Civic Engagement Platform

"To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

- Tony Robbins

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing."

- Rollo May

 

 

"Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family."

- Virginia Satir

 

 

 

"There is no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to."

 

- Michel de Montaigne

Communication

 

       Its year two for the UNA Honors Forum and the time has come for us to begin blogging again! I really appreciate that we are able to express our thoughts and responses to the speaker for each in these blogs and this ties into what I've decided to establish as my platform for my Civic Engagement.

 

       I believe that every able person has some sort of obligation to give back to the community through volunteerism because the most efficient community is one within which everyone works together to improve themselves and those around them. Since our first forum meeting I have put a lot of thought into what platform I could establish that I am really passionate about and the more I think about it, the more that I realize that it all circles back to helping others to communicate.

 

       My major is French, which reflects I think that communication is the single most valuable thing in this entire world. Whether is be through language, the spoken word, pictures, gestures, or facial expressions, communication is what brings us all together and is a very empowering thing. In a day and age in which there are millions of forms of communication, there are still countless individuals who struggle with expressing themselves or just telling others what they need to hear. They are many things that can be done to help others to communicate; such as counseling, translating, or just listening and helping others to express to those around them what is in their minds.

 

       A great opportunity that I found on the UNA Honors Program Civic Engagement page was Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). I would like to pursue a career in International Law, so any court-related experience would help me out immensely and this entire program is devoted to help abused and neglected children to make someone aware of their situation that can find a solution.

 

       I'm looking forward to this semester and learning more about the value of Civic Engagement and how to get involved!