Community Bridges | May 26th, 2015
The Congregation Emanu El Aubrey and Sylvia Farb Community Service Fund has generously awarded Community Bridges with a grant to fund two students to work with their partner organizations over the summer. Read more about the two students and their work below.
Angela Aie | Class of 2016 | YES Prep
Angela Aie is junior majoring in Kinesiology with a minor in Poverty, Social Justice and Human Capabilities. She is interested in health and educational disparities. Angela is looking forward to applying her classroom knowledge at YES Prep in order to provide opportunities to underprivileged youth and to help lessen the educational disparities present in Houston. She is hoping to supplement her knowledge of theory with experience and to form meaningful individual relationships with the youth participating in her program.
Angela says about becoming a Farb Summer Fellow: “In many of my PJHC courses, we discuss the value of education as a solution to stopping the cycle of poverty. Only after working with YES Prep have I realized that conducting a theoretical classroom discussion is easier said than done. I want to be a Farb Summer Fellow because I want to be able to act on these theoretical discussions. I truly believe that Community Bridges has created open lines of communication between the Fifth Ward and West University. However, my service work with YES Prep Fifth Ward requires more than just an hour of personal action each week. I believe the Farb Summer Fellowship will give me an opportunity to expand on my growing relationship with the YES Prep Fifth Ward community and development impactful bonds. I want to be a Farb Summer Fellow because I want to put more personal action into my service work. The children have asked me about Rice and what it is like to be a college student. They have shared their career aspirations with me and allowed me to see the valuable influence I have on them.”
Olivia Lewis | Class of 2017 | School Literacy and Culture Project
Olivia Lewis is a sophomore studying Cognitive Sciences with a minor in Neuroscience. She’s particularly interested in finding ways to use neuropsychological research to effect social change. Being a Community Bridges fellow at School Literacy and Culture gives her the perfect opportunity to pursue this passion in the Fifth Ward. She’s excited to be working as a program intern to help bridge the gap between educational research and educators, and hopes to gain a greater understanding of the literacy and social issues in the Fifth Ward.
Olivia says about becoming a Farb Summer Fellow: “I want to be a Farb Summer Fellow because I don’t think my work is done yet at School Literacy and Culture Project. I’ve been really enjoying my time there this semester, but it feels like I’ve just dipped my toes into all the work they do. The Community Bridges Fellowship has given me the opportunity to take on a whole new world of theories and practices of early childhood literacy and contribute my own abilities to make something new from and for it. I want to be a Farb Summer Fellows so that I can continue to explore the new ways that I can contribute to the work that SLC is doing. I feel invested in their organization, and now that I have some basic experience with them, I would really like to see what else is possible in such an open environment.”
