CEHHS Education Student Applies Knowledge to Help Children in Haiti

Rachel and Valmy. Valmy was the first child
sponsored through Reach Out

Rachel Marple, visited Haiti, for the first time, six years ago on a mission trip with an organization called Reach Out to visit remote villages located in the mountains to install water filtration systems. During this trip she remembers having met a young man with Down syndrome whose family was unaware that his condition even existed. “It was then and there that I decided to pursue a degree in which I could take overseas what I was learning here at home”, Rachel said.

Now, she is currently earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education: Learning Disabilities at UM-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) and she is also the co-founder of the non-profit organization “Reach Out: LaFond”.

LaFond is a community located 40 miles from Port-au-Prince that struggles with impoverished conditions and children do not have access to quality schooling. “Reach Out:LaFond” was created to inspire people to sponsor the education of students. In Haiti, many students are required to live without their parents in order to go to school in faraway places, so the mission of this organization is to provide a better education to children within their own community.

 

Djerson, a student in LaFond, practices
writing sentences in English

In addition to be the co-founder of “Reach Out:LaFond”, Rachel serves as the Treasurer and Mission Trip Leader. Currently there are three members who maintain the organization and they are in the process of adding two new board members to the team. The organization has approximately 50 families sponsoring over 65 children in LaFond.

Rachel is very active working on finding sponsors and planning the trips. Currently the organization is fundraising for the construction of a new church; they partnered with another organization to bring shoes to students; they recently started a lunch program in which students receive a hot meal during the school day and this past summer they had their first medical mission trip. “We were able to see and treat 688 patients throughout the 4-day clinic”, Rachel said.

Volunteer nurses seeing a young patient during the medical mission
trip

Rachel mentioned that the Special Education: Learning Disabilities program is providing her tools to share with the teachers of the school in LaFond. For example, they are working with staff to implement an RTI program (Response to Intervention) within the schools that will help identify at risk students before waiting for them to fail. Rachel reflects on her education, “I truly believe that as a result of my education, Reach Out will produce more effective teachers and in return have children who are flourishing academically.”

Looking to the future, Rachel would like to work with the school administration in order to implement a PBIS program (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). The organization also set a goal to help schools add on a grade each year until hitting the 12th grade. Right now, schools go from Pre-K to 7th grade.

“We want to see our students grow up to be world changers, and I believe they will be as long as they have access to education. After all, people only know what they are taught!”, Rachel said.

Elementary students pose for a photo during recess

To learn more about ReachOut:LaFond, visit their webpage at http://www.reachoutlafond.org

CEHHS Offers New Programs during the UM-Dearborn Graduate Open House

DEARBORN, MI - On October 18th, 2016 the UM-Dearborn Office of Graduate Studies hosted a Graduate Open House.  The purpose of the open house was to give potential students a chance to visit campus and meet with faculty and staff to learn more about the graduate programs available at UM-Dearborn.

   

Dr. Stein Brunvand explaining about
masters level programs

The College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) was present with several faculty and staff members who were on hand to meet with the more than 60 prospective students who came out to learn specifically about the Masters and Doctoral level programs in CEHHS.  Attendees expressed particular interest in the two newest programs, which are the Master of Arts in Community Based Education and the Master of Arts in Program Evaluation and Assessment.

Dr. Stein Brunvand, Director of Master’s Degree Programs for CEHHS, was very excited with the turnout at the event.  “The open house was a great way to connect with prospective students and address their questions about our many programs.  I look forward to reviewing their applications and seeing them on campus as students in the near future”, said Dr. Brunvand. 

Dr. Christopher Burke talks with a student
about Doctoral programs

 

All students who attended were offered a waiver of the $60 application fee if they applied to their program of choice by November 18th.  Students can pick from 10 Master’s programs as well as an Educational Specialist (Ed.S) and a Doctoral (Ed.D) program.

CEHHS is currently accepting applications for the 2017 Winter, Summer and Fall terms.

Visit the CEHHS website for more information.

 

CEHHS Student Internship Opportunities with Quicken Loans

DETROIT, MI - Dr. Susan Everett, Chair of the Department of Education, and Dr. Stein Brunvand, Director of Master’s Degree Programs for the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS), met with representatives from Quicken Loans on October 14, 2016 to learn more about their student internship programs.

 

(from Left): Cecil Johnson, University Relations Manager,
Emily Bliss, Training Consultant; Stein Brunvand, CEHHS Director
Master's Degree Programs and Christopher Carline, Training Consultant

Cecil Johnson, University Relations Manager at Quicken Loans, shared information about the wide range of paid internship opportunities including those in training and curriculum development, instructional technology, assessment and evaluation and marketing.

Training consultants Emily Bliss and Christopher Carline encouraged students from a variety of majors to apply including instructional technology majors and teacher certification students.  Internships are available during the fall, winter and summer.

Dr. Everett and Dr. Brunvand were able to tour some of the Quicken Loans owned properties in downtown Detroit to learn about the culture and climate of the work environment where interns are placed. Interns gain real world experience by working on authentic tasks with a designated team at Quicken Loans.

The internships also include opportunities to learn about city, participate in volunteer activities in the community and enjoy many of the wonderful events that downtown Detroit offers.

For more information on student internships, please see current postings on the Quicken Loans site.

CEHHS Open House is a Spinning Success

DEARBORN, MI -The “Spin to Win” wheel attracted many future students and their families to the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) tables at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Open House on Saturday, October 8, 2016. 

Academic Advisors Lindsey Tarrant and Jonathan Larson passed out prizes and answered questions about the undergraduate programs.  Lindsey also led the CEHHS presentation providing details about CEHHS programs.

 

Tahnee Prokopow, Director of Health Professions
Advising

Pre-health advisor Tahnee Prokopow’s presentation had an overflow attendance of prospective students who were interested in pursuing a health professions graduate degree.  Dr. Julie Roddy helped students understand the differences between community health education, public health and health policy studies.

There was also tremendous interest in the Child Life Specialist degree and many attendees visited with the Vice President of the Child Life Student Association, Aminah Muhammad.

Department Chairs Don Bord and Susan Everett look forward to the matriculation of these enthusiastic future CEHHS students.

(from left) Jonathan Larson, Academic Advisor;
Deb Peffer, Director of Admissions and Orientation;
Donald Bord, Health and Human Services Department Chair and
Lindsey Tarrant, Academic Advisor

Neloms and Glover Present on Raising Awareness of Social Issues through Music Video Production

Drake Glover and Quan Neloms

DEARBORN, MI - To an audience of students, staff, and community members, Quan Neloms and Drake Glover presented methods for raising awareness of social issues through music video production on October 8, 2016 in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS).

Quan Neloms

Recipient of the Fannie M. Richards award, Neloms teaches United States history and digital storytelling at the Douglass Academy for Young Men in Detroit.  He created an afterschool program, the Lyricist Society, through which high school students create music videos on social issues.

In 2016, three of his students, Drake Glover, Deon Butler, and Kamar Graves received the EMMY® for best high school music video from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Michigan.

During the presentation, Glover described the creative process and the motivational impact that his involvement in the Lyricist Society has had.  Preservice teachers learned about Neloms’ model and methods for advancing academic achievement through the production of hip hop music videos.

CEHHS would like to thank Julie Anne Taylor for having coordinated this event.

CEHHS Develops and Leads Executive Leadership Development Program for Professionals

TROY, MI - The College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) successfully delivered a Leadership Development Training program in partnership with Molina Healthcare of Michigan. The program was held from June until October 2016.

Molina Healthcare Offices in Troy, MI (Photo by COSTAR GROUP)

CEHHS Dean Janine Janosky; Associate Dean Laura Reynolds and Project Manager Jennifer Teller custom designed a series of executive leadership training sessions specially for Molina Healthcare of Michigan. The objective of these sessions was to increase employee knowledge and skill development of principles of leadership, industry-expertise, and collaborative management.

Dean Janine Janosky (Photo by Claudia Lugo-Meeks)

"CEHHS was honored to collaborate with Molina Healthcare for the development and delivery of the executive leadership development program", said Dean Janosky, "The culture of Molina to grow and support their current emerging leaders shows the value placed by Molina."

The sessions were held once a month on-site at Molina Healthcare offices in Troy, Michigan to a group of more than 30 rising leaders. The 3-hours training sessions covered topics such as workplace adaptability; servant leadership; industry changes focused on healthcare system; collaborating across the organization and managing competing priorities.

Associate Dean Laura Reynolds and
Project Manager Jennifer Teller
(Photo by Claudia Lugo-Meeks)

Participants valued the experience and saw the direct application in their roles as leaders. Some of their comments were:

- “I have grown as a leader as the result of this course. I recently transitioned from one level of leadership to another. The refresher on some concepts and the introduction to others will help me to succeed.”

  

- “The final class pulled all of the information together quite well – in particular Sinek’s video – making it time well spent.”

- “I feel I will be improving my leadership skills and thought processes based on the information provided.”

The College of Education, Health, and Human Services continues its commitment to help improve our communities and make a positive impact on Southeast Michigan through collaborations with other institutions.