My Assets:

I believe that most of the service I have been involved in would be considered Direct

Service. I believe I have developed a deeper understanding of myself and become more aware of

cultural norms as I have done Direct Service at the Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf

and Hard of Hearing. I believe that having participated in Direct Service within the Deaf

community and the community at large, that would be an asset for me when planning events or

being involved in events in the future. I also believe assets that I hold that are beneficial in this

type of service is empathy, friendliness, and ease/skill in communication. I believe empathy is

important when building rapport with different groups of people. When you are able to

understand one another, trust is able to be built between you. Similarly, since you are working

with the people directly, it is important to be friendly and open. When you are friendly,

communicate clearly, and empathize with others, you will be able to develop stronger

relationships with everyone involved in the service (volunteers and those in need).

My Lenses:

Since I have participated in a number of events and enjoyed all of them greatly, I have a

very positive perception of Direct Service. I think that if I have any bias, it would be that Direct

Service is one of the best ways to provide service. I believe there is sometimes fear involved with

Direct Service because you are working with so many people. Depending on the group there may

be some personal stereotypes that come in to play. For example, I would be more worried about

my personal safety if I were to work with drug addicts who were going through withdrawal.

Having witnessed this situation become violent in the past, I might be more worried than most

about this. Specifically, regarding Direct Service in the Deaf community though, I had always

had great experiences and don’t believe I have a negative stereotype regarding that group.
My Expectations:

Since I have had great and fulfilling experiences with Direct Service, I believe my

expectations would be for other events to be the same. I might have high expectations for the

other volunteers, faculty, and community partners involved. I believe that I have had an

enjoyable time doing Direct Service because I know everyone wants to be there and is willing to

work hard while serving. I also have high expectations for myself when I am volunteering. I

want to be able to meet/exceed ever expectation that others have set for the role I am in. It is

difficult for me when I an feel I haven’t been able to fulfil the needs of the people in which I am

serving.

My Social Identities:

I don’t believe that there is a set type of person that is involved in Direct Service. This

opinion may be because I am involved in this type of service and thus am that “type” of person.

If the people that participate in Direct Service are similar to me, then it made be harder to

identify what similarities and differences we hold. Some of my social identities that may or may

not be similar to other volunteers are my age and gender. Most likely, I will work with a variety

of people that all are different ages or gender identities. Most of the people that I am currently

work with in Direct Service are similar to me because we are in the same program, go to the

same school, and are all female. Although there are many similarities there are also differences.

One example of a difference in my ITP group would be age.