Community-Based Learning Commons^™

Framing The Future: A Community Health Analysis Of The Pee Dee Region, Stephen Borders, Jean Anton, Rian Fontaine, Donielle Phillips, Treyton Ringer, Jessica Robinson, Caitlin Thompkins

Public Health

This report presents a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of community health across South Carolina’s Pee Dee region, encompassing Florence, Darlington, Chesterfield, Marlboro, Marion, and Dillon Counties. Using tract-level data from CDC PLACES, the U.S. Census, and the National Provider Identifier registry, it assesses chronic health conditions, health behaviors, and social determinants of health. The analysis incorporates the South Carolina Healthy Communities Index (SCHCI) and a Suitability Analysis to identify the region’s most disadvantaged communities. The findings highlight persistent disparities, particularly in rural counties, where high rates of poverty, chronic disease, and unmet basic needs intersect with limited access to care. Despite …

Planning And Facilitating Hybrid Meetings To Support Relationality During Coalition Building, Luettamae Lawrence, Maureen Boyle, Moira Ross

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Hybrid events where communities are connected through both in person and online spaces have simultaneously grown in popularity and gotten a bad reputation. While hybrid events have been around for decades, they gained significant traction with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to increase accessibility for attendees to accommodate diverse needs. Although hybrid events can be beneficial to many, they are not simple to execute. With the increase in hybrid events has come frustration with the low quality interactions between in person and online attendees leading to isolation, technology challenges, and low productivity. We argue the positive affordances of hybrid …

"Bridging Research, Outreach, And Care: Advancing Community-Driven Cancer Solutions", Rachel M. Ceballos Phd​, Angie Fausett Agnp-C, Dnp​, Allison Foust Mha, Mches​

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

"This panel will provide an overview of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s (HCI) collaborative efforts to enhance cancer care through innovative community outreach and local treatment programs, with a specific focus on rural outreach and care. Panelists will discuss HCI’s approach to fostering partnerships with community champions, integrating regional outreach through initiatives like the Mountain West Cancer Collaborative (MWCC), and expanding local treatment options to increase accessibility and equity in care, especially in rural areas. By highlighting how these initiatives align with HCI’s mission to reduce cancer disparities, the panel will emphasize strategies for improving cancer prevention, treatment, and survivorship in underserved …

Strengthening Community Health Through Dementia Listening Sessions, Raven Albertson

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

"This session explores innovative strategies for strengthening community health through dementia listening sessions and engagement, equipping community partners with the knowledge to make informed decisions regarding dementia care and support. Participants will gain insights into effective partnership-building, impactful dementia education delivery, and strategies for fostering meaningful community involvement through community listening sessions and collaboration. Through a live listening session workshop, attendees will participate in interactive discussions, inform efforts in Utah communities, and acquire practical tools to drive sustainable, community-led improvements in dementia care and support."

Building Community Power Using The Principles Of Mutual Aid, Cristina Chirvasa, Nicole Steinicke, Rivkah Haubner

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Globally, many communities are fragmented and struggling to have their needs met. One strategy to meet local needs is to adopt a bottom-up approach, working within communities to build power. This strategy is especially effective because it allows people to make decisions around issues impacting them directly and forge critical connections with one another. Mutual aid offers a framework for establishing power by mobilizing community members to support one another based on solidarity and reciprocal relationships, which can be adapted to many different contexts. Here, we will turn the basic principles of mutual aid into an interactive roundtable in which …

Laying The Groundwork: Building Long-Term Community Partnerships Across A Shared Curriculum, Juliana Chow, Eric Robertson, Kate Magargal

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Maintaining long-term community partnerships is a major challenge for community-engaged classrooms. This poster presents a community-engaged learning (CEL) program template for a project shared between multiple courses and instructors, demonstrating how shared resources, skill sets, relationships, and coordination could result in a long-term community partnership linked to multiple community networks. It shows how 3 courses at the Honors College of the University of Utah can weave together learning objectives and cooperative planning for a course module focused on the Native Plants Program, part of the U of U Climate Action Plan.

Sevier County Adventures - Poster Presentation, Jori Kloosterman, Anna Gilliam

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

"The Sevier County Adventures is a community engagement series of events that are fun for all and center on 4 community-identified needs; mental health, substance abuse, suicide, and parenting/family relationships. Once a quarter in 2025, the USU Sevier County Extension Office and the Central Utah Health Department, in conjunction with other entities, will hold community events to provide resources and information that highlight a specific need from the 4 community-identified needs. 1-Mental Health Game Night – Participants will be given a resource packet with information on local providers and teams will play an escape room game box. 2-Home Run for …

Integrating Positive Psychology And Spirituality To Foster Meaning And Well-Being In Older Adults, Crystal Morris

Adultspan Journal

This perspective article explores the integration of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) and spirituality in therapy to foster meaning and well-being in older adults. It highlights exercises such as the positive introduction, positive legacy, character strengths, mindfulness, mindful-based yoga, and a manifestation prayer journaling. The interventions presented are tools to support older adults that may experience depression, difficult life transitions, and the search for renewed meaning. Therapists who integrate PPIs and spirituality into therapy can promote a holistic, non-pathological approach to treatment.

Gender-Sexuality Alliance Advisors’ Covid-19 Strategies Inform Future Responses To Sociopolitical Crises, Robert Marx, Michael O'Brien, Megan Yang, Diana Smith, Paul Poteat

Journal of Youth Development

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a sudden shift to remote learning in schools across the United States, profoundly impacting marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+ students. This qualitative study explores the experiences of Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) advisors during this period. Drawing on interviews with 10 GSA advisors, the research highlights the structural and logistical challenges faced, such as limited access to technology and virtual-meeting fatigue, as well as the innovative solutions and adaptations made to continue supporting LGBTQ+ youth. The study reveals how GSAs leveraged existing resources, maintained group cohesion, and adjusted meeting structures to navigate …

Navigating The Tides Of Change: Girls’ Experiences In Scouts Bsa, Alexandra Rush, Olivia Kochis, Beth Belanger, Jennifer Brown Urban, Miriam R. Linver

Journal of Youth Development

On February 1, 2019, Boy Scouts of America officially accepted girls into its signature program (ages 11–18) and changed its name to Scouts BSA. This historic shift provided a novel opportunity for researchers to investigate the experiences of some of the first 13 girls to enter this traditionally all-boy space and examine how participation influenced sense of self and purpose. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted to explore girls’ experiences and perceptions and meanings they constructed, using secondary data consisting of 38 transcribed interviews from all 13 girls. Girls ranged in age from 12–18 years old (M = 13.72, SD …

Famílias Indigenas Entre Mundos: Standing In Pachakuti, Living In Chi’Xi Within The Constellation Of Their Comunidad De Saberes, Ymasumac Marañón Davis

Dissertations

To be Indigenous is to be la luz del mundo, to stand in your light and spread your sunrays, no matter winds or clouds of colonization that strive to dim you. This qualitative study explored ways Indigenous Latine families negotiate a sense of place within onto-epistemological realities and their home culture of learning and Western education. This research is desire-based (Eve Tuck, 2009), creating our own project of modernity, grounded in one Indigenous family’s experience within their Andean community. Drawing from Critical Latine Indigeneities Framework (Blackwell et al., 2017) and Chicana Feminist Epistemologies (Bernal, 1998), using an Entre Mundos methodology, …

The Origin Of Community As Experienced By Intercollegiate Athletes At Benedictine Institutions Of Higher Education: A Hermeneutical, Phenomenological Hybrid Study, Barbara Rezac

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study focuses on the phenomenon of community experienced at Benedictine colleges and universities and its impact on the faith, character, and human development of recent alumni who participated in intercollegiate athletics on campus. Benedictine education, based on the 1,500-year-old Rule of Saint Benedict, is guided by ten hallmarks which seek to build wisdom cultivated in community. This study specifically examines the extent of the lived experience of community through the lens of former intercollegiate athletes (alumni from the past ten years) and the perceived influence of the hallmarks on their post-graduate lives. I contacted mission leaders, athletic directors, and …

Perceptions Of Identity And Blame Attribution In Sexual Harassment Scenarios, Avarie Lambert

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment is a widespread issue influenced by societal attitudes that stem from victim blaiming and rape myth acceptance. These perceptions are often shaped by the identities of the parties involved, however there is limited research on how gender and race influence blame attribution. The purpose of this study is to examine how different identities shape public perceptions of victims in sexual harassment scenarios. Through using a nationwide sample and survey experiment, participants were randomly assigned to receive one of eight different hypothetical scenarios that differed by the race and gender of the victim, and the gender of the perpetrator. …

Administrator Reflections On Youth Sport Programming: Moving Forward After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alysha Matthews, Meredith Wekesser, Karl Erickson, Scott Pierce, Adam L. Kelly

Journal of Youth Development

AbstractYouth sport has been a context where positive youth development (PYD) can be promoted (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005). However, for youth sport to effectively foster PYD, all adult leaders need to understand and invest in the approach. The youth sport context is a large system that encompasses multiple stakeholders across the developmental lifespan of athletes (Dorsch et al., 2022). Much of PYD research reflects the contributions of parents and coaches (e.g., Harwood et al., 2019; Vella et al., 2011), yet often overlooked is the administrator role in PYD. Administrators are tasked with communicating and reinforcing organizational missions across stakeholders for …

How A College Course Benefits Under-Resourced High Schoolers Interested In Veterinary Medicine, Gwendolyn R. Svenson, Olivia Arnold, Patricia Vigil, Naomi Nishi, Christianne Magee

Journal of Youth Development

The Veterinary Perspectives Institute (VPI) was designed to address the challenges faced by underrepresented youth who are interested in veterinary medicine. This study examines the VPI, a tuition-free program that introduces students from under-resourced high schools to veterinary medicine and One Health through a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach. The VPI integrates One Health concepts by linking human, animal, and environmental health in the context of veterinary medicine. The program’s aim is to foster college readiness and career exploration in veterinary and biomedical fields, while also addressing barriers to diversity in veterinary medicine. Through hands-on learning and case studies in One Health, …

Full Issue, Volume 20, Issue 2

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Critical Race Historical Examination Of Summer Programs: Impact On African American Youth, Megan Lee, June Hopps, Deryl Bailey

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Queered Tradition: Disidentificatory Practices Of Queer-Affirming Religious Space, Amanda R. Peterson

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Responding to high rates of religious trauma in the United States, particularly for LGBTQ people, this study investigates the rhetorical moves made in protestant Christian spaces to consider what makes these spaces safe and affirming for queer people. Specifically, I consider the rhetorical impact these churches make through not only their space but also their liturgy and online presence, which informs the embodied experience of the space.

Through autoethnographic research, I look at three local churches—Metropolitan Community Church of Omaha, Urban Abbey, and Elevate Church–the first two queer-affirming and the third conservative. Findings show the various church elements negotiated with …

A First-Generation 4-H Youth Member Intervention Framework To Support Members To Enter, Engage, And Persist In The Program, Jeremy Elliott-Engel, Nicholas A. A Morris

Journal of Youth Development

The First-Generation 4-H Youth Member (FG4-HYM) Intervention Framework is an organizational management perspective for preparing 4-H youth programs that supports the welcoming of youth and families that have no previous experience with the organization. Using the Bronfenbrenner ecological model, we explore the multiple layers of 4-H program management that support the participation of FG4-HYM in the 4-H club program. This framework provides a tool for 4-H professionals to use when assessing their program’s readiness to provide high-quality programming to all audiences, regardless of their families’ previous experience with the organization. This framework represents the foundational requirements that an organization must …

A Theoretical Model Of Participatory Team Science Training, Angela E. Jordan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

BACKGROUND: Teams have long been used to address major scientific and societal problems, and interdisciplinary teams are understood to be the best approach to complex systems-based problems like climate change. Engaged research collaborations incorporating community members as equal partners in research projects are recognized as both a means of advancing equity and justice in research, and also of improving the success of research translation by developing solutions with community use-value. The science of team science (TS) and community-engaged research (CEnR) have emerged as scholarly disciplines, with attempts to define competencies, skills, functioning, and success. A growing body of literature in …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

4-H Camps: Complexities In Adult-Youth Dynamics, Stephanie Femrite, Rebecca Mott, Steven Krauss

Journal of Youth Development

Summer camp programs provide adolescent counselors with opportunities to work alongside adult staff, aiming to develop critical skills such as communication, responsibility, independence, and teamwork. Growing research supports the value of camp-based developmental relationships through youth-adult partnerships. However, tensions often arise as adults struggle to share power while youth question their roles as partners. Few studies have investigated the role of expectations and realities in camps that promote a youth-adult partnership approach. To address this gap, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the role perceptions of 14- to 18-year-old camp counselors and program directors’ expectations of counselors’ roles in …

Establishing The Creative Network: Wv's Arts Entrepreneur Ecosystem Project, Mckayla R. Braun, Domenica Queen

CRC Research Symposium

The Tamarack Foundation for the Arts’ (TFA) the fellowship for the arts is an art foundation committed to nurturing the next generation of artists by providing a comprehensive support system designed to promote both creative and professional development. Through its fellowship program, TFA provides artists with access to critical resources, including financial literacy education, mentorship, and structured opportunities for artistic and professional growth. Recognizing that creative talent alone is not always sufficient to sustain a long-term artistic practice, TFA’s mission is to equip fellows with the knowledge and tools necessary to thrive both within and beyond the studio. As part …

Psychological Treatment Behind The Walls:Insights From The Inside, Rogelio Serrano

Psychology Division Scholarship

Repeated eras of mass incarceration, criminalization of marginalized communities, and substance use policies have created a revolving door of justice involved populations. The ever-increasing prison population has repeatedly become the largest contingency of mental health clientele for an overburdened mental health system. Those who work with formerly incarcerated individuals in the community often don’t know the unique set of challenges faced by practitioners within the system. Increased understanding and coordination of care can offer opportunities for sustained recovery and reduced levels of recidivism. In this presentation participants will learn about the unique insights on mental health treatment that can be …

Empowering Rural Communities: Unlocking Potential Through The Online Rural Economic & Community Vitality Graduate Certificate, Daniela Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

In today’s evolving economic landscape, rural Nebraska stands at a crossroads. While communities face challenges like population decline, job loss, and infrastructure needs, they also have enormous potential for growth, innovation, and resilience. The key to unlocking this potential lies in skilled, passionate leaders ready to shape the future.

The Rural Economic & Community Vitality (RECV) Graduate Certificate offered 100% online by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics, provides a powerful platform to do just that. This 12-credit, no-prerequisite program is designed for individuals eager to create real, lasting impact in rural communities—whether you're already working in …

Practicing Community, Cultivating Democracy -- Lessons From Professional Power Shifters, Sylvia Gale

Other Publications

Below I describe five intentional practices people working in human-facing professions can employ in order to create the conditions for a healthy democracy.

These practices were originally distilled from my observations at the Deaconess Foundation’s Helsinki D-Stations and from my interactions and discussions with professionals across the Foundation’s Civic Action and Community Programs team from January-June 2023, when I was hosted by the Deaconess Foundation on a Mid-Career Professional Development Award from the Fulbright Finland Foundation. Since then, I have augmented and clarified these practices through observation and reflection with colleagues in my American context, where I am the executive …

Hubungan Dukungan Sosial Rekan Kerja Dengan Stres Kerja (Studi Pada Pekerja Di Pt X), Aisyah Permatasari

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

Workers are vulnerable to work-related stress due to job demands, time constraints, and limited leisure time, leading to psychological issues such as anxiety related to their work. In the context of social welfare studies, job stress affects overall workers’ well-being and disrupts their social functioning in the workplace. Social support from coworkers is potentially reduce stress in workplace, which is crucial for creating organizational well-being. It also helps workers improve job engagement, cope with fatigue, and manage stress. This study examined the relationship between social support from coworkers and job stress among 90 employees …

Caring Across Borders: Demographic Shifts And Migrant Care In Asean-Korea Dynamics, Saqib Fardan Ahmada, Wahid Nur Kartiko

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This article aims to examine the migration policies and migrant care in the context of relations between ASEAN Member States (AMS) and Korea. As Korea is dealing with an aging population, an increase in female labour force participation, and an ultra low fertility rate, caregiving, especially for the elderly, has become a pivotal issue. Besides, the traditional nuclear family structure, which has historically served as the primary caregiver for the elderly, is also losing its prominence. In such demographic shift, migrant care workers from AMS are filling the demand for caregiving in Korea, leading to a cross-border international migration from …

Examining A Unl College Success Program Through The Culturally Engaging Campus Environments Model, Osvaldo Palma Vargas

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Higher education institutions have faced difficulties in providing environments designed to promote positive success outcomes among diverse student populations, especially first-generation students. While literature has focused on college success programs’ practices as a solution, there is a noticeable gap in what these programs do that integrate first-generation students’ cultures. This ethnographic-inspired study sought to identify what cultural practices within a college success program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Trenchard Foundation Institute of Excellence (TFIOE), contributed to creating culturally engaging campus environments for first-generation college students. Using Museus’s (2014) culturally engaging campus environments model (CECE) as a framework, I conducted …

Giving Voice To Student Grief: Using Community-Based Participatory Research To Develop And Pilot A Translational Storytelling Intervention For Bereaved College Students, Cassidy Rae Taladay-Carter

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The purpose of this dissertation was to employ community-based participatory research (CBPR, Wallerstein et al., 2018) methods to attend to a pressing issue in the community. In partnership with one local grief center, we identified the need for enhanced grief support for current emerging adult undergraduate students in our area. Nearly 50% of U.S. emerging adults enrolled in four-year residential universities experience the death of an important figure (Cox et al., 2015; Cupit et al., 2021), at a time when they are developing important facets of their narrative identity. Without the coherence and meaning structures provided by narrative identity, students …