Jason Scharff 6th visit: Scholars4Scholars

Jason Scharff

August 23, 2016. 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Scholars4Scholars

Jose Bethancourt

jose.bethancourt@scholars4scholars.org

While after my sixth visit (each of 3 hours), I unfortunately haven’t finished it fully (18 hours is not a lot of time to write a coding project), I’m going to finish it over the next few days and do a bit more than the six visits so they can launch it. However, from just playing around with what I have now, I’m amazed how readily available scholarship opportunities are that I had no idea exist. I strongly believe from working on this that a lot of work needs to be in the awareness sphere of how to pay for college. When I was first asked to do this, I though writing a scholarship search engine wouldn’t be doing a whole lot, but obviously I agreed. Now I’m honestly flabbergasted nothing like this existed. All other systems require so much initial energy to just see scholarship options. The biggest step before I can be confident this will help people is how the organization spreads the word about the search engine. However, because Scholars4Scholars has people on the ground in the Rio Grande Valley I’m confident it’ll have targeted impact. However, I strongly believe this can be expanded to more areas––all we need is people to market it.

In doing this I discovered that doing pro-bono development is a lot of fun and rewarding. Living in kind of a bubble, I often don’t think about how technology could be used to help people, but doing this work has convinced me that I could volunteer more and really help people just by using my brain and keyboard.

I’ll update this post once it goes live within the next few days on their website. 

Jason Scharff 3rd visit at Scholars4Scholars

Jason Scharff

August 20, 2016. 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Scholars4Scholars

Jose Bethancourt

jose.bethancourt@scholars4scholars.org

Before beginning my PACT project I wasn’t 100% sure what I would do for the organization. I had gotten involved because of a friend who lives in the area the organization specializes in (the Rio Grande Valley) and he had told me all of these stories about people he knew who had no idea about college or how to pay for it which opened my eyes to just how much of a bubble we live in. Obviously not living in the area, I at first wasn’t sure what I could do for them, but they agreed to take me. They knew I had development experience so they asked if I could write a search engine that they could show students and provide for free that helps students find scholarship opportunities in addition to just their own. I had never really thought about this so I spent the majority of my first two visits looking into the alternatives and writing code to take data from them to incorporate into their own product.  From there, I got into the development which is a bit more dry. (though interesting as I haven’t done much web work before). I absolutely feel as if I’m having an impact because I never realized quite how bad the current scholarship search system is––the best systems require a huge commitment and large questionnaires covering the sheer amount of opportunity available scaring students away. While I’m not working directly with those affected, in a sense, my work is more rewarding because if I do my job correctly it could expand beyond just the Rio Grande Valley and make it much easier for students to figure out how to pay for college.

Visits 3-6 at MROSD

Ben Zdasiuk
08/16/2016
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
Paul Mckowan
email: volunteer@openspace.org
phone: (650) 691-1200

My visits with Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District during the summer have been less eventful than my visits in the winter-- simply less inclement weather results in less trail damage from fallen trees and water based erosion. That said, in my visits at El Corte De Madera, Purisima, Montebello, Russian Ridge, and Coal Creek Open Space Preserves (I hit Montebello, Russain Ridge, and Coal Creek all in one day, and ECdM and Purisima each on their own day) I did find a number of downed trees. Most of the trees that had fallen were looked like older trees, which may've been weakened by a few years of drought, and then fallen when the summer winds (caused by marine layer fog spilling over the Santa Cruz Mountains) hit them. Because these trees were on average older and larger, I ended up marking and cataloging the trees for rangers with chainsaws to clear. It was also good to monitor trail modifications that had been made the year before and see that those modifications were supporting wilderness traffic (horses, hikers, bikers) without sending erosion runoff into streams.  This was encouraging to see as many of the streams in the area have been filled with silt and other erosion byproducts from logging and trail/road construction over the past 100 years, which has created ecological issues in affected streams. Overall, I found it rewarding to see that land management agencies are taking concrete steps to protect and armor the watersheds and Open Space agencies on the Peninsula.

First Three Visits with MROSD

Ben Zdasiuk
05/08/2016
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
Paul Mckowan
email: volunteer@openspace.org
phone: (650) 691-1200

Over the past six month’s I’ve done a variety of volunteer projects for the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District.  My volunteer projects have generally fallen into two categories: trail monitoring and patrol duties, and trail or ecological restoration projects. My first visit with MROSD was an ecological restoration project in a property that was to be annexed to Montebello Open Space preserve. Prior to opening new trails on a property, MROSD attempts to restore the ecosystems on that property to an ecologically stable state. On the property that I was working on, overgrowth from invasive French Broom was outcompeting native plants, so my group was tasked to remove any invasive species we spotted on the hillside. Talking to other volunteers on the project, I found that most of them decided to volunteer to give back to the outdoor community, and had been doing so through volunteering for a very long time.

My next two visits with MROSD were trail patrol and surveying assignments after large storms. After large storms, erosion, downed trees, and general debris take their toll on the hundreds of miles of trails serviced by MROSD, and it’s largely up to volunteers to get the trails up and running again. After large storms, I went out with a few other volunteers and mountain bikers to go find downed trees and eroded pieces of trail. We would then move any debris off-trail, repack and rebuild eroded sections of trail, and mark and report any large trail obstacles for chainsaw teams to remove.

Final visit to UCSF Mission Bay Hospital's Art for Recovery Program

Kaitlin Hao

August 4, 2016, 10:00 A.M.

Art for Recovery Program at UCSF Hospital at Mission Bay

Cindy Perlis

cynthia.perlis@ucsf.edu (415)-885-7221

Since my last blog post, Art for Recovery has given us much more opportunities and direct responsibilities. Our organization seems to really trust us now that we have shown our dedication and hard work with the Heart Project and Firefly Project. Sophia and I are in charge of cataloguing patients art, and now participate in art workshops for outpatients, who are discharged cancer patients returning for subsequent treatments and emotional support. We finally got to experience the direct interaction that we initially thought was missing from our PACT. Initially, I thought that the workshop would be almost like a therapy session, where heavy subjects such as illness and mortality would be discussed, since these workshops could be considered as a form of emotional therapy. Instead, much of the workshop consisted of cheerful chatter about random subjects while everyone worked on lighthearted art activities. Many patients asked me to talk about myself instead of talking about themselves, which shocked me. I initially intended just to listen to whatever they had to say, in fear that I would say the wrong thing. They seemed to love hearing about silly teenage trends or what colleges I was applying to. Perhaps they thought it was refreshing having two silly teenagers sitting at a table that was otherwise filled with middle-aged women patients. Later, Cindy told us what illnesses our new friends were afflicted with, which ranged from ovarian cancer to brain tumors. Although saddened by the severity of their illnesses, I tried not to let this new knowledge change the way I interacted with the ladies. I’ve learned that one of the best ways to interact with patients is to be aware of my words and not overstep my boundaries, but talk to them and joke with them like they are regular people.

3rd visit to UCSF Mission Bay Hospital's Art for Recovery Program

Kaitlin Hao

July 15, 2015, 10:00 A.M.

Art for Recovery Program at UCSF Hospital at Mission Bay

Cindy Perlis

cynthia.perlis@ucsf.edu (415)-885-7221

Our initial proposal of what we wanted to do at UCSF is drastically different from what we are actually doing. Because we are under 18, we are not allowed to directly work with patients or enter patients’ rooms, which makes the direct service component of our project a little difficult. However, Cindy found us an alternative: the Heart project and the Firefly Project. For the Firefly project, I’m writing a pen pal letter once a month to a cancer patient named Donna. For the Heart project, we are sewing little felt hearts to hand out to patients, patients’ family members, and staff members. As we sit in the hospital waiting areas and sew hearts for six hours, we catch glimpses of patients, some of them being pushed in wheelchairs or being supported by a nurse as they move slowly down the halls. I feel guilty that I’m not allowed to go up and talk to them or assist them in any way, but at the same time, I wouldn’t have any idea what to say. I constantly wonder what patients would want to talk about. Donna loves to talk about her illness, but I wonder whether that’s a sore topic for other patients. Although I don’t feel like I’m being helpful by sewing these hearts, Cindy told us that these hearts have started a sort of trend! Patients have started sewing them for other patients or for their own family members, so in a way, Sophia and I have started a chain reaction of showing appreciation for someone. I never realized that such a small activity could create such a large impact on a community.

6^th/7^th day (7/30/15-7/31/15):

            Tomorrow is the talent show and my students are both nervous and excited to perform. They have improved tremendously from the first time they sang “I’m Yours”. Their rhythm and intonation has improved after asking to drill it multiple times, they took initiative and memorized the words even though they could bring the lyrics onstage, and were much more confident, choosing to sing their hearts out instead of sitting quietly and practically whispering the words like they were doing the first day. The next day, my kids were jittery, awaiting their performance onstage before almost 500 teachers and fellow students. I gave them all a high-five and wished them luck. They sang beautifully. I was so proud I almost cried. During the performance however, I noticed that the some of the other teachers at the camp were acting inappropriately by laughing and jeering. Though they were just teenagers like me, I felt that what they were doing was very disrespectful and were acting ignorant of how much effort the students had put in. I was extremely disappointed in their behavior because my students had worked extremely hard to master a song to the best of their ability in a foreign language in only a few days. I felt like a protective mother. I was so surprised at my reaction to someone else’s disapproval of my kids after only knowing them for a week. However, in just a week, my students and I connected quickly and bonded in a way that I have never experienced outside of this camp. We were like a little family. I was extremely proud of them and I am so glad I got to witness their passion for learning and actually have the privilege of being a part of it. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and I am already counting down the days till next year!

Peach Pact Journal-

3^rd day of teaching (7/27/15):

            I participated as a teacher at Peach last year as well so I had no new initial preconceptions. However, it is always a different experience when new students are involved. Both years that I have been a teacher, I have been surprised by my own emotional reactions to seemingly inconsequential actions. The other day, one of my extremely shy students began to participate in class. The first day I met her, she was extremely critical of her own intelligence, especially of her “limited” knowledge of English. However, with some gentle coaxing, she began to participate and become an active member of the class. It was impossible to ignore how smart she was and I was so extremely grateful that she trusted me enough to allow me to see her true potential. Since the first day, we have been practicing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz for the talent show at the end of the summer camp. My students were struggling with tempo and the pronunciation of the more difficult words like “intervention”. But today, they sang it perfectly! It was extremely moving and after the song, the kids all cheered and could not stop smiling. Each year, I am awed by these extraordinary kids. I realize how little they have and yet they treasure the privilege of learning above everything else. Last year, I did not realize how much of an impact I had on these kids until the last day when even the “coolest” boys started crying. I am amazed by these kids and am so proud that they have been able to endure such hard times and still strive to improve themselves with smiles on their faces. This is an extremely rewarding experience that I cannot wait to participate in again next year!

Pets in Need Visit 6

Julian Garcia-Mendez
8:00 AM-12:00 PM on Wednesday, August 19th, 2015
Pets in Need
Terry Mendez
Cell: (650)283-2102
Work: (650)367-1405

During my final visit, I spent a bit more time inside the surgery room, and got to be closer to the pets who had just comeback from surgery. Throughout the first couple of days, I was behind the scenes, taking care of work that needed to be done for the following day. However, on the 4th, 5th and my final visit I finally got to see what went on Post-Operation. While it doesn't seem like much, this is actually one of the more important steps of the entire process. Ensuring that the cut stays stitched is one of the most important parts. This is achieved by putting an E-collar on the pet.(Something which I took care of. pictured below)

The E-collar, while just a flimsy piece of material, it saves lives, because without it, the dog could sniff and touch the wound possibly undoing the stitching and allow for infection. This allowed me to see the bigger picture. Our actions, however small, had a bigger effect than we ever might imagine. Take this image below for example. 

If just one cat is spayed (a female is spayed, males are neutered) on the second level, then that will reduce the amount of cats that will be born. By spaying or neutering an animal, you ensure that the animal will never get pregnant, and will not produce any offspring which will cut down on overpopulation. I realized that this will have a dramatic effect on the amount of animals going through the process of adoption. This allowed me to realize that even a small action can have huge effects down the line. The work that Pets in Need does, by providing free spay & neutering services, fulfills their mission, which is "To advance the no-kill movement, reduce pet homelessness, and find every dog and cat a loving home."

Pets In Need Refelction for Visit 3

Julian Garcia-Mendez
8:00 AM-12:00 PM on Wednesday, August 12th, 2015
Pets in Need
Terry Mendez
Cell: (650)283-2102
Work: (650)367-1405

Pets in Need (PIN) is the first shelter in the state of California to be a non-kill shelter. One of the big things that makes PIN stand out amongst other shelters, is that they offer free Spay and Neuter. This ties in to my main Social Injustice which is Animal Abuse. One of the big parts of animal abuse, is over population.

Overpopulation of shelters is a huge problem, because most shelters aim to get save a lot of dogs. However, shelters end up euthanizing or killing dogs if they aren't adopted in a certain time window.
Being a No-Kill shelter means that all the animals that the shelter receives will never be euthanized. Going into the project, I knew that I was going to be working with animals. However, I wasn't quite sure what I would be doing to solve my social injustice. However, I soon learned that I would help prep tools packs for surgery, by cleaning the tools, sanitizing them and then wrapping them to be ready for the following days surgery. By being there I helped the technicians and doctors have all hands on deck, and allowed them to work as hard and efficiently as they could. Over the first 3 days, we spayed and neutered around 50 cats and dogs.