January 2nd Post

Wow! It's finally second semester! I think I have accomplished what I had hoped to accomplish last semester. I've organized a Joseph's House trip, which includes hosting an on campus food drive, going Downtown Troy asking owners for donations, hosting a fundraiser, gathering volunteers, and cooking the meal at Joseph's House. I've also created several recipes for my cookbook.

During christmas break, my sister and I actually tried cooking some of my recipes. We baked healthy lemon raspberry bar, banana chocolate oatmeal cookies, mini blueberry muffins, and a few others. They all turned out really successful and delicious! (pictures below) It's very important to try out the recipes or at least ask someone to look over them to make sure the instruction makes sense and is easy to follow.

Part of my signature project is to try include more emma girls to be involved in service. Last semester, I had emma girls help make the dessert for JH as well as helping me in my smoothie fundraiser. Interestingly, my Bridges proctor Lizzie '17 asked me recently if there is a way the Bridges can help out with Joseph House as a service opportunity and bonding activity. I proposed that Bridges can help make the dessert a day or two before the next JH trip. Nghi '18 also asked me if her club, Emma Compassion, can collaborate with me. She wants to help out with fundraising and food drive. It's always nice to see how eager and passionate emma girls are in engaging in service. I am so grateful that they came and asked me about service opportunities.

I met with my mentor Ms Mossop to talk about the next Joseph's House trip which will be on February 11th. We are going to make the Black Bean soup with rice and toppings again as they really enjoyed it last time and it was quite easy to make. Bridges will be making the dessert. Hopefully, Nghi and her club can do a food drive and or a mini sale before feb 11. I am working on my cookbook and continuing to create more healthy recipes!

January 1st Post - Interview

For my interview, I asked Ms Mossop because she is my signature mentor and knows a lot about healthy eating and community service. Ms Mossop has been the Director of Practicum and Independent Study at Emma Willard for over 17 years. Below is my interview with her:

The Interview: 

Q) I understand that your work is about helping students to find and explore things that they like to do outside of Emma. What inspire you to do this?

A) I really enjoy it because my work is always different. It's never the same. I have the opportunity to meet passionate mentors and share with students different exciting opportunities.

Q) You have many connections with community service opportunities. How do you find out about them?

A) Mostly word of mouth, but I will also reach out to people, talk to people, take flyers, and follow up

Q) Why do you think community service is important?

A)  I believe community service allows people, not just Emma girls, to engage with people in need, be involved and learn about the community around them. Getting out of the Emma bubble and knowing other people that have similar problems are very important. 

Q) How do you know about Joseph’s House?

A) The director of Joseph House has a connection with Emma and came to talk with the Emma girls some years ago. There used to be a Joseph House lunch practicum during weekdays. But I know about the JH monthly dinner program through Nadia '19 's mother. She has been doing it with other clubs and organizations so I went with her last year to see how it works. I decided to share this service opportunity with emma girls because I know many of them want to do service during the weekend and this is a great opportunity.

Q) What makes you agree to cook once a month at Joseph’s House?

A) The girls really like it. It's a good and valuable experience.

Q) What impact do you think you are creating on Joseph’s House?

A) I would say it's a mutual impact. We cook them delicious food and we receive their appreciation. Student also have the opportunity to learn about homelessness and interact with the homeless.

Q) Why do you think it’s important to cook a healthy meal for Joseph's House?

A) I personally like to eat healthy, and I wouldn't serve food that I wouldn't like. They are just like us, they deserve to eat the food that we get to eat. Plus, Joseph's House serves meals that are not quite nutritious due to a limited budget. So it's great that we can cook them a very nutritious meal.

Q) In your personal life, how do you eat healthy?

A) First, I don't eat meat. Second, I tend to buy local, good quality, and fresh foods and vegetables from farmer markets.

That's it!

Thanks to Ms Mossop for doing this interview with me!