These past few weeks of working for C.A.S.T. was again a very eye-opening experience. My week consisted of some team meetings to discuss projects that everyone was working on, talk about growing the business, and the success of the golf fundraiser! I finished my first project, logging data into a spreadsheet. I logged data from the past five years, and it definitely took longer than I thought it would. I had a meeting with my boss so she could look over my spreadsheet and make any changes if she needed to. Upon seeing that my work was finished to the standard that was set, she gave me my next project.
My next project consists of researching and building networks for the C.A.S.T. nonprofit. I am very excited to start this project because it will give me a chance to further my research skills and work on establishing connections in the nonprofit sector. For this project I am researching local sex trafficking and sexual exploitation services in each school district. So far I have started on resources for the Stillwater Area School district, in the East Metro. I will be researching resources in each school district in Minnesota. So far, I have also been calling each resource's hotline to see what response time is, and making sure they have enough availability to provide their services to students in that area. The point of this project is to find the best resources available in each school district's area, so I am picking and choosing between the resources available. By the end of the summer, C.A.S.T. would like to have lists of these resources available to give to each school. This is important for students and school districts to have so that they can reach out to someone local in case they need help or know of someone who is in need of help. The reason C.A.S.T. wants a list of local resources is because they can then offer tailored support specific to that community. It is also often more accessible and convenient, and local resources have a better understanding of community dynamics, including cultural considerations, available support networks, and potential dangers of that area.
While tackling this research, I have been able to reflect on how well Cornell has prepared me for this experience. While at Cornell I have had to do a multitude of research projects for my Political Science classes and lots of academic writing for my English Literature classes. This is helping me complete my research to the best of my ability and record it in a helpful format. For example, during my research project, I have already been able to tell which resources are going to be the most helpful and look at who they tailor to. I also am appreciative of how much Cornell has made me branch out of my comfort zone, through things like class speeches, community-building opportunities, and having one-on-one conversations with my professors about class. This has taught me the importance of effective communication, which is helping me with my network-building in this project. I used to think that calling all these businesses and asking questions would be uncomfortable, but because Cornell has given me so many opportunities to step out of my comfort zone, I now have no problem doing that task.