LYCOMING COLLEGE SUMMER MAGAZINE 2023

n k

J e

i n

y a

s ’

2

M a

3

to periodically visit the library to document the interaction and change the prompts. They noticed that there was greater engagement with holiday-themed prompts and adapted their activities accordingly. What I enjoyed most about this collaboration was definitely the chance to give back to the community. Maya Jenkins ’23

“What I enjoyed most about this collaboration was definitely the chance to give back to the community. As Lycoming students, we are, if only for a few years, part of the Williamsport community,” said Maya Jenkins ’23. “I was able to help make the library a little more interactive for local students and gain some A n d r e w yourself as a turkey’ for the Thanksgiving season. Another student in the class chose ‘draw yourself as a superhero,’ which I loved because it allowed students to express themselves and imagine themselves in an empowering way.” “Although the prompts were sometimes erased when the students went to check on them, they reflected on how enriching it was for them to see signs that young adults had interacted with the activities they prepared,” Stafford said. “Furthermore, the students were impressed with the library itself and all that it offered. I look forward to partnering with the library again in the near future!” R u b é n skills in community outreach by inventing creative projects! One of the prompts we chose was ‘draw

Martinez (left)

What I most enjoyed about working with the Thrive community was the ability to cause changes that benefited individuals in our community.

a

f o

S t

r d

,

P

h .

D .

Juan Martinez ’25

This was an incredible example of reciprocity where the heritage speakers served as interpreters and translators for Thrive community members, and in doing so found a new appreciation for their “Connecting our Spanish heritage speakers’ students with the local Hispanic population using Thrive’s Legal Service Program has dramatically impacted my class

own bilingual identity.

r o

a

n a

V

,

P

h .

D

.

instruction,” shared Varona. “Students engaged with the community, learned through experience, and improved their linguistic skills and cultural understanding, leaving a mark on the community.” Verona adds that this partnership promotes positive attitudes toward the Spanish language and culture. It is mutually beneficial because, while using their bilingualism to meet the community’s specific needs, students reaffirm their identities through contact with the Hispanic community and their different backgrounds. Juan Martinez ’25 said, “I gained a new insight on how a second language can help others in your community while helping better your own language fluency. What I most enjoyed about working with the Thrive community was the ability to cause changes that benefited individuals in our community.” “I would love to continue this collaboration with Thrive in future classes because it allows me to connect what we learned in the classroom to real-world needs, provoking thought, reflection, and discussion,” Varona said.

Students engaged with the community, learned through experience, and improved their linguistic skills and cultural understanding, leaving a mark on the community.

Rubén Varona, Ph.D.

THRIVE INTERNATIONAL Rubén Varona, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish, led a course for Spanish heritage speakers that collaborated with Thrive International, an organization that “promotes diversity, equity, and belonging for people from international cultures in our region through increased language proficiency and cultural competence, immigration legal assistance, and mutually beneficial community connections.”

15 www.lycoming.edu