Capstone and community
Salinas Californian 5/10/07
At the urging of faculty and advisers, many students conduct research in cities right near the campus. As they strive to complete their projects and graduate, some find even greater satisfaction in giving back to their neighborhood.
Three CSUMB students share their stories.
Farm to cafeteria
For the past four years, Kathryn Spencer, 24, has worked as the outreach and education coordinator with the Monterey County Farm to School Partnership. She has been leading nutrition classes and planting gardens for several local schools, including Martin Luther King Academy and Frank Paul Elementary in Salinas, and the International School of Monterey.
Part of the organization's initiative is to bring healthier foods into school cafeterias — a program known as Farm to Cafeteria.
"The combination of learning experiences in the garden, on the farm and in the classroom, as well as healthier food available in the cafeterias, teaches kids about where their food comes from and helps them make healthier eating choices," said Spencer, a San Diego native who's lived in Monterey County for the past six years and intends to stay here.
As an Earth Systems Science and Policy (ESSP) student with a science and social justice concentration, Spencer decided to parlay her experience with the partnership into a capstone project. Her goal: To assess the challenges and opportunities of wider implementation of Farm to Cafeteria programs in Monterey County schools.
Utilizing data from a survey she sent to the food service director in each district of Monterey County, Spencer identified which schools would be the best candidates for Farm to Cafeteria and which needed more support. The results of her capstone will be used to facilitate discussions between a growers' collaborative and the school districts selected to participate in Farm to Cafeteria.
"My Farm to Cafeteria recommendations and district food service summaries will be used by MCFTSP, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Agriculture and Land Based Training Association and the Nutrition and Fitness Collaborative of the Central Coast," Spencer said. "The agencies will host a forum where food service directors can meet with the growers' collaborative and learn about purchasing fresh local produce from them."
Through Spencer's capstone efforts, many community members stand to benefit.
Monterey County school children have the opportunity to learn about healthy eating habits, and local farmers can sell produce to the schools.
Bone marrow drive
Graphic design student and Soledad native Janette Lopez, 22, wanted to use her knowledge to benefit community members as well.
As she began researching for capstone ideas, Lopez came across the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Web site and remembered that her sister and cousin were registered bone marrow donors. So she decided to organize a bone marrow drive on CSUMB's campus.
Lopez worked in partnership with the National Marrow Donor Program to increase donor registration so that patients with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma could receive marrow transplants.
"I'm excited that my capstone has the possibility of impacting someone's life and that I'm going to do this using my major," she said. "I hope to improve the lives of those searching for a marrow donor and also increase awareness about marrow donation on campus."
Lopez steered the project from start to finish, designing and distributing all of the advertising materials, including the logo, posters, fliers, magnets and event cards, planning the budget and gathering volunteers. She even directed a Flash video that walks potential donors through the process.
The drive took place March 29 in the dining commons. Twenty-two CSUMB students signed up to become marrow donors — a successful turnout, Lopez said. She plans to host marrow drives annually in Monterey County.
Baby signs
For Susan Regina, motherhood played an important role in deciding her influential capstone. (The 43-year-old Australian already has a teacher's degree from her home country, but needs a bachelor's in order to work in education).
When her son Jesse was 8 months old — he's nearly 5 now — she began teaching him basic American Sign Language as a means to communicate before he could talk.
"I was amazed at how much my baby understood about what was going on in his world, and how much he could tell me with just a few simple signs," Regina said.
The experience was so significant that it became the catalyst for her further research into sign language not only for babies, but also for toddlers, preschoolers and grades kindergarten through third.
Regina took up ASL as her second language requirement at CSUMB and incorporated it as a central theme to her capstone project, in which she has compiled research that indicates sign language can be an important educational tool for increased literacy in young children. Part of that research she gathered from a class called "Baby Signs," which she has taught for the past two years at Parents' Place, Pacific Grove Adult Education.
"I teach parents about the benefits of signing for babies 6 months to age 3," Regina said. "It reduces frustration for babies and parents because they can communicate, and through signing, children demonstrate greater vocabulary at earlier ages."
Regina hopes to expand her influence to local preschool and elementary school children, since her capstone findings indicate students who study sign language show improved reading and comprehension skills.
"As a teacher, I am passionate about reading and literacy," she said.