On Tuesday, April 23, 2019, three Grinnell College students made a “pitch” for the Grinnell College Wilson Center’s SPARK challenge for a grant to bring together Grinnell Schools Davis Elementary students with residents of The Mayflower Community for a reading enhancement program. The project was chosen for funding at an estimated cost of $5,000 by a panel of judges and will be used during the 2019-2020 school year for transportation, training, and a work-study position.
The students are Taylor Gaskins, Shabana Gupta, and Andrew Jopeck. They termed the proposal, “Reading with Retirees Club.” The three students have been enrolled in Professor Monty Roper’s SPARK short course, where they worked on the development of the project. Efforts have been coordinated with Brian Conway, Principal at Davis Elementary School, and Steve Langerud, Executive Director of Grinnell’s Mayflower Community.
The judges were Bill Ferguson, Gertrude B. Austin Professor of Economics at Grinnell College (representing the Wilson Center as an Advisory Committee member); Sanjay Khanna, SNG & Partners (1985 Grinnell College alumnus and member of the Wilson Center Leadership Council); and Pastor Kirsten Klepfer, Grinnell First Presbyterian Church.
The Wilson Center organizes and sponsors a variety of marquis programs intended to inspire students and to develop their knowledge and skills in leadership and innovation. The programs, started and led by students, have served as a means to practice and refine these skills.
One of the Wilson Center programs is SPARK, Community-Based Social Innovation Challenge. It offers Grinnell organizations and students the opportunity to work together to address challenges faced by the larger Grinnell community. Community partners identify challenges unique to their work and agree to work with groups of students to identify short and long-term solutions to their challenge. These student teams then consult with their community partner(s), conduct relevant research, and utilize their Community partner’s knowledge and connections to create solutions that are innovative, practical, well-thought out, and beneficial to the community.
Annually, SPARK holds a “pitch contest” with the teams explaining their challenge and solutions to a team of judges. This event is open to both the campus and larger community. The judges offer constructive feedback on the solutions and determine which solution will receive up to $15,000 of implementation funding from the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership. With these funds and through the support of the College’s Center for Careers, Life, and Service and the Service Learning Work-Study Program, SPARK Community-Based Social Innovation Challenge winners and their community partners may implement their solutions over the course of the following school year.
Student Taylor Gaskins of Washington D.C. is a third year (Class of 2020) with an intended double major in English and Spanish. In addition, she is working on teaching licensure for English. Taylor said, “I joined this project because I really want to support students in school and their learning. Throughout my experiences volunteering with students, observing students for the licensure program, and working as a babysitter and teaching assistant, I have heard so many students say ‘I’m stupid,’ or are giving up on their work, or are disinterested. However, I realized that the students just needed extra support and someone to encourage them and let them know that they are intelligent and have potential. That’s what I want for this program, for students who are not [reading] proficient, and really just need support from an adult that they may not be receiving it at home. I’m so glad that this idea is finally coming together; it’s a blessing.”
Andrew Jopeck is a Grinnell College first-year (Class of 2022). A native of Vienna, Virginia, his intended double major is psychology and political science. Why is he involved in the Reading with Retirees project? “I first became interested in the issue of children’s literacy through volunteering with Reading Partners, an organization which runs after-school literacy programs at various inner-city elementary schools in Washington, D.C. Not only was working with the children there enjoyable, but it helped me to appreciate how much of an issue children’s literacy still is in this country. Additionally, my mother is a librarian, and throughout my life, I have been passionate about reading. I am excited to see the program taking shape, and I look forward to seeing it implemented this coming academic year.”
Shabana Gupta, an intended psychology major with Neuroscience concentration, is a first-year Grinnell College student (Class of 2022) from Des Moines, Iowa. She says, “I have worked with kids in the Montessori system and have seen the disparity between literacy levels among age groups. I wanted to bring in the Mayflower because of the strong relationship I have with my grandparents from when they took care of my brothers and me while my parents were working. Bringing these two aspects of my life together and being able to share them with other members of the community means a lot, and I want to see it succeed.”
Pictured during their SPARK pitch are Grinnell College students, from left to right, Shabana Gupta, Taylor Gaskins, and Andrew Jopeck.
Founded in 1950, the Mayflower Community is the only healthcare provider in Poweshiek County offering Medicare certified skilled nursing care, certified assisted living, and licensed residential care, all on one campus. More than 280 people make their homes in the Mayflower Community’s healthcare, independent living apartments, patio homes, and the new Watertower Square apartments. More information is available at Mayflower Community or by calling 641-236-6151.
