Tag Archives: internship

UPrising, Volunteers

Volunteer Voices Series: Ouamar Benikene

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This essay is published in our quarterly publication: ¡Escucha! which can be found online here: http://www.universidadpopular.us/escucha/fallwinter2014/#/0

An International ExperienceIMG_0251

 

During his visit last Spring to Universidad Popular, Dr George Palamattam, the executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council of International Programs USA, was so impressed with UPrising’s performance that he proposed to us the idea of hosting someone from another country just as passionate as our facilitators about the role of sport in turning around youth lives. After a quick examination on this venue, Dr Palamattam suggested that Uprising consider Ouamar Benikene, a non-traditionall education practitioner that resorted to sport to engage youth in Les Ulis, a multicultural suburb located about 12 miles southwest of downtown Paris, France, for a cultural exchange. Just as our youth facilitators in Little Village, who work with children from immigrants to this country, Ouamar works with French-born children whose parents are still socially and culturally attached to their countries of origin or birth.

Ouamar arrived in Chicago September 6th, and immediately got himself in the swing of things with our UPrising team. Gradually, a strong work relationship was in place for the delight of the staff and participants alike. With our softball team, he help developed a curriculum and weekly lesson plans to help the team have a successful season. Our cooking class was co-facilitated by Ouamar, he shared some of his personal and famous recipes from France, such as crumble aux pommes and fettuccine alfredo. He was also fully invested is our cultural table activity where he shared many of his personal, cultural and traditional experiences. He also shared some of the hardships that people in France have to overcome to be accepted in society. Thanks to Ouamar, our youth realized that although we come from different places, we face the same struggles.

IMG_0011In our all staff meetings and community meetings, he shared ideas that analyzed and highlighted possible problems. Not only was he critical, but he was able to implement activities and necessary assessments to help facilitate a better program. Ouamar was a great help to the Uprising Youth Program during his time in Chicago. Universidad Popular is grateful for his time and the expertise he was able to share with us. Hopefully, we can repeat this kind of exchange more often between Paris’s southwest Les Ulis and Chicago’s southwest Little Village.

You can also be a part of the solution also! Multiple volunteer and internship opportunities are available at Universidad Popular. For more information e-mail us at volunteer@universidadpopular.us, call at 773-733-5055 or fill out our online form here: http://tinyurl.com/volunteer-up

Commentary, Volunteers

Volunteer Voices Series: Ana Karen

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Ana Karen Manjarrez interned with Universidad Popular from the Summer of 2014 to December of the same year. She had the opportunity to participate in almost all aspects of our organizations. This essay-reflection from her is published in our quarterly publication: ¡Escucha! which can be found online here: http://www.universidadpopular.us/escucha/fallwinter2014/#/0

An Internship to Remember

 

Ana Karen also helped facilitate an English Language Learning class.
Ana Karen also helped facilitate an English Language Learning class.

When I began doing research on nonprofits to  work with as part of my six-month field study, I knew that I wanted to intern somewhere that I felt passionate about the work that was being done.

This made  my researching difficult. After hours, days, and months of looking, I found Universidad Popular. ‘Till this day when people ask me how I found Universidad Popular I answer that it was meant to be: I had a feeling that this organization was the one that I needed to be with. Universidad Popular’s mission, strategy,and programs made me feel an instant connection with the work and population of Little Village. I wanted to intern with them, so I was set on contacting UP and moving to Chicago. After getting the OK to intern with Universidad Popular I began researching more Chicago, La Villita, and UP, to be prepared for when I would arrive. No matter how much research or books I read to get me familiarized with Chicago or UP, nothing would not prepare me enough for what I was about to experience.

Initially I was nervous and scared of Chicago because I wasn’t told the most positive things about it. Regardless of the bad press I got from other people, I knew I had to experience it on my own so when I flew into Chicago I was ready for my journey to begin. My first day at Universidad Popular was great! I felt like people were really kind and open to me being there and welcoming me to the organization. After a couple of weeks at UP, shadowing many programs, I decided to be more involved with the programs LETOS and UPrising. In UPrising, I found myself connecting with youth at a crucial time in their lives when they are exploring their identities and learning about themselves and life. I learned a lot from my interactions and conversations with the youth in the program and I thank them for their involvement because, whether they know it or not, they are youth leaders in La Villita. Being a facilitator for the LETOS summer session and the end of Fall was also an honor for me because I got to meet and facilitate a class to community members that are developing their English skills to interact with people at their jobs, their families, and even people that they might not know but interact with at a store, the doctor or during an emergency. I learned from them and felt like they were welcoming and patient with me as this was my first time facilitating a class.

Ana Karen tutored Little Village youth with their homework--spanning topics from history to culture and mathematics.
Ana Karen tutored Little Village youth with their homework–spanning topics from history to culture and mathematics.

Not only did I work with these programs, but I was also involved in attending meeting relating to Universidad Popular and got to learn more about La Villita by interacting with other organizations that work with UP. I learned a lot from the way that Universidad Popular works with one another, the community and Chicago. To put my experience in perspective I think that Universidad Popular’s     existance is a great benefit to La Villita because it shows how there needs to be more centers, resources, and visibility for the growing Latino population in the United States. I am grateful to have worked with the organization and the people that I met during my six months here, and I hope that my presence here served to show that Universidad Popular can travel to other states and serve as an example of how an organization can work with, by, and for the people.

 You can also be a part of the solution also! Multiple volunteer and internship opportunities are available at Universidad Popular. For more information e-mail us at volunteer@universidadpopular.us, call at 773-733-5055 or fill out our online form here: http://tinyurl.com/volunteer-up