When Diana Aguilara and Erin Powell began their Knapp Fellowships almost a year ago, they couldn’t have imagined the ways in which their projects and ideas would grow and expand.
In this year of the unexpected, they have each found ways to transform their concept of what it means to engage with a community.
The Knapp Fellowship is an opportunity for students to work alongside the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service and a faculty member advisor to implement projects in collaboration with other students and/or community partners. Projects range from creating mobile medical units to creating documentary films. The Fellowship is unique both for its interdisciplinary nature, welcoming projects across artistic and academic departments, and its strong commitment to community engagement.
Diana Aguilera, a graduate student studying Public Policy, is using qualitative methods to explore patients’ experiences at La Clinica del Pueblo, a community health center in Washington, DC focusing particularly on “advocacy strategies to increase inclusion and health equity for Latino immigrants.”
Diana aims to improve telemedicine accessibility by tracking the quality of patients virtual versus in person visits in order to see how “they’re coping with changes brought on by the pandemic.”
The project has not been easy, but it couldn’t be more timely. Diana’s data is going to be essential to ensuring that more people in our community have high quality access to healthcare.
When reflecting on the challenges and successes of this year, she says, "it is okay to take your time and cope with everything - your emotional and physical wellbeing - because getting your education - especially as a first-generation student - can be so rewarding but frustrating at the same time."
Erin Powell is a senior majoring in International Affairs and minoring in Theatre and Sustainability. Through Professor Leslie Jacobson, former Chair of the Theater and Dance Department, Erin learned about the Bokamoso Youth Foundation, “a charitable U.S. organization, 501(c)(3), located in Washington, DC. The Foundation provides financial support, mentoring, and guidance to the staff and young people of the Bokamoso Life Centre in Winterveldt, South Africa” (“About Bokamoso”).
Before COVID-19, Erin’s project “was supposed to visit the Foundation and conduct interviews in person.” But now, Erin has learned to become a more flexible researcher by “partnering with two students at the Foundation who will become research assistants to conduct in-person interviews.” With the data produced from the interviews, Erin hopes to learn more about “the impact of gender on youth” and “share the findings with members of the Foundation.”
The fieldwork phase of Erin’s study has just been completed, and the research team is currently in the process of transcribing, coding, and soon, analyzing their collected data. She hopes the results will aid the Bokamoso Youth Center in expanding the resources for the unique needs of Winterveldt youth.
From murals creation to scientific research, the Knapp Fellowship is here to support students in community led initiatives. Think you have an idea?
Hear more from Erin and Diana, and opportunities to apply to the upcoming Fellowship cycle, at their panel for the GWU research showcase on Tuesday April 13th from 4-5 pm.
Click Here for a direct link to the panel!
