Author: Tulsi Ram Lohani

Categories
Event News

One Night for Dallas 2024 highlights campus and community leaders

2023-24 Engage Dallas Staff at One Night for Dallas. Photo Credit: SMU

Community partners and campus leaders gathered at the Moody Graduate School on April 9th for the 3rd Annual One Night for Dallas reception, celebrating the impact of community engagement on the Hilltop. 

Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly and Willie Baronet. Photo Credit: SMU

This year’s theme was “Dallas is Home,” and keynote addresses were delivered by the Executive Director of the Budd Center, Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly, and SMU Professor in Creative Advertising Willie Baronet. Baronet also serves as the Armstrong Faculty-in-Residence and creator of the We Are All Homeless Project.

One Night for Dallas was also an opportunity for campus and community partners to hear from our Student Directors and why they participate in Engage Dallas. For Loyd Commons Student Director Kate Alonzo ‘26, her ”why” is personal.

Engage Dallas Student Director Kate Alonzo ’26. Photo Credit: SMU

“We can look at community service as serving the community. But South Dallas is not just a community, it’s my community,” Alonzo said. “Engage Dallas enables me to serve my own hometown, and I’m proud of that.”

The annual celebration is a joint effort between Engage Dallas and the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement (SCIE), reflecting upon the collective impact that SMU students have had on the community during the academic year. Engage Dallas was proud to highlight that 571 students collectively spent 1,378 hours directly serving the community across 41 student-led service events during the 2023-24 academic school year.

Danielle Palomo, Coordinator for Community Engagement. Photo Credit: SMU

Danielle Palomo, Coordinator for Community Engagement, reflected on the work of SCIE community engagement student organizations.

“Reflecting on Alternative Breaks, one student said, ‘It was a valuable experience and something I’ll never forget. I was able to form relationships and help people start a new life here which was amazing.,’” Palomo shared. ” I could not be prouder of our students and looks forward to all the work they continue to do to serve their city.”

The night ended with remarks from Engage Dallas Initiative Manager Audryanna Reed and the presentation of campus and community-nominated awards.  Award Recipients are as follows:

Outstanding Community Partner

  • Dallas Furniture Bank
  • Jubilee Park and Community Center

Do Good for Dallas Award 

  • Emmanuel Garcia
  • Lourdes Randle

Outstanding Student Leader

  • Hannah Green, MHPS Commons

Outstanding Student Director

  • Miles Chen, Kathy Crow Commons

Outstanding Faculty and Staff

  • Laura Robinson Doyle, Department of Applied Physiology and Sport Management
Award Recipients. Photo Credit: SMU

Engage Dallas would like to thank the staff, faculty, students, and community partners again for their participation and support. We look forward to celebrating again on April 9, 2025!

Categories
Announcements News

Engage Dallas completes Phase One of the Residential Commons Photo Project

Phase One of the Photo Project in Boaz Commons. Photo Credit: Tulsi Ram Lohani

Engage Dallas, in partnership with Residential Community Directors, is excited to announce the completion of Phase One of the Engage Dallas Photo Project.

The Engage Dallas Residential Commons Photo Project is an effort to regularly display photos of current students serving through Engage Dallas in the community, accompanied by information on each commons’ specific community-identified need. 

Engage Dallas Program Assistant Sophia Kang ‘27 worked closely with the RCDs to identify and select images of Engage Dallas volunteers to highlight the commitment to service in each Residential Commons to complete the project’s first phase. 

Engage Dallas Program Assistant Sophia Kang ’27. Photo Credit: Tulsi Ram Lohani

“Working on the project and highlighting my friends’ hard work and dedication to service through their commons was a fulfilling experience,” Kang said. “The partnership with the RCDs made this a special project.” 

Phase Two of the project will commence in the summer with refreshed images from spring Engage Dallas service events and the expansion of images in Cockrell-McIntosh, Morris-McGinnis, Loyd, and Virginia-Snider Commons.

Engage Dallas would like to thank and highlight SMU Photography and SMU Facilities for their partnership in making this project possible. 

Please contact engagedallas@smu.edu if you have any images or suggestions for expanding student recognition of community service in our Residential Commons.

Categories
Reflections

CCPA 2375: Learning beyond the Hilltop – A Student’s Perspective

CCPA 2375 Fall 2023 Students with Dallas Furniture Bank Partners. Photo Credit: Audryanna Reed
CCPA 2375 Fall 2023 Students with Dallas Furniture Bank Partners. Photo Credit: Audryanna Reed

The Fall 2023 semester flew by instantly as I joined the Engage Dallas team as a Program Assistant and began my junior year at SMU. Through the Meadows School of the Arts Corporate Communications and Public Affairs (CCPA) 2375 – Communication Research & Analytics class, I could connect my course work with my service learning.

Alongside 30 classmates, we had a phenomenal opportunity to work with Engage Dallas community partner Dallas Furniture Bank (DFB) to conduct a case manager perception study on DFB programs. DFB provides furniture that meets the basic living needs of families and individuals transitioning from homelessness to others in need. Under the supervision of our professor, Assistant Provost Dr. Dustin Grabsch, and counsel of DFB Managers, our class conducted a mixed-methods research study, using interviews and statistical data to find common themes and areas of development for the furniture bank. Early in the research process, three classmates of mine, Gracie Holder, Addison Shaw, and Abby Walker, participated in #1Day4Dallas this year at the Dallas Furniture Bank, helping arrange furniture at their Carrollton warehouse. This gave us an opportunity to see the work of DFB first-hand.

#1Day4Dallas CCPA 2375 volunteers at DFB. Photo Credit: Gracie Holder
#1Day4Dallas CCPA 2375 volunteers at DFB. Photo Credit: Gracie Holder

Throughout the semester, we contacted case managers who partnered with the bank and received continuous feedback on our work. Our focus questions were:

  1. Describe the experience with Dallas Furniture Bank’s programs and services as perceived by partner agency case managers.
  2. What strengths and challenges do Dallas Furniture Bank partner agencies experience when rehousing their clients within the first year?

This four-month study concluded with a presentation in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, where community stakeholders from Engage Dallas and Dallas Furniture Bank attended to hear from the class about our research findings. Recommendations included streamlining case management communication channels, areas for expansion, and ways for DFB to market its opportunities to college students.

This experience was rewarding in many ways, including having a product to give to a community organization to increase their abilities to better serve the Dallas community. Through research and comparison of programs in other metropolitan areas, we are lucky to have organizations like Dallas Furniture Bank who assist in providing necessary community resources. Alongside my fabulous grade and gratitude from DFB, I take away the reaffirmed importance of data-driven research and exploring new ways to do things.

Learning about community service in the classroom is an experience uniquely possible at SMU. Faculty and staff interested in working with Engage Dallas or our partners in their classrooms should visit smu.edu/EngageDallas or email us at engagedallas@smu.edu. You can also stay updated on Engage Dallas by subscribing to our blog.