So what do you even do anyway?

Over the past few months I've been repeatedly considering what my job actually entails as I've been creating resumes for a big-girl job and I've been preparing to transition my job over to a new department with completely new staff and try to find funding for that new set of folks. That means I've had to really think through the big picture of how what I do on a daily basis affects campus, but also the best ways to inform others about the nitty gritty details.

And then a few weeks ago one of my good friends asked a simple question..."So what do you even do anyway?"

I speak to this person on an almost daily basis, but I realized I never actually tell people what it is that I do. So here we go...in case anyone cares!

I am the service learning graduate assistant for 4 service learning projects at UNMC. I oversee all 4 projects and then also consult with several of the colleges on the UNMC campus to begin service learning programs within their school. And the last portion of my job is reading and responding to student reflections on their service learning/volunteering experiences (something I was trained to do because of service learning at Hastings College--thanks Jean and Dan--AND the years I worked in youth/young adult ministry--thanks Adam--honing my skills at delving deeper and asking the next-level questions).

My job requires something different each and every day, which I love. There are many days that I have absolutely no idea what I'll be doing as I head into work. Others are certainly more predictable, but always bring adventures of their own. Some days it's just a whole lot of ordering food for events or folding brochures for hours on end, but other times I will go almost a week without actually being at my desk or in the office at all. The best part of my job is being able to work with students who are seriously bada**. They are well on their way to being professionals and they take so much time out of their schedule to actually work in the community and make a difference. It's so amazing to be part of. Below are some photos of what I get to do when I go to work.

Bridge to Care
BTC provides health care services to refugees in Omaha. I've written about them before in a very different context.
Besides the biennial health fair, they also provide monthly health education sessions to refugee adults and mentoring
for refugee youth in 4th-8th grades. This photo is from our fall health fair that served more than 300 refugees!

bag packing for the BTC oral health hygiene fair--I packed 120 bags for 4th-8th grade students yesterday!

Decreasing the Donor Deficit
DDD signs up potential donors to the national bone marrow registry (thru Be the Match) and also provides
awareness/education on campus to health professions students about blood cancers. 

do juSTIce (DOuglas county Jail United with Students To Impact a Citywide Epidemic)
do juSTIce is the group I've been working with the longest. They offer free chlamydia and gonorrhea testing/treatment
to inmates at the Douglas County Jail. Additionally, they give age-appropriate/evidenced-based STI education at the
 Douglas County Jail, Douglas County Youth Correctional Facility, Omaha Home for Boys, and Community Alliance.
The students provide a full 25% of ALL chlamydia and gonorrhea tests in the county
(think somewhere in the range of 1,500+ tests per year plus the individual counseling that goes alongside that!).
This photo is from the poster session at the Society for Scientific Study of Sexuality conference in 2014.  

do juSTIce: actually getting to provide the STI education with inmates...one of my favorite parts!

condom kit assembly: condoms, testing locations, condom information shirts and a t-shirt designed by youth detainees
to promote STI testing. It's not uncommon for my co-workers/professors to ask  "you have the condoms out again...
what's the project this time?" 

EMPOWER
EMPOWER provides health education to domestic violence survivors in the Omaha area. They also provide education to
health professions students on domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking through documentary screenings,
awareness events, and lunch panels. This picture was taken at the "Take Back the Night" rally, which was a joint-effort
event with the UNO Gender & Sexuality Resource Center. Also pictured is the UNMC Title IX coordinator. 

EMPOWER had a service day this past weekend. They partnered with
Rejuvenating Women (organization that works with sex trafficking
victims) and Open Door Mission (homeless shelter) to do whatever
they needed. My task was to be buried in piles of tiny toiletries.

clearly I was having a wonderful time at the EMPOWER service event last weekend... :)