826 Valencia:
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During my time as a freelance designer, I took on an Education Programming internship at 826 Valencia to stay plugged into the community and work with a population I care a lot about: youth. While a majority of my time consisted of direct service work and tutoring local Bay Area students in writing, I also spearheaded several design projects to help create a more positive and imaginative experience for volunteers and students alike.
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What podcast is King Carl listening to? Probably Sea-rial.
In the presence of royaltyWhen 826 Valencia's Tenderloin Center opened in May 2016, they dedicated their front-of-house retail space to King Carl, the traveling pufferfish. The storefront sells wares from his adventures, like unicorn horn polish (chapstick) and ogre floss (jump ropes). This is the creative world that students and volunteers step into when they enter the numerous doors of 826 Valencia’s Tenderloin Center.
As a long-time volunteer to the organization, I jumped at the chance as an intern to bring more of this fun King Carl persona and imagery to the educational materials, especially for the podcasting field trips. With the guidance of our supervisors, fellow intern Laurel Fujii and I gave a visual and experience refresh to the field trip packets. Our goal was to make the material as clear and concise as possible while bringing a sense of wonder to each part of the field trip. |
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While the program is primarily offered to middle and high school students, some of whom might chuckle at undersea creatures on their packets, I wanted the illustrations to encourage creative thinking. Many students come in with little to no podcasting experience (I was definitely in that camp!), and I wanted the experience to be fun and immersive, inviting them to bring an open mind to this new writing medium. The field trip packets are used by hundreds of students each semester from students spanning grades 5-12. I also designed a 1-page worksheet about podcasts so students could continue what they learned after they leave the center.
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This How-To sheet is shared with teachers after the trip so that students can continue to explore the podcasting world on their own.
Without volunteers, we’d be lost at seaWhen I first started as an intern, a writing project with a neighborhood youth center was just wrapping up. The project happened over the course of a few weeks, and many volunteers supported the project from beginning to end to help the students write a collaborative story about The Planet of Love. To express our appreciation, I wanted to do more than send an email; I wanted to give it a much more personal touch. Inspired by words from their story, I designed a series of fictional tourism postcards. They were all printed, cut and mailed out with a handwritten note to the volunteers to thank them for their support.
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These postcards were inspired by vintage tourist postcards. I used lines from the class's Planet of Love story to illustrate some "tourist attractions" on this fictional planet.
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In addition to this series of postcards, I also created postcards for the podcasting field trip program, thank-you cards, booklets, and posters for volunteers. The programs would not be the same without the volunteers who show up and bring patience, kindness and compassion for the students. I found myself constantly awed at what each person brought to the table to help students learn and fall in love with writing.
A huge shout out to 826 Valencia for the stellar and important work they do in the Bay Area (and in other chapters around the country). Creative writing was a godsend in my youth and has still been a vital way I express myself. Also, thank you to the Tenderloin Programs staff/interns for giving me such an interesting opportunity to feed my soul and for allowing me to connect with the community and city I live in.
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