College students as catalysts for social change: a case study
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- Catalyst and Transformation
FeedbackAn interesting finding about SLP is their stance on feedback. In terms of programmatic feedback Mackenzie commented that they used to do evaluations about the MAD tour related to program elements but stopped doing that because she said they feel confident in the program and do not plan to change the model based on this feedback. The group also does not follow up with any student that does not find the tour meaningful, rather espouse the two feet philosophy that if students don’t find it meaningful they can use the Law of Two Feet (2007) to go elsewhere. In asking the founders how they get and give feedback to the core members the answer was that they do not. Pete explains: We are not big fans of providing unsolicited feedback. Because it doesn’t always feel good. Does that make sense? So we have kind of stayed away from that. If people ask us for feedback, if people want to sit down and have a conversation about it, you know, that’s different. In reviewing the surveys from the past MAD tours a bus core leader’s name appeared several times and the participants felt the person did not do a very good job. In asking Mackenzie how the bus core leader would be given feedback about her performance she commented that she would not. She said "telling her she did not do a good job will not change the outcome. If we give her negative feedback she may not chose to be a leader again." She then went on to talk about a person that was involved as a freshman that was so shy and uncertain and how she is now a CCC and helped lead a major session as part of the winter retreat. "Had we told her as a freshman she hadn't done a good job would she still be involved?" Mackenzie then shares one of the strengths of the Core Model is that students are put in leadership positions but with support. She comments, "No one is really ready, you aren't ready to be a parent--to deliver a child. Being part of an SLP core is like climbing a mountain with a harness or jumping out of a plane with a parachute, you have support." OutcomesNumerous outcomes demonstrate the complexity of judging the 'effectiveness' of SLP. The outcomes theme comprises the goals and hopes that the founders have in putting together the program model and what being involved in SLP really accomplishes. Outcomes include SLP acting as a catalyst leading to transformation of participants. Specific examples of outcomes from participants will be shared and how the MAD tour provides a catalyst for change. Catalyst and TransformationMackenzie talks about the outcome of a MAD tour: “That one tour so changed them, to the point that they don’t even know who they are anymore.” A statement in the Social Venture Partners grant sums up the SLP belief about the impact of the trip: “The beauty is the MAD Tour is just the beginning. Reflection and support allows for this trip to be the catalyst for personal and local change” (p. 2). This catalyst idea came up repeatedly in my interviews, observations and document review. A catalyst is “a person or thing that precipitates an event or change.” Pete states, “the Make a Difference tour can be like a catalyst” and Mackenzie makes a similar comment about the trip, “We would say that we have a catalyst program… our trip is an interruption and then we change directions, but if you are already going at a good direction then our trip is an interruption to expedite that… a positive interruption obviously, a catalyst experience.” Several students I interviewed talked about how SLP had worked as a catalyst and transformed them in small and large ways. When asked how SLP has impacted her, Ashley responded: I would love to do Teach For America or anything like that right after I graduate and coming into college, I honestly don’t think I would have thought about it without having had that [bus tour] experience, just seeing other people do it and the rewards they get from that. The next several students had more of a significant transformational experience. This student had a blog posting with the following statement about the impact SLP had on him: I know that the Student Leadership Program has changed me. It has changed my outlook on the future. It has changed how I treat other people. And it has changed how I perceive community service. Attending these tours and becoming a leader with SLP has been by far the greatest thing that I have ever done in my college career. One of the most profound life changes emerged from an interview with a student named Lucas. During the interview he shared about his MAD tour experience: I walked on to the bus my first day uh, in all black with my, you know baggy pants and baggy shirt, and my hat down and kinda with a bad attitude. I walked straight to the back of the bus and got on my phone. And that was kind of my attitude, like, ‘Okay you know, maybe I’ll learn something from this, maybe I won’t, regardless it’s something to throw on my resume. Let me just get this done and over with and let me move on with my life.’ But on the first two days everybody was just so nice. And I don’t know if this is cliché or just--but really I wasn’t used to it, you know. I didn’t come from a community where everyone is so welcoming and so interested. The contrast from the way I walked onto the bus to the way I walked off, it was really, really a great change. That’s why now I don’t have problems with people getting on a bus because of their resume or because their friend dragged them on because I know that they are going to leave with so much more so. After the tour I was so inspired that I just wanted to eat, sleep, drink SLP! It defines who I am as a person in every aspect. Pete says it this way, “I believe it is making an impact and the impact is being carried on in ways that we can’t really get a grasp on, because everything that someone does because of something they have experienced is making an impact.” Not all students are as positive about the MAD tour. This following is excerpted from a paper that Jane wrote about the experience. SLP has a strong focus on personal development. They aim to improve one’s knowledge of one’s self and others around them through team building and reflection exercises. I did not expect this at all. In fact, when I realized that I would have to share myself with others in an honest, raw way, I resisted very strongly. In interviewing Jane after I had read her paper she identified some other issues that were challenging for her. Jane felt that there was artificial trust to share everything with people that you have only known for a few days. She also came out of a background of addiction where anonymity is very important and that did not fit with the model of self-disclosure. She further mentioned that many of the other students were “goody two-shoes” and she didn’t feel that they would accept some of the experiences that she brought with her. The reflection exercises happened late at night and go for several hours, so students often get little sleep. She was unable to sleep on the bus and was sleep deprived and felt that added to being very emotional.
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