Kira Munoz

Links of Interest to Kira:

Pony Express Link

Kira's VISTA Story Book Page

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First Month at Panola College

Challenges:

My main challenges this month have been getting people to understand the relevance of service-learning and finding people that want to work with an animal shelter that has contacted me to request help. To address these challenges, I am planning on meeting with the different departments and giving presentations about what service-learning is, how it can be incorporated into their classes, and why it is beneficial to the teacher and the student; I am also planning on making flyers to be posted around campus for the animal shelter (CAR) and to resend information about the possibilities of volunteering with CAR to the faculty and staff as a reminder.

Another challenge I have been facing is a lack of transportation. There is no bus system here, so if I wanted to go visit a site or set up a meeting with an organization I have to ask someone to take me, or request that the meeting be held over the phone or in my office on campus. Luckily I haven’t had to actually go anywhere to set up volunteer opportunities as of yet, but this could potentially become an issue. I am going to begin saving up so I can get a car. Until then the college has offered to rent a car for me to use if I have meetings.

It is also very challenging for me at this point in time because I really don’t have much direction as to what I am supposed to be doing or who to contact for different things I need information on. My supervisor helps me out as much as she can and I try to do research to get more of an idea as to what other schools have done, and go from there. I also had a meeting with two professors on campus that have been doing service-learning for a while and they gave me a lot of resources and a contact in Arkansas, who they considered to be a guru of service learning, to use. They made me feel really good about being here too, because I shared some of my ideas with them for some of the other departments and they thought my ideas were great. So once I finally figure out exactly what it is I’m supposed to be doing I think everything will be just fine, and that I will eventually be great in my position. I just need to gain the confidence that I know what I am doing and that I know how to do my job first. I think that PSO will really help me to put things into perspective, and I cannot wait for it.

Highlights:

I find comfort in the fact that people seem to be very interested in getting to know who I am, where I’m from, and what I am going to be doing at the college. It has helped me to stay focused on my work and to not think about the fact that I don’t know anyone. It’s easing my transition to being on my own a lot.

I was interviewed on January 6, 2010 by the local radio and television station, KGAS, about my position as the Service Learning Coordinator and have recently been interviewed for the Panola College newspaper, the Pony Express. It has been kind of exciting to have people interested in what I am doing, and it also gives me a chance to share the importance of service learning with a larger audience.

However, I would say my biggest highlight was when I had met with Ann Boland, an art professor, and seeing the enthusiasm about incorporating service learning into her class that she had. Knowing that someone, other than my supervisors and me, cared and was excited about service-learning reminded me of why I was brought here in the first place. It was refreshing.

Accomplishments:

Since I am new to Carthage, and TX in general, I have been open to attending pretty much anything I am invited to so that I can meet more people, become more familiar with my surroundings, and experience new things. Through my explorations I was able to meet some people that expressed the needs of the community to me, and was given a better, more realistic view of what the Carthage community was in need of. This gave me the inspiration to be more creative, and I began writing a proposal for a “financially friendly” volleyball camp. I also came to find that my world view is very different from many of the people in the area, which I figured would be the case since I’m from a bigger city and a different state; but in discovering this, I started thinking about how limited people’s world views can be and decided I was going to offer to facilitate a roundtable discussion for the college as an act of civic service. I also went on a tour of the impoverished, Black community in which I was able to see what I was told about (as far as community needs and the severe SES gap are concerned), and visited the Cooks’ Quarters display on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is also the area the Boys and Girls Clubs of Big Pines is located in Carthage, seeing the extreme poverty in that neighborhood encouraged me to call the Clubs’ Main Office the next business day to find out how we could help. I started volunteering with some of the BGC kids on Wednesday nights with a play they are going to be doing through a group called “LOGOS” and to be a table parent during dinner. Overall, I have not done much yet, but I figure its okay because I am just getting started and the faculty wasn’t here my first week on the job. However, I am progressing toward community involvement for the college and myself. I plan on reaching all of the goals set before me, and bringing the college along with me.

TxCC host site: Panola College

Kira Muñoz is from originally from Racine, Wisconsin. She attended Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI and received her B.A. in Psychology. She also studied Global Studies & International Business and Spanish Language & Culture extensively in her career at Alverno.

During her undergraduate studies, Kira was very involved in her community. She served as a Community Advisor for two years, served as chair of the Wisconsin Private Colleges’ Initiative for Diversity Conference, mentored 5th and 6th grade students during a community project, worked with refugees, and more. Before moving to Carthage, Texas Kira served as the Character & Leadership Development Program Director and Intern & Volunteer Coordinator for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee at a middle school site.

In the future, Kira plans to continue her education and eventually create and run her own non-profit organization that tends to at risk populations.

Email Kira