|
|
|
Welcome to our e-newsletter
Minds in Motion
In a few days, we'll shut down the computers and give ourselves over to holiday cheer. But first, we share student stories, special thanks, and a sparkling new workshop for the spring. Plus, read on to meet a self-proclaimed Free Minds evangelist. |
|
End of Semester Brings Stories and Celebration
 | |
Cynthia Mays reads from her personal narrative. |
On December 12, Free Minds students gathered to celebrate the successful completion of the fall semester. Joining them were a host of family members, Free Minds faculty, staff, volunteers, and supporters. The M Station classroom was festively transformed, the tables strewn with tinsel, and the space filled with the aromas of BBQ, homemade broccoli cheese rice, and chocolate chip cookies.
Project Director Vivé Griffith kicked off the evening by asking students to reflect on all the work they have done since they began the program four months ago. "You've read hundreds of pages, written three formal papers, more than a dozen response papers, and a personal narrative," she said. "I hope you feel really proud of yourselves and what you've accomplished."
Students then had the chance to show off a small part of these accomplishments as they read aloud the paragraph they were most proud of from their writings. Their pieces conveyed a variety of tone and experience--from leaving home for the first time, to the shock of an unexpected diagnosis; from the magic of a new bike, to the intensity of military parachuter training.
The evening came to a close with hugs, holiday wishes, and anticipation for the coming spring semester. Before the group made its way out into the night, student Angelique Martin took a moment to share what Free Minds has meant to her so far. Speaking of her own journey from incarceration to higher education, Martin said that Free Minds has shown her that she is more than her past. Thanking all who were gathered she said, "You've given me an opportunity to shine."
|
Envision Your Future:
Goal Setting Workshop
We're thrilled to announce that Free Minds is partnering with Goodwill Industries to offer a free six-week workshop on goal setting. Led by UT Career Counselor Lynne Levinson, the workshop will cover techniques for identifying and achieving your educational, career, and personal aspirations.
Tuesdays, Jan. 22 - Feb. 26
6:30 - 8 pm
Location TBA
Whether you have big dreams, struggle with taking the first steps, or are completely stumped about the future,
you are welcome to join us!
|
|
Give the Gift of Education
Since 2006, the Free Minds Project has offered a rigorous college course in humanities to Austin-area adults living on low to moderate incomes. Over the years, we have established a track record of success.
- Free Minds prepares students for college. In a survey of 2007-2010 graduates, we found that 77% had taken additional college classes since completing the program, and 96% said that Free Minds prepared them for the transition to college.
- Free Minds gives its participants tools to become active community members. Program graduates have gone on to serve as leaders and advocates for organizations like Caritas, Foundation Communities, Mamas of Color Rising, and Safe Place.
- Free Minds benefits families. Abbie Navarette, class of 2007, put it this way: When you come from a house where you don't know anyone who's ever attended college, not a cousin, not an aunt, and now you have someone in your family who has, it's expected of you. To me, that's success... My children's lives are not going to mirror mine, and that's an improvement. That's a direct result of Free Minds.
As you make your end of year charitable contributions, please consider giving a one-time or monthly sustaining gift to Free Minds. With your support, we can continue to offer life-changing educational opportunities to deserving adults in the coming year. Click here to give.
Happy holidays from all of us at
Free Minds! |
|
|
|
|
|
Special Thanks
This month we appreciate all of the class visitors and workshop leaders who shared their expertise with students this fall. From Free Minds graduates to campaign managers to yoga instructors-- you have enlivened our class! Special thanks
go to:
DeAunderia Bowens
UT Student Leadership Advisory
Calyste Corrington
Take Heart Austin
Stephanie DeHoff
ACC Human Development
Jennifer Furl Freelance Writer
Leslie Goodson
Free Minds '12
Donna Johnson
Memoirist
Jennifer Johnson
Free Minds '12
Monica Lopez Magee
Keep Austin Beautiful
Rudy Malveaux
Campaign Manager, Filmmaker
Mary Lynn Marinucci
Lisensed Clinical
Social Worker
Clair Norton
AmeriCorps VISTA
Amira Pollock
Theater Educator
Cara Quinn
Certified Yoga Instructor
Clayton Stromberger
Shakespeare at Winedale
If you are interested in volunteering with or supporting Free Minds, you can find more information on our website.
|
|
  
 | |
YOUTUBE: Stacey Kennedy, Free Minds '12, and her son Richmond talk about their journey from homelessness to college.
|
Minds in Motion
Archive
November 2012
Election fever comes to Free Minds.
October 2012
What do we learn from studying Shakespeare? A double dose of the Bard this month.
September 2012
A window into our fall literature unit and a new student's journey to
Free Minds.
|
|
|
The Final Word
Advisory Committee Member Polly Levers on Why She Believes in Free Minds
 "I used to live in the world!... Now my universe is only six blocks ..."
I still get goose bumps when I watch this part of the Free Minds informational video. It's the moment when Daniel Zamarripa, a student from the class of 2008, recites these words from Ntozake Shange's famous play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf." I've played this video at least a hundred times over the past five or so years--to clients, friends, co-workers--anyone who will listen to me evangelize about Free Minds and the opportunity it offers participants to develop the tools and confidence to be seen and heard in the larger world.
As a case manager with Goodwill of Central Texas' Job Source Program, I help individuals find work who have been struggling with their job search. Sometimes my clients tell me about their vision for the future. And sometimes, when I have shared information with them about Free Minds, something resonates. Over the past several years, numerous Goodwill clients have heard from me and other staff about this opportunity to connect to the larger world, and many have taken the leap of faith, applied, and been accepted into this community of learners.
One young woman with whom I had been working came to tell me about her experience after she had been in the class for several weeks. Everything about it thrilled her; she loved the texts and material and especially the diversity and community of the group. She had become part of something bigger. I know that the experience changed the way she saw herself. This kind of growth is good for anyone, and it's especially good for people like many of my clients who have been struggling with the insecurity of unemployment.
When I met Daniel Zamarripa at an end-of-school party at the rec center where my daughter was taking classes, he was still talking about his expanded universe--now much larger than six blocks--and about how important it was that his children know they belong there too. |
A program of the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, in partnership with the UT Humanities Institute, Austin Community College, and Foundation Communities, Free Minds offers a two-semester college course in the humanities for Central Texas adults who want to fulfill their intellectual potential and begin a new chapter in their lives.
Free Minds Project
Community Engagement Center
1009 East 11th Street, #218
Austin TX 78702
Project Director: Vivé Griffith Program Coordinator: Amelia Pace-Borah Ph: 512-232-6093 F: 512-236-1729
www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/freeminds |
|
|
|
|
|
|
