Service to Montana Through Research

Transcript

 Next up, let’s hear from Amy, a third year doctoral student in UM School Psychology program. Amy’s experiential learning includes working in partnership with Montana’s tribal communities, as you will soon learn spending time in this setting compliments what she is learning in the classroom. Take it away, Amy.

– Thanks Alex, hi everyone. As an undergraduate student at a small private college back east, I became passionate about the intersection between education and social justice. My desire to help all students access and benefit from an education led me to the University of Montana and the field of school psychology. The welcoming community and immersive learning experiences made it clear that it was the best place for me to continue my studies. I’ve been involved in an ongoing community-based research project, supporting the social and emotional wellbeing of native American students in a nearby reservation community. This involves everything from sharing locally sourced meals with community members to interviewing teachers in the district and observing elementary classrooms to writing manuscripts for peer reviewed publication, collaborative research like this engages community members as partners to solve problems that they’ve identified. By collaborating with members of the local community, the result uniquely utilizes their strengths and meets their needs, providing the best support for these particular students. The experiential learning opportunities at the University of Montana allow me to see what community engaged and culturally centered education look like. Helping me learn to provide the best support for students and families from minoritized backgrounds in my future career. That’s all for me back to you, Alex.

– Thank you for another great example of the State of Montana as a classroom. It sounds like UM offers lots of personal and up-close opportunities to learn from its indigenous peoples and create meaningful change for healthy communities. Good luck to you, Amy, and thanks again.