Features

MLK Day of Service at the Richard Hugo House

MLK Day of Service
by Elisa Tran

Elisa Tran is a sophomore at the UW, majoring in Biochemistry. She has been a mentor for three quarters, working at Global High School.

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a group of Dream Project and Pipeline Project members spent the morning beautifying the grounds of Richard Hugo House in the heart of Capitol Hill.

Richard Hugo House is a nonprofit organization that offers writers of all skill levels a place to improve through classes and workshops. The house also holds events throughout the month to showcase local talents. The internationally-famous Seattle rapper Macklemore has even read some of his work there.

Hugo House's small staff is so busy coordinating activities and events for writers and the community that there isn’t enough time to maintain the grounds around the house. This is where we volunteers came in!

Throughout the morning, volunteers raked fallen leaves, swept the sidewalks, painted over the graffiti-covered walls, trimmed branches and prepared new beds for a vegetable garden. In between collecting bags of leaves and shoveling dirt, volunteers got a chance to bond, laugh at the weird things found in the bushes, play with Brutus the pug, and enjoy the sun.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” By serving others, we are able to better our community and ourselves. In doing so, we discover gems like Richard Hugo House, which provides so many learning opportunities. It’s an outlet for self-expression for so many individuals and continues to add to the diversity and creativity of our beloved Seattle.

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Dawg Dash
by Sydney Peterson

The Dream Project crew at Dawg Dash

Sydney Peterson is the Auburn High School Lead. She has been a mentor for seven quarters at Renton and Auburn. She is a junior majoring in Early Childhood and Family Studies.

On Sunday, October 20, 2013, a handful of Dream Project mentors participated in Dawg Dash, the annual 10K run and 5K run/walk through the UW's Seattle campus. Some of them ran the 5K, others even ran the 10K, but together, they all had an awesome time. I had the pleasure of promoting our work and mission to the runners and walkers at Dawg Dash.

Armed with a few hundred fruit snacks and chewy bars, a ton of pamphlets, and a tent to keep us dry, Lindsay Szymanski (DP's 2012-2013 Class Lead Supporter and Curriculum Manager) and I greeted hundreds of people as they ended their race. Most of them were hunting for free food or candy, but a surprising number stuck around and genuinely wanted to learn more about our program.

Being at Dawg Dash was a great success; not only was it a fantastic way to have the community learn more about us, it was also a great bonding event for mentors. I hope that Dream Project invades Dawg Dash again next year!

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Renton High School mentors

Danny Stack is currently one of the High School Leads at Renton. He is a senior majoring in International Studies. He has been a mentor at Renton for five quarters and is the College Expansion Program Coordinator.

It’s been my pleasure to work at Renton High School for five consecutive quarters now. During this time, I’ve acted as both mentor and high school lead, and have seen the relationship between Renton High School and the UW Dream Project grow tremendously. The Dream Project’s choice to saturate Renton HS, where we work with the school’s entire senior student population (over 300 students), has provided the school with a unique opportunity. In spite of this large number, the roughly 50 mentors we have each quarter show leadership that is nothing short of incredible. Their motivation is truly what makes our Renton program so special, and because of this motivation, the Renton faction of Dream Project has grown tremendously. Renton mentors lay out lesson plans every week for their visits. They go out of their way to keep in contact with their mentees weekly. And Renton High School has been nothing but hospitable toward the mission of the Dream Project. In spite of schedule and timing changes which could very possibly have removed Dream Project from Renton High School, the school administration created a schedule just to allow for weekly Dream Project visits. Both organizations bring their best to the table to achieve a common goal: to help students develop concrete plans for college, help students realize their inner potential, and establish post-high school graduation lives. In this respect, the relationship between Renton HS and the Dream Project stands strong and will continue to grow, hopefully well into the future.

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Michael Zhang, ’13, and Jeremy Webb, ’13

Message from AmeriCorps
By MJ (Michael Zhang and Jeremy Webb)

Michael is one of Dream Project AmeriCorps members for this year. He has been in the Dream Project for five quarters and has mentored at Foster and Kent-Meridian. He graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.

Jeremy is the Dream Project’s other AmeriCorps member. He has been in Dream Project for seven quarters and has mentored at Auburn, Tech, Rainier Beach and Kent-Meridian. He graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry.

As alumni of Dream Project, we both wanted to continue to give back to the program. We were excited to start in the fall as the two Dream Project AmeriCorps members for the ‘13-’14 school year. We are often asked, “How exactly do the AmeriCorps support the Dream Project?” We are responsible for lots of behind-the-scenes support tasks that aren’t flashy or exciting but are necessary to support student leaders and the program. This can range anywhere from printing publications, to ordering snacks and supplies, to last-minute room reservations for meetings. However, our favorite part so far has been supporting the student leadership teams that essentially run the program, in any aspect they need us to. Getting to personally know them inside and out has not only strengthened our Dream Project family, but also helped us find ways to push our leaders and help them grow.

With Michael’s experience as event lead for Spring BBQ and Jeremy’s as the TEC High School Lead, being AmeriCorps has also given us a whole new perspective on the Dream Project. As we compare our personal experiences in the Dream Project to the present, it’s amazing to see the tremendous growth the Dream Project has undergone in the last year. Furthermore, our job to provide program support has helped reinforce the bigger picture behind the Dream Project mission statement and goals. Without a doubt, serving the Dream Project as AmeriCorps members has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.