Venture Grant Cycle 34 Grantees
Alma College “Disability Awareness Month”
Alma College proposes to increase knowledge, awareness and the development of an accurate understanding of people with disabilities. Through a variety of forums, including: a middle school assembly, college Co-Curricular speaker series, David Garcia Project simulations, after-school book discussions with middle school students and a Make A Difference Day/Special Olympics event, the groundwork for dialogue and transformation will be established during Michigan's Disability awareness month, October.
Eastern Michigan University “Student Service Council”
The Eastern Michigan University's Student Service Council will give service organizations on campus the opportunity to become members of a distinct campus group. The Student Service Council will serve as a forum for obtaining training materials, acquiring resources, sharing information and strengthening the service efforts on campus.
Schoolcraft College “Historically Speaking: Preserving Memories for Alzheimer's Families”
In partnership with the Greater Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, Schoolcraft College students will give presentations and record oral histories of families affected by the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Fundamentals of Speech students will Alzheimer's families to preserve family anecdotes and stories the disease threatens to erase. Students will record these interviews and give them to the families as permanent record of their shared history. Students will also give oral presentations to their fellow classmates about their service, Alzheimer's disease, and the families interviewed to enhance their speaking competencies.
University of Michigan-Dearborn “Academic Service-Learning Student Fellows”
The Civic Engagement project will treat "students as colleagues" through the pilot year of the Academic Service Learning Student Fellows, and community organizations to facilitate nearly every aspect of the Academic Service-Learning at UM-Dearborn. The Student Leaders will receive training in peer-to-peer reflection, site leadership and course design. This program promises to offer students a new level of ownership in their education and will lead to further community involvement post-graduation. The Civic Engagement Project and the Student activities office at the University of Michigan Dearborn will work together to oversee this program and provide all necessary training.
University of Michigan “University of Michigan College of Engineering (CoE)/Ypsilanti Public School District Partnership”
Representatives of the University of Michigan College of Engineering (UM CoE) and the Ypsilanti Public School District (YPSD) are establishing a co-owned, long-term collaborative partnership for YPSD students and teachers that is designed to increase student motivation and content understanding, support coursework rigor, enhance science and math professional development opportunities for teachers. This developing program employs UM CoE graduate students who, with the support from this grant, will design the student mentoring component, which aims to increase the number of students, particularly underrepresented minority (URM) students who apply to engineering-related higher education programs and careers. This partnership fits with the overall plans of the YPSD for coherent interventions and the building of meaningful learning opportunities for all students.