CEL-2
My CEL-2 during my Div II consisted of signing for a student group, Movers Unite! and being a TA for the class Physics of Color.
Movers Unite! is a student group organized initially to support students in the dance program getting to go to a conference called ACDA (American College Dance Association). The group was organized so we could get funding and support to organize a group of movers to attend the conference. It became clear though that the group could address a wider concern: creating a space for movers and dancers across campus to connect and collaborate. With the other signers, Eleanor and Josh, I helped to organize weekly meetings where we would meet for dinner, discussions, dance workshops, and community engagement.
Movers Unite! proved to be a really rich and wonderful way to connect the community of dancers here at Hampshire. I got to know many folks who I hadn’t been in class with that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. We also connected with other student group communities on campus like Contra Dance, as well as other student-run EPOCs who were interested in involving dancers and makers in their workshops. Eleanor and I continue to run Movers Unite! with the help of Blythe and hope to pass the baton to younger students in the coming year.
It was originally difficult to balance the work of running the student group with my other activities and schoolwork. There was a lot of organizing to be done: advertising the club, figuring out workshops and guest artists, brainstorming with the signers about what the club could do each week. In order to address these todo lists we had weekly meetings on Sundays to plan for the meetings and future endeavors. When Eleanor left to study abroad in spring of 2020, Blythe joined Josh and I as a signer for the group. Although that semester was shorter than the rest in terms of student groups, we acclimated to the new structure and had a few meetings that felt necessary in a time when community support was everything.
I also had the opportunity to TA for Kaća Bradonjić in the fall of 2019. This time I got to engage with the Hampshire community in a different way: I was able to support the learning of other students in a class that had deeply inspired me.
I had a hard time at first engaging with the class and didn’t know how to handle my role as a teaching assistant. It was often difficult for me to tell when a student needed help and felt nervous to ask for it. One student in particular needed a lot of support from me. I spent much of my meeting time as a TA outside of class with this student. Read more on my reflections from being a TA for Physics of Color on the fall 2019 page where I reflect on the classes I took that semester.
My CEL-2 was naturally a part of my Div II experience. I engaged with communities in both disciplines that I hold dear, Natural Science and Dance. I was able to support these communities by organizing dance workshops and helping students learn about math, color, and light.
