2020-2021
Course Report
Professor: Mary Buckley
This theoretical and applied Women's Leadership Seminar explores leadership practices across different communities and cultures through a speaker series, field trips, readings, service-learning and engaged reflection. Students practice civic engagement and leadership skills while participating in a significant local community service-learning project. This report represents four sections of this seminar, and a fall/spring semester partnership.
Time Reported: 150 hours
Community Partner: The YWCA’s Empower Girlz program
GW students were paired with YWCA participants in a mentorship relationship, meeting weekly through Zoom meetings. Students provided individualized support throughout the year. Additionally, in the spring semester the pairs created civic action projects, facilitating learning about local and national government. The pairs occasionally participated in self-care Saturdays, played icivics games, streamed movies, discussed college applications, created art and generally enjoyed a shared experience of the election, inauguration, COVID, and online learning during the 2020-2021 school year.
Learn more about this service project. https://blogs.gwu.edu/nashmanfacultyupdate/2021/05/21/reflections-ywca-and-womens-leadership-class/
Student Comments
“We had our final session today! I congratulated my mentee for her hard work on the project and we wrapped things up today! It was a great end to a wonderful year of service.”
“Mentee and I attended the Speak for Our Lives Open Mic Night for Peace week sponsored by GW March for Our Lives. I got to watch her perform and it was so fun! We learned a lot about gun violence and got to see other mentees from the EmpowerGirlz program.”
“Being a mentor was a new role for me….. Having to go through that process [building trust] with my mentee was a big step. My mentee, [name], is non-binary. They made this discovery during our time together, and being queer myself, I knew that having someone you felt you could confide in without fear of judgement was a huge comfort.”
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to be a mentor this year. I was fortunate to have been connected with a mentee in the fall, meaning I got to meet with her all year. The mentee role really meant a lot to me…. One thing that stood out to me was when my mentee texted me out of the blue to thank me for taking the time to get to know her.”
“It was a learning experience and I am so grateful that I got to be a part of it.”
Learn more about Community Engaged Scholarship at GW
