Final Artist Statement

Throughout the semester my experiences at Escuela Vieau have been beneficial to my young career. I found the Service Learning site to be an environment that taught me about culture and how children are growing up in their community, which was far different from my hometown. In sociology and other multi-cultural courses, I have read about different races and ethnicities, but reading can only describe it to an extent. However, physically entering the community and understanding the lifestyle through direct experiences has had a great impact on my perception of the Hispanic culture.

During orientation, I immediately understood that the parents of the students were enthusiastic that we would be volunteering our time to better the lives of children at Vieau School. Because the adults were in a class to learn how to speak English, I could not always understand what they were saying, however their faces were covered with smiles and this made me realize how appreciative the ethnicity. The students reacted the exact same way and most of the children were talkative and excited to see me when I arrived on Thursday afternoons.

All of the encounters I had with the students were positive because they let me connect with them and their culture. A few of the students shared with me their favorite foods, sports and activities they participate in, and the music they listen to. I found that soccer is a sport that many of the children play and that they listen to a Hispanic rap group from South Milwaukee.

After taking pictures of the school and students for my first Multimedia Project I decided to walk through the neighborhood located near Vieau School and the surrounding area. I took what I had learned from the staff and students to find it in the community myself. Staff at the school advised me that La Perla, La Fuente, and Botana’s are local restaurants that feature great Mexican cuisine. Also, other businesses hold important values to the community because they have bilingual professionals and offer help to the neighborhood.

Therefore, I went to the community two days in a row to capture these restaurants and businesses. Emperexel: Multicultural Business Solutions is the business that offers business administration advice to English and Spanish speakers. As far as the restaurants, some of the pictures I took made me feel like I was in another country because of the vibrant colors and architecture. Later on I uploaded my photos to picnic.com and manipulated the saturation, exposure, and contrast qualities to reinforce the international experience I was trying to achieve. The iMovie I created made the vibrant pictures flow smoothly, and feel I accomplished the international experience through my selection international and cultural photos.

Final Multimedia Project

Journal Entry Three

Over the last few weeks at Vieau I talked with Ms. Montenegro and told her about my internship. I mentioned I work for Westside Healthcare Association which is located a few miles away from Vieau. As part of my internship, a pediatrician and I have created immunization clinics with Milwaukee Public Schools to improve vaccination rates within the community. Because Vieau was so close to Westside I asked Ms. Montenegro if Vieau would be willing to work with Westside and set up a clinic.

Ms. Montenegro responded favorably to this and we met with the pediatrician and discussed the possibility of the clinic. We found out that there was a high percentage of students that were not up-to-date on their immunizations or no records could be found. An immunization clinic was needed to help these children get vaccinated. As of right now, the immunization clinic has not been completed but is planned to be accomplished by the end of May. It is extremely important that parents recognize the importance of immunizations and how they can greatly impact their children's lives. After we immunize the children I will feel that I really helped out the Vieau community.