Today was the first day I got to go out into the field and did some outreach for STRIVE!
On Mondays and Tuesdays, Riverside Church offers Barber Training Courses, which are led by the Master Barber, Dennis Thomas. The church offers a free six-week barber training program that includes free haircuts to the community to allow the students to practice alongside licensed barbers. Since 1997, Thomas has trained nearly 2,000 people in the basics of barbering which helps job seekers find employment through these skills.
STRIVE always refers clients to this program, and today, we attempted to reach out to the program to have them refer their clients to our Fatherhood program at STRIVE. We handed out fliers, spoke to the Master Barber himself, and I took some pictures while my co-worker got his hair cut. It was pretty awesome watching this take place and being part of this experience. It is similar to the concept of teaching people how to fish and seeing how the mentors teach the students how to cut hair.
My co-worker was explaining to me how sessions like these are rare nowadays. Typically, many people go to cosmetology school in order to learn how to cut hair and style. This program is considered to be an “old school" approach to learning, and best of all, it’s free, which gives people an opportunity to learn with no cost to them. The Riverside Church is amazing in the aspect that it is inclusive of everyone in the community no matter what religious background, race, socioeconomic background one comes from. After going to Riverside Church, my co-worker took me to check out parts of Columbia University’s campus. The library is HUGE and beautiful! I wish I got a chance to go inside but we had to take the bus back to the STRIVE office.
My co-worker and I had a long conversation about fatherhood. He went through the fatherhood program at STRIVE and it turns out it helped him a lot with his own life. I know that this description seems pretty vague, but I don’t want to reveal too much. But one of the things that stuck out to me in our conversation was the fact that communication and showing affection to his children were two of the most important elements of his relationship with his children. It was something he originally lacked, having a good conversation with his kids. This was pretty hard to believe because since the time I have known him, he and I always had good conversations. He told me it was something he learned through the Fatherhood program at STRIVE.
It has only been day 4 of my internship, but I feel so welcomed that it feels like I have been here for months. I have been learning a lot from the experiences and stories of those who have been through this program and are now working at STRIVE.
The biggest take away I got from today was that a simple conversation with someone everyday can be important. I remembered when I was in Interact back in high school, one of the most vital elements of that year was sharing our story. Communication is key, and that is how we teach others how to succeed, how to become stronger and better, and of course, how to build solid relationships through these conversations with the ones we love.
Natalie Nguyen, undergraduate student, Community & Regional Development, UC Davis
On Mondays and Tuesdays, Riverside Church offers Barber Training Courses, which are led by the Master Barber, Dennis Thomas. The church offers a free six-week barber training program that includes free haircuts to the community to allow the students to practice alongside licensed barbers. Since 1997, Thomas has trained nearly 2,000 people in the basics of barbering which helps job seekers find employment through these skills.
STRIVE always refers clients to this program, and today, we attempted to reach out to the program to have them refer their clients to our Fatherhood program at STRIVE. We handed out fliers, spoke to the Master Barber himself, and I took some pictures while my co-worker got his hair cut. It was pretty awesome watching this take place and being part of this experience. It is similar to the concept of teaching people how to fish and seeing how the mentors teach the students how to cut hair.
My co-worker and I had a long conversation about fatherhood. He went through the fatherhood program at STRIVE and it turns out it helped him a lot with his own life. I know that this description seems pretty vague, but I don’t want to reveal too much. But one of the things that stuck out to me in our conversation was the fact that communication and showing affection to his children were two of the most important elements of his relationship with his children. It was something he originally lacked, having a good conversation with his kids. This was pretty hard to believe because since the time I have known him, he and I always had good conversations. He told me it was something he learned through the Fatherhood program at STRIVE.
It has only been day 4 of my internship, but I feel so welcomed that it feels like I have been here for months. I have been learning a lot from the experiences and stories of those who have been through this program and are now working at STRIVE.
The biggest take away I got from today was that a simple conversation with someone everyday can be important. I remembered when I was in Interact back in high school, one of the most vital elements of that year was sharing our story. Communication is key, and that is how we teach others how to succeed, how to become stronger and better, and of course, how to build solid relationships through these conversations with the ones we love.
Natalie Nguyen, undergraduate student, Community & Regional Development, UC Davis
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