Monday, November 16, 2015

YDEV Open House

Over the past two years, my sense of pride in YDEV had grown. I began this program uncertain and doubtful. I wondered what kind of job I would end up with, if this was another major I would soon change, if this would finally be the degree to take me where I want to go.

The open house answered most of these questions for me. Dr. Bogad had asked us to remember our elevator speeches, to be prepared to talk about YDEV and what it means to us. As I drove to the event I felt extremely confident. " YDEV is the perfect combination of social work, education, non profit studies, and your area of interest. If you want to work with youth and really make a difference, this is the major for you."  I felt very robot-like as I repeated it to myself, but the more I thought about each of these components and what they mean to me personally, I felt extremely proud to be a YDEV senior.

At the event we (current YDEV students), we were able to piggy back off of each other's ideas and really depict what YDEV at RIC means to inquiring families. Some parents had questions that we hadn't really thought about like, " What makes this different from social work?" or "How does my child combine his/ her area of interest with this degree?" Having these conversations really helped me sort through my YDEV tool box and pull out all the right answers and realistic examples for them.

As I stood there I realized if I can market YDEV to peek someones interest in the program, then I can do the same for myself as a youth worker seeking employment. Everything we have done in class up until now all fell together at the open house. I am now more confident in my degree but also in myself.


2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing, Ashley!! I am beyond thrilled that you guys represented YDEV!! Such a great group xo

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  2. I agree Ashley! I feel more confident in what my future holds after being a part of the Open House this past Saturday. I love that we got to be a part of this!

    -Milena

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