Jennifer Safstrom FYC6230: Blog 1 (Introductory Post)

Hi! My name is Jennifer. I am a distance learning student who resides in Miami, Florida, and I am so excited to be part of this course! I work full-time and also have extensive family obligations. While this requires strict time management, I am very happy to be pursuing graduate coursework through the Master’s program to enhance my knowledge base and skill set.

I graduated from the University of Miami of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and minors in Spanish, Sociology, and Business Law. As a result, I was exposed to a fair amount of theory through my undergraduate course work, but did not always feel like it linked directly with my day-to-day activities, work, or other professional commitments. The theories I learned most about centered on academic writing/literature, for use in historical analysis, or to explain a general outlook; the theories were mostly in the fields of international relations, culture, gender, and general community theories. I am excited to see "theories-in-action" as described in the welcome video of this course, in order to use theoretical perspectives to inform action, program evaluation, and service management.

While I did work as a student employee during my undergraduate career and participated in several internship programs and volunteer opportunities, my formal, post-collegiate professional positions are listed below:

Switchboard of Miami, Miami, FL, Program Coordinator, November 2012 – present

Teach for America, Summer Institute, Gompers Middle School, Los Angeles, CA, School Operations Manager, March 2012 – July 2012

Transitional Educational Program, Highland Elementary School, Richmond, CA, Special Education Teacher, August 2011 – June 2012

In my current role as Program Coordinator for Help Me Grow (HMG), I manage the initiative's development in Miami-Dade County. HMG is is part of a national initiative that is designed to identify children at-risk for developmental or behavioral disabilities, and connect them with community-based programs for health and developmental services. This program was designed to support questions and concerns of families, while providing access to resources that could offer early detection for health or developmental concerns.

My passion working in the early intervention services arena was informed by my experiences as a special education teacher in an undeserved elementary school in Richmond, California. I was committed to finding a program which allowed me to serve the community at large, not just the individual students in my classroom; for the last two years, I have found the opportunities afforded to me in my current role extremely engaging and fulfilling in making a positive impact on children and families in South Florida.

I hope to continue developing as a student and professional in order to take on greater leadership roles within nonprofits and enhance my capabilities and expertise in effectively delivering social services, which is the main reason I am pursuing this degree. I think family theory, in particular, would impact me greatly in my current role because of the field in which I currently work.

In terms of hobbies, as much as I can, I enjoy spending time with my loved ones. For instance, I am looking forward to going to several UM football games this season with my sister. I am a proud Miami Hurricane fan, although I hesitated to post pictures throwing up "the U" since I am probably vastly outnumbered by Gators fans in this class. I also enjoy reading and watching movies, whenever time allows. I was excited to find out that one of my most recent reads, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, will soon be made into a movie, for instance.