Category Archives: Trek2016

“You Can’t Solve A Rubik’s Cube”: Keilah’s Story

Volunteering at Hastings Kids First (an after school program for mainly at-risk kids, grades 1-7) for the past two terms has been an adventure. Participating through the UBC Trek program has shown me what defines a community, and has allowed me to explore so many perspectives about society that I would not have otherwise been subject to. But to me, the connections created between individuals is what brought the most value to my experience. Interacting with the kids, and having fun with them not only helped participating, time-bound families (in relation to Hochschild’s “Time Bind”), but it also helps with the kid’s stress levels within their school and family lives.

I remember my first day of volunteering. Just like anyone in a new surrounding, I was nervous, shy, and unsure of what I actually had to do. So, having a child suddenly break down into tears (due to problems outside of the school environment), and watching one of the leaders comfort her, clearly didn’t help my growing panic. In that split second, 3 things happened… 1) I understood that my placement at Kids First was going to be more emotionally draining than just being an “extra pair of hands”, 2) I suddenly had inner thoughts of “why am I here?”, and “what did I get myself into?”–albeit only for the first week or so, and 3) I realized that having people–volunteers–who are willing to give up their time, energy, and emotional stability all for the sake of trying to help these kids, was exactly what the program needed (both theoretically and physically, due to the prevalent threat of being understaffed).

Within the couple of months after Christmas, a girl in grade 7 suddenly began to be more-or-less attached to me. As one of the more perceived “tough kids” to handle, her explosive personality and expressive voice had initially caused me to try and avoid her–mainly due to my selfish wish to not get involved. We had never talked before, but one day she came up to me unexpectedly and draped her arm through mine.

The more I got to know her, the more surprises I encountered. For what I thought to be an eccentric, loud, tough girl, became completely silent and lost when confronted with homework. The first time I sat down with her to help with her math, it was almost like I was sitting with a completely different person. It was as if she was overcome with feelings of stress, panic, and a general sense of being overwhelmed. It was at that moment that I had decided to try and make her smile every time I helped with her homework–if only to lessen her stress for only a couple of seconds. Even though I may have had a tough day, or I may not have been “in the mood”, seeing her (and all the other kids) smile made all my efforts completely “worth it”. It was instances such as these that made me feel the most alive.

I think that for me, it is the individual interactions that make up the most important aspect of my placement. Although I do believe it is essential to analyze and understand the broader issues that affect those in Kids First (as well as all other social programs in general), finding possible solutions (such as food security, housing security, job security, etc.) to those problems and influencing those involved is impossible without human interaction. And evidently, I think that it is these individual interactions that have impacted me and my worldly perspective the most.

I solved a Rubik’s Cube at Kids First once. It was almost the new “fad” among [mainly] the boys, with there being at least 5 Cubes being in the room at one time. But despite owning Cubes, most of the boys didn’t actually know how to solve them. I initially had a hard time getting to know the guys (compared to the girls), so I walked over to them and told them I could fix it. One of the guys looked at me, unbelieving, and told me I couldn’t. Well, I did. Since then, every week I volunteered, the only words he would teasingly say to me would be “you can’t solve a Rubik’s Cube”. This small, constant remark from him may seem insignificant (and possibly annoying for some), but to me it symbolized a connection between us–the idea that I had made such an impression, that he was willing to come up to me and talk.

Whether you are a student thinking about participating in TREK, an individual contemplating volunteering, or a person who just happened to stumble upon this blog, let me tell you one final thing… Taking care of, and watching over kids can be significantly emotionally draining. It does requires a lot of emotion management–while I cannot possibly count all the days where I had a bad day, tried to put a smile on my face, and attempted to genuinely converse and have fun with the kids. it is also an impossibility for me to count the instances where I had to try to keep my tears from falling off of my face, when confronted with kids who are crying due overwhelming feelings of frustration and anger, to their perceived inevitability of their own failure.

Being with these kids required patience, kindness, and understanding–basins of emotions that can possibly disappear quickly, against our better judgement. But in my personal opinion, seeing those kids genuinely smile, learn, and grow were the most valuable, precious moments that I have taken away from my experience. Without a doubt, volunteering at Kids First was completely “worth it”.

Whatever you, Reader, decide to do, and whatever choices you make, my suggestion would be to try and find something that you can put your time and effort into, and still feel that it was “worth it”. Being excited and passionate about what you do (whether it be volunteering or anything else) can help provide a sense of dedication that drives everyday life.

As for me, I’ll just be over here–fixing those Rubik’s Cubes.

How Trek Shaped My First Year

source: Vancouver School Board

Trek was an experience that has truly shaped my first year. Upon arriving at UBC I was looking for ways to get involved with the community, so I was glad to hear about the Trek program. Trek is a program run out of the Center for Community Engaged Learning which connects UBC students with community partners in need of volunteers. The community partner that I chose to work with is Visions 180 which is an after school program, run out of Grandview Elementary School. Grandview Elementary School is located in the Grandview Woodlands community in East Vancouver. The community has a diverse culture made up mostly of immigrants and Aboriginal populations. The Visions program caters to the community by offering a minimum cost afterschool program to the students of Grandview (grades two to five) from 3 until 5 pm. During my time there I interact with the students and assisting the staff with running the programs. Through Trek I was able to make connections with the students and other staff members, in addition making what I was learning in the class room tangible.

Each week I looked forward to going to Trek, as it gave me the opportunity to get away from the bubble that I so often found myself in at school. Especially in the first few weeks of the year when my life revolved around school work and settling into university life I eagerly anticipated going to volunteer each week. By making me get off campus once a week, Trek served as a way to remind me that there is life off of campus. Furthermore, when I got caught up in wondering why I was even at school, Trek was a reminder of the goal I am working toward. Trek kept me motivated throughout the school year. By giving me the opportunity to go out into the community that I normally don’t go I have been able to see firsthand the issues that these communities are facing. It was an eye opening experience for me as I truly began to recognize and appreciate my privilege. By acknowledging the privilege I have, I gained better understand the concepts learnt in class and could begin to see that my privilege is a tool that as I recognize it and use to bring about change once I acknowledge the problems.

In addition to providing me with a grounding experience during my first year of university, Trek allowed me to apply the sociological concepts I learnt in class to real life situations. Concepts such as gentrification (the process of developing an area that is where lower classes live for the middle class to move in) seemed very abstract to me when I first learnt about it in class. However, one a student was telling me about how her family is moving because a d

source: Can a City be too Pretty? How Gentrification Affects a City’s Art and Soul , http://68.media.tumblr.com/0e3af877d856daaab9c848cc633e80a9/tumblr_inline_mjphlsYMOy1qz4rgp.jpg

eveloper is putting in a new condo on the property she used to live in. This student’s experience as being a victim of gentrification made me realize that this concept I learnt about in class was having real life impacts on these communities. Seeing the real life implications of these concepts helped me get a deeper understanding of the course material. Seeing these issues first hand also helped me to link the concepts from class together. For example, I could see links between gentrification and neoliberal polices, and further relate these concepts to why programs like Trek exist in the first place. I began to understand the need for programs such as trek to supply these community partners with volunteers due to the neoliberal principles adopted by governments leave public services to be funded by private investors. This leads to a greater divide between classes which further impacts the lives of people in these communities. One such impact is on health, as we learnt that there are many social determinates of health (markers of social class and gender which can make a difference in health) . This understanding helped me to understand why so many children in the program are overweight or sick for long periods of time. One experience that really impacted me this year was an interaction that I had with a student who I was helping with homework. They were struggling with math and upon becoming very frustrated, asked me what the point of learning this was because they “weren’t going to university anyway”. This statement broke my heart as I realized the internalized oppression (when members of an oppressed group internalize the dominate image of themselves) that the child faced due impact that labeling from dominate groups in society. This was the point when I realized the discriminatory sociological concepts I learnt about in class, but did not think were much of an issue in modern Canada, are an issue that need to be addressed. When I began to feel frustrated with all the inequality you witness comparing Trek placement to my own life, I learnt about social movements and ways to bring about change in sociology class. In sociology it is emphasized that social structures have great influence on our actions, and that we create these social structures through conforming to norms. This may seem daunting and as though we have lost our autonomy, to realize that all your decisions are influenced by outside forces, but it is also promising. It is promising because if we as a society create these social structures, then we have the power to make changes to them as well!

In conclusion, I want to tell you that your first year at UBC will be an experience like you have never had before. It will be a time for you to question who you really are (no matter how sure you seem now) and to formulate your values and passions. It will be a great, hard, unforgettable experience that you will come out of with a deeper understanding of yourself. This being said one of the best ways to capitalize on your first year experience is to do something that is out of your comfort zone or just different than what you originally anticipated. Get involved! Trek is a great opportunity to do just this. It will provide you with an outlet, a way out of a 30-page paper, and sense of purpose and value (at least it did for me!). I would strongly encourage you to do the Trek program, it will impact you beyond the walls of the class room and help you to build your weak ties with the community. Whatever you decide to do this year, good luck and be open to any new experience that comes your way (wow that sounds cliché, but it’s true!).

The Afterschool Adventure’s Program: Gurveer’s Story

Source: http://www.miss604.com/2009/12/strathcona-community-centre-the-heart-of-the-city.html

My Placement

I volunteered at the Strathcona Community Centre, which is connected to the Lord Strathcona Elementary School. Located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, this community centre offers a fitness centre, preschool classes, programs for children, young adults, and seniors, as well as food security programs for the local population. Specifically, I volunteered with the Afterschool Adventures Program (ASA Program), which provides afterschool child care for students attending the elementary school. Essentially, I spent the afternoon engaging the children with various indoor and outdoor activities. I arrived at 3pm in the afternoon, at which time I helped the staff provide snacks to the children, and remained until 6pm, at which time I was exhausted yet happy having played various games with the children for the duration of the program. Although I had volunteered with children before, this experience was different because I was able to apply sociological concepts to my placement, compelling me to critically examine the factors that influence the success of the program, and the experiences that affect the individuals participating within the program. As well, Trek provided an opportunity for me to give back to the community. The families participating in the ASA Program are generally from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and they are especially in need of services that neoliberal policies have eliminated from the welfare state. Many of the children are enrolled in a program that provides their families with fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Considering all these benefits of participating in Trek, I would highly recommend signing up for the program.

What You Learn

On sunny days, the children like to do some gardening in the community garden!

As I had previously stated, the Trek program provides various opportunities for a student to further their comprehension of topics discussed within lectures and readings. For example, in class we discussed different parenting styles identified and explored by sociologist Annette Lareau in her book Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Lareau examines how child rearing practises employed by parents reflect the family’s social class and ultimately affects a child’s opportunities in acquiring economic and cultural capital in the future. Concerted cultivation is Lareau’s term to describe a parenting technique (prevalent in upper and middle class families) that relies on organized activities to help children develop a sense of entitlement with regards to societal institutions. This sense of entitlement provides children with the confidence to challenge authority figures and pursue their personal interests. Natural growth is Lareau’s term to describe a parenting technique (prevalent in working and lower class families) characterized by the belief that children will blossom naturally. Consequently, in natural growth, a parent’s role is merely to provide the essential resources for this blossoming to occur. Parents who employ this method of child rearing rely on the child to occupy themselves with unstructured play and tend to emphasize the hierarchical nature of parent-child relationships so children view themselves as subordinate to authority figures. After learning about these concepts in class, I could notice differences between the children who attended the ASA Program and those I grew up with in my elementary school. The Downtownside Eastside is a lower income neighbourhood within Vancouver, notorious for poverty, crime, and drug addiction. The children within the ASA Program are vulnerable with many of them experiencing food insecurity and unstable home environments. My elementary school was located in a middle/upper class neighbourhood where children were fortunate to experience the benefits of their parents’ wealth and high level education. Children attending the ASA Program likely grew up under the influences of natural growth, while children in my elementary school likely grew up under the influences of concerted cultivation. Upon acquiring this knowledge, I began to recognize differences between the children of the ASA program and my elementary school. For example, a parent picking up their child from the ASA Program might answer to a child’s inquiry as to why they had to leave with a “because I said so.” These children presumed a subordinate role within their relationships with supervisors in the program. When Julie, one of the program leaders requested something from a child, the child never questioned it. This was usually not the case in my elementary school, where the fact that parents often fought for their children’s interests meant that children developed a sense of entitlement to the right to engage with authority figures in meaningful ways.

Sometimes the children will give you their artwork and it really warms your heart!

Concerted cultivation and natural growth are only two concepts discussed in class and just one example of how sociology has helped me to see things that I would never have noticed before. It is very interesting having a new lens through which to see the world, and Trek allows you to practise using this lens to draw important conclusions about the world we inhabit.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Trek is a wonderful opportunity to build a network. Not only is it rewarding to volunteer, but it is a way to explore potential job opportunities that you may not have realized would interest you. The children are so enjoyable to be around, and often, Trek is a wonderful opportunity for me to relax, take a break from my academic life, and be a kid again. It is rewarding to see that you are making a small difference within a child’s life, either by playing a game with them or lending an ear to their never-ending stories.

If you do join Trek, you do not have to write the term paper that you would have to write it if you were in a regular discussion session. The only downfall of this, I found, was that I may have lost an opportunity to learn more about how to conduct sociological research, as well as how to write a sociology paper in general. There was likely exam preparation within regular discussion sessions that would have been helpful to access that Trek students missed. In the long run, however, Trek allows you to apply the concepts you learn in class to real situations, compelling you to think critically of the factors influencing the situation in which you have been placed, and allows you to give back to the community.

Works Cited:

Lareau, Annette. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. Print.

I still don’t get why kids are so obsessed with Ninjago: Sheryl’s story.

Hello! My name is Sheryl. For the past two terms I’ve been volunteering with the Writers’ Exchange at the Queen Alexandra location. Personally for me, TREK has been an amazing experience and I highly recommend anyone who is considering joining to sign up.

To take the program at face value, you trade off volunteering for your discussion sections. This means you don’t go to SOCI discussion every week, and instead you meet with other TREK students once a month. The nicest part about this deal is you don’t have do the work that is required in discussion- including the 16 page research essay due at the end of the term. This has been extremely helpful because around the time the research essay is due, a million other things in other classes will be due. Including a billion other research papers. You and your GPA will be glad to have the extra time to focus on other things.

TREK, however, is so much more then an easy ride through Sociology. Yes, trading off discussion work/the term essay is extremely nice, but TREK’s has meant so much more to me and the others who have chosen to go through the program than that. For starters, you get to go into the community and make change. In my job at the Writers’ Exchange, I helped kids in multiple grade levels learn how to read/write for around an hour and a half after school. I’ve had a lot of fun volunteering with the Writers’ Exchange as they try and shy away from traditional methods of teaching (exe: sitting in a chair and writing out sentences) and try to make learning fun by incorporating new things like writing a story about UFO’s invading earth or writing stories about who left a jar of Jelly Beans in the classroom and why. One kid I was working with said that the UFO’s that were invading were going to demand all the eggs and Power Rangers we had. Why? The Aliens really wanted to make scrambled eggs and apparently really like Power Rangers. The changes you make at your placement can be as big as teaching as teaching a kid life long writing skills, becoming one of the first stable adult connections that a child has ever had, or as little as making a kid laugh when you stick 6 Marshmallow in your mouth while trying to read them Diary of the Wimpy Kid.

Change is a two way street. While you help the people you volunteer with at your placements, they also can help change you. Again, this can be a little and big change. In my personal experience, volunteering has helped me integrate into Vancouver and Canadian society as a whole. Before I had come to UBC, I had little knowledge of Vancouver itself as I came from the U.S and because I had only visited occasionally. However, now I’m an expert at taking the Skytain/Bus system because TREK forced me to explore. Without TREK I probably would have stayed in the UBC “bubble” for all 4 years. I would have never gone to the area near my placement (Commercial-Broadway) because most people would regard it as the “ghetto”. The placements that most TREK programs are located in are mainly low-income areas, as they are the ones that need the most help due to the lack of government offered social services. TREK made me aware of the unseen side of the Canadian society. For example, many students at my placement were First Nation’s children, and many of them were at a disadvantage educationally and needed the program because of the legacy of residential schools and discrimination First Nations people have faced in Canadian history. SOCI 100 taught me some ways I could help change society for the better, like through trying to change legislation, ect. Other ways that TREK has changed my perspective is that before I started volunteering, I didn’t really like kids. (I lied about this only my application to Writers’ Exchange, shhh). However, my placement made me slowly like kids as I worked with them more and more. Teaching them was one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences of my life but it’s also something I feel good about and take pride in. All the children I worked with were great (thought a bit rowdy at times) and I hope for all of them to have a successful future.

The only regret I have about my placement is letting the kids know I could draw. This has lead to a lot of temper tantrums when I refused to draw the kids Pokemon for the 10th time (I’m not even kidding about this, I counted), and fights over which kid I was I was next going to help with designing their Ninjago characters. Basically, if you volunteer where there is children, deny any and all artistic talents you have, no matter how much they beg you to draw. It’ll save you a headache.

Another nice thing outside of your placements itself is the once a month meetings with other TREK students. I personally found this good because we have a little community going with each other. During the discussions we get to share similar experiences, and it’s a good opportunity to get to know a small chunk of your CAP stream. Even though you see the same faces for the whole year, when friend groups are cemented at the beginning of the year, it’s difficult to get to know some people in the stream. This is a good opportunity to interact with people you’d otherwise would not be talking to. Who knows, maybe one of your fellow students in TREK will become the connection/tie that’ll help you get your job in the future, or become your significant other 😉

Finally, if you’re worried you’d be missing out on extra learning/understanding of the class through discussion sections, you really won’t be missing it. Personally, my grade has been fine throughout SOCI. As for learning the course material, a lot of things at my placement has related back to the things we learn in class. Throughout the year I’ve had little “aha” moments whenever I connected something at my placement back to a Sociological concept. Learning things in Sociology has helped me understand why some things at my placement are the way they are. For example, learning about Neoliberalist governments pulling back funding for social services in the 1980’s to the present helped me understand why there was a need for volunteering organizations such as the Writers’ Exchange. Another example would be that Canada has a smaller amount of private schools then the U.S, but still has a major imbalance between the quality of education in public schools, such as Queen Alexandra, compared to private schools, which again is due to Neo-liberalism making the public regard education as a good rather than a right. Another would be the reason behind the need of after school programs like the Writers’ Exchange, which can be attributed to the shift in the Global North from an industrial economy to a service economy in the 1970’s/1980’s- which lead to more women in the workforce working longer hours, leaving a need for daycare and after school programs. If you have no idea what I’m talking about don’t worry, you’ll learn it soon! Generally at all placements, you’ll be able to connect back something you see to what you’re learning in class. Working at a placement really helps you actively learn about the class, and about the world in general. Not to sound like a broken record but TREK has been a great opportunity, and please consider volunteering for a great cause (and so you don’t have to write a massive research paper)! I hope to see you in the program next year!
P.S, not to shamelessly plug the Writers’ Exchange, but you should definitely consider volunteering for the Writers’ Exchange 😉

SVNH’s Newcomer Learning Club at John Oliver Secondary: My Experience

Welcome, future CAP student!

Hi, I’m Selena and by the time you read this, I will be a former CAP Global Citizens student.

If you’re looking at this blog, it must mean that you’ve already made the great decision of joining CAP! Now that you’ve made that great choice, I’d like to help you make another!

**Italicized words in bold in this blog are terms and concepts you will be learning in your upcoming SOCI 100 class with Dr. Greer.

Why choose Trek over discussion section?

When Dr. Greer first introduced the Trek option to us, I was honestly reluctant to consider the idea. I wanted to join a discussion section because I was scared that if I didn’t, I would miss out on a chance to develop my scholarly writing skills with the papers that come with it and that I would also miss out on reinforced explanations of class concepts. However, not only did I find that my other classes gave me plenty of practice with how to write papers, but I found that with Trek, I was able to not only understand the sociological concepts learned in class, but to use and apply them to real life situations. For me, a hands-on experience equipped with a critical eye helped broaden my view on society and helped me better understand the class content.

Other reasons to join Trek:

It’s a chance to get off campus!
If you’d like to get engaged in the Vancouver community but are uncertain or nervous, this is the perfect introduction and stepping stone for a way into it.
It’s great experience that can lead to weak ties that can help with future job connections and references.
It means that when your classmates are stressing about their soci paper, you’ll be off having fun in the community instead! 😉
A helping hand is always needed and appreciated.

My Trek experience:

My Placement

The SVNH from street view on Victoria Dr. (from Google Images)

I volunteered for the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (SVNH). My role was being a tutor for one of their youth programs for newcomers to Canada, The Newcomer Learning Club. This year, a youth settlement counselor ran the club after school on Fridays at John Oliver Secondary. Every week I would come to the classroom and hang out with a small group of kids, chat with them and help them with their homework for an hour and a half.

John Oliver Secondary from street view (from Google Images)

I was drawn to the idea of this program because my father was a refugee from the Vietnam War and has told me how much him and his family had appreciated the help that the community had given them when they first arrived to Canada. This lead me to want to be part of the support system that exists for new immigrants and refugees in our country.

Who are these kids? / Why do they need help?

The kids that attend this afterschool program are either refugees or simply kids who have recently moved to Canada. Newcomers face a lot of struggle, as moving countries is not an easy transition. Newcomer children in specific are very vulnerable since they are at the time in their lives where they are trying to discover and build their identities while also facing discrimination against their race, gender, culture and class. On top if this, their self-confidences are further hindered as they do not know English very well and they lack knowledge of their new environment.

The Learning Club program is available for all kids in the high school, however the common ages are thirteen to fourteen. In the program there were a few Syrian refugees, a girl from Guatemala, a boy from Zambia, a girl from Vietnam and a boy from Pakistan. However, I noticed that the majority of the kids who showed up to Learning Club were kids from the Philippines whose mothers were caretakers and left them when they were young to come to Canada. Now that these kids are about thirteen, they have come to join their mothers. These kids struggle adjusting to their home lives because oftentimes, with this time apart, their mothers have found new husbands and now have had other children. For the newcomers, this can affect them deeply when they come to this country as they now live with a mother they have not seen in ten years and in a completely new family and environment. What was fortunate, however, was that when I first told about the Filipino kids’ situation by the program director, I immediately understood the situation since I had already learned about why Filipino mothers would come to Canada as caretakers from the sociology lecture and reading in past weeks.

Significant aspects of my experience / How are we helping?

The first day that I came into the classroom, I had a conversation with some of the students that really stood out to me. I was talking to one of the girls and I asked her which country she had moved from. She was a very outgoing girl and carried herself as though she were confident and collected. I could tell there was major impression management going on here because when she replied, she said “Vietnam”, but her body language suggested that she was incredibly insecure about this. I replied with, “Oh, my dad is from Vietnam”. Her and the kids listening in were shocked. They asked me about my mom because they told me I didn’t look Vietnamese. I said that she was white and they replied, “Oh, so you mean Canadian”. I was taken back for a moment, but then replied, “Being Canadian does not mean you have to be white. You can be coloured and still be Canadian”. The kids all gave me puzzled looks and slowly retreated back to their activities. I was shocked. The fact that these kids were associating a Canadian identity synonymously with being white was very concerning. This showed me that a large part of the insecurity these kids feel is due to not seeing themselves as Canadian and thus “out of place” in the community.

When I initially signed up for this volunteering opportunity, I believed that the goal of this program was to provide newcomer kids with help for their homework and to teach them English skills. I was very wrong—it is so much more. The manifest function of Learning Club is to help these kids with their homework. However, the latent function is to help these kids socially integrate and feel as though they belong as Canadian citizens in their new environment and community. This said, it is not really about the homework—One of the functions is teaching these kids to resist the internalized oppression they have against themselves that prevents them from feeling “Canadian” simply because they are coloured. Moreover, this program is about developing a sense of belonging, confidence and social skills in a safe environment that will gear them for their new life.

In essence, the goal of this program is to work to improve the factors that contribute to these kids’ social determinants of health for the sake of their well-being in this country. Furthermore, simply being exposed to me as a UBC student builds these kids’ cultural capital. Since I have gotten to know these kids and have built strong ties with them, through reciprocity of exchange, we have established a development of common ground. With this, the kids have begun to see that I am just like them and are starting to understand that where I am in the community is absolutely where they can be too. Moreover, from the program encouraging these kids to do volunteer work in the community, teaching them social norms, teaching them their rights and how to ensure these, and building confidence, they have gained vital building blocks to their cultural capital, which, in the end, will meet the goal of the program and improve their overall life chances.

Concluding Remarks / Tips for you!

Overall, I had an amazing experience with Trek and I highly recommend that you consider it. I assure you that your SOCI 100 experience will be enriched with all the connections you will make to class content and that you will have a lot more fun than those in discussion section writing papers! 😉

Before I end off, I have a few tips for you:

If you are debating Trek because of the time commitment, I would suggest signing up for a Friday time slot like I did because you won’t have to worry about finishing assignments or studying for a test the next day while you’re spending your time at your placement.
If you’re nervous about it, take the risk! University is not all about the classroom setting. Getting out there and getting experience is vital in enriching your skill sets to go along with your degree.
If you make the awesome decision of choosing Trek, but you’re not sure how you would get kids or whoever you’re working with to listen to you and respect your position, just listen in class and you’ll learn about ways you can define the situation to your advantage.

I hope this blog provided you with some of the information you were looking for!

Thanks for taking your time to read this blog and I wish you the best in your upcoming first-year experience!

Trek is a wonderful journey: Lyra’s story

Hello Everyone!

Here I have some questions: what does it mean to be a member of CAP? how can we really become Global Citizens? why are we here? In fact, the answers all depends, but in my perspective, the whole CAP Program, especially the stream “Global Citizen” is somewhere you can find a sense of belonging; in other words, people with various backgrounds come together and explore what they can do to make this world better in a global sphere rather than a regional one. We have the right as well as the responsibility to get in touch with people who are either near or far from us. Then, once we are clear about our “mission”, how can we get involved? Yes, Trek Program, a great tool and opportunity provided for ambitious students to say: “OKAY, LET’S DO THIS!”.

Last October, I was assigned to volunteer at Queen Alexandra, one of the top neediest elementary schools in Vancouver, by UBC Trek Program. Before I came here, I worked as a teaching assistant in China, so, in my perspective, Trek is a good way for me to make scholar comparison between Canadian education system and the Chinese one. Although at first, I was quite lost since QA made me realize how different education systems in two states could be and how hard it was for such local needy schools. Later, when my professor introduced the concept of neoliberalism in lectures, I suddenly found that the sufferings of needy schools are closely related to Canadian political and cultural background. Everything or everyone is a thread of a huge web, and we can be affected by (even a small change of) the society. The problem is, however, most of the time we attribute the negative social consequences to ourselves or to people who are deprived their benefits, and here comes to the link with one of Lareau’s policy recommendations: we should not narrowly value the “welfare” without the consideration of the social “wealth transfers”. Thanks to Trek, a program which gave me the chance to apply numerous sociology concepts to my experience, I can own such multi-dimensional reflection of the local community and the “world”. In other words, I’m starting to know the rule of the game in our society.

For me, the most essential aspect of my participation in Trek is to always ask “why”. Sometimes we are prone to make judgments about the scenes that are in front of us; we unconsciously view this world from a lens made by the leading power in this society. Instead of seeing something as weird or sad, we should regard it as a consequence of either a social change or a political decision; we need to ask “why”. Only if people are learned to discover the “reality” behind a situation, could they really get to know what’s going on and which can be the best way to make something better or provide more support to people in trouble. An aid without acknowledging the nature of a matter is dangerous and may be harmful to the recipients.

Briefly, it’s amazing to tie what you have learned during lectures to your experience, and this process plays an extremely important role in helping you asking “why” and finding the solutions. Trek is a wonderful opportunity for you to explore the world and broaden your horizon; please seize it!

Good luck!

Lyra.

Visions180 at Grandview Elementary School: Merial’s Story

Participating in the Trek program over the course of this year has been an incredibly enriching and expanding experience. Enriching, not only because I was able to build strong relationships with children and peers in the Vancouver inner-city school community, but also because I was able to see Sociological course material in action in my placement. Not only have I found a spot in a community where I plan on working after I have completed my Trek volunteer placement, but I have had the opportunity to interact with sociological thought in a way that is rarely taken advantage of by first year university students.

Source: “School Photos.” VSB Grandview Elementary School. Vancouver School Board, 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2017. <http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/gra/Pages/photo-gallery.aspx>.

This year, I was placed in Grandview Elementary School in East Vancouver as a volunteer at Visions180, an after-school childcare program. I had the opportunity to lead activities for children ranging from grades two to seven in an encouraging and diverse context. The most impactful aspect of the placement for me was being able to get to know children who came from completely different socioeconomic backgrounds from myself, and be able to take a peek into the way they saw the world. I was able to build relationships with them through play and conversation, getting to know them by chatting about both the little things (such as brainstorming colours to dye one’s hair) to larger topics such as family dynamics.

One of the most interesting aspects of course material that I saw materialized in front of me at my placement was our discussion surrounding the societal and institutional discrimination that pushes certain demographics to inner-city areas and schools. If you take Kerry Greer’s Introduction to Sociology course, you will most likely discuss themes of neoliberalism, and you will learn about how this political ideology has depleted many societies of many adequately state-funded social services. This political and economic ideology results in a greater socioeconomic struggle for families who are already in dire situations. Private organizations (think along the lines of charitable organizations and other non-governmental service-providing institutions) are now often the sites which provide many social service necessities to inner-city communities. Visions180 is a prime example of such a site, as it provides services such as affordable childcare as well as food and clothing programs to populations in need of this support.

Participating in an organization such as Visions180, which presents a very real example of the same concepts discussed in the classroom, has brought studies of sociology to life. The numbers and facts we have studied have become so much more than merely numbers and facts – they are now real people, families, and communities. Volunteering with Trek has given me an entirely new perspective of sociological concepts, and has thereby deepened my understanding of the world around me. For this reason, I highly recommend participation in Trek to future sociology students – especially those entering into their first year of university. This program will hopefully provide you with a clearer vision of your potential career or study paths at UBC. It also is a great way to add variety into your study schedule and explore parts of Vancouver you may not otherwise discover!

So, my advice to any potential future Trek student is… Take advantage of this opportunity! It is worth every minute of your time given.