Bringing Systemic Issues to Life: Catamount January and February Reflections
Posted March 18, 2024 - Cordelia Snowdon-Lawley

 

Engaging with Community during our 2023 Catamount Community Conversation Series.

 

Image: Three Photos from Catamount Community Conversations

 

Thank you to all the amazing community members who were able to join us for the 2023 Catamount Community Conversation series! In January and February nine fellows hosted eleven conversations on campus and in the wider community. Community Conversations are intended to connect Fellows with broader audiences in their research area and to develop their skills as facilitators. Whether it was their first time hosting an event, or they were able to lean on previous experience, every Catamount fellow gained significant insights from what some have described as the most challenging part of the fellowship.

Back in August when Catamount was just getting underway, very few Fellows could imagine themselves as hosts of a Community Conversation. Meeting with a group of attendees - many of them experts in the fellow’s research area - was a daunting task, but each found ways to overcome their nerves. By relying on their support systems, using tried-and-tested facilitation models like World Cafe [new tab], or developing extensive agendas to rely on, each fellow showed their capacity as a facilitator and were able to bring their authentic selves to the role.

 

The Community Conversations, which covered topics including the insurance protection gap, the experience of Black and Racialized students in post-secondary education, breaking down barriers in youth sports, and the provision of shelter services for domestic violence, gave the Fellows a deeper appreciation for insights of those who are directly impacted by and working towards improving these challenges. These conversations brought the systemic issues to life and created connections far deeper than reading a research article or post. Many fellows noticed new threads of learning when the conversations illuminate gaps they had not yet seen in their research, prompting them to explore new angles.

 

Engaging directly with community is one part of what makes the Fellowship so impactful for students. Reflecting on their experience in the Fellowship so far, Aira Kaye Siodina, a Psychology Student, noted “As we embark on this journey as changemakers, we somewhat undergo a transformation, evolving as distinct individuals from when we began our journey. What we decide to do with the knowledge we gain is up to us.”

 

We are immensely proud of the work the Fellows have accomplished so far and the growth and resilience they have shown throughout the program.

As we quickly move towards April, the fellows are nearing completion of their scholarly works and preparing for our Community Showcase. If you would like to have the opportunity to hear directly from the Fellows as they share their creative works and research findings, please RSVP to join us for our Catamount Community Showcase! This event will be held virtually on April 5th from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Join us and engage with the Catamount Fellows on the systemic issues they have been exploring!


RSVP to attend the Catamount Community Showcase today. [New Tab].

 

 

Stay tuned to our Happenings Page for updates about the fellowship, event invites, and exploration into their research findings! Missed our Previous Recap? Check out the page Engaging with Systems and Communities: Catamount November and December Reflections.

 

  

"Every day, we can look around and see unintended consequences arising from what seemed at one time to be best-laid plans. ...People’s good intentions to improve social systems are often undermined when they apply conventional thinking to chronic, complex social problems."

- David Peter Stroth - Systems Thinking for Social Change [Book]