. The center also held a raffle for gift baskets. The Mayor of West Covina, Fred Sykes, later came to greet the seniors. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. The atmosphere was great because of the sense of community, the decorations, and nostalgic music. It would be nice for the center to have more events like this during the months less populated by holidays. 

• I later helped to serve lunch which was roasted turkey, stuffing, buttered peas and mushrooms, juice, and a slice of pumpkin pie. At the end of the day, I helped to clean up and began decorating the facility with Christmas decor. The center won't be open again until December 1st so I doodled some "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" cartoons.

EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. Review the EQs, do they follow the rule of 3?

• A: It is concise but good.
• B: It is not specific enough because there are different types of criminal investigations.
• C:  It is not strong enough to do research on because "liking a certain hairstyle" is an opinion and is different for everyone.
• D: It makes sense and one can take a stand on it.

3. My EQ: What is the most effective way to cater to current seniors successfully at a senior center?