Final Reflection

This semester had its ups and downs with my service learning experiences, but overall, volunteer work is always a great thing to do. I know that it is something I've always been involved in and will continue to do in my future life! Kentucky Center for smoke free policy

Final video reflection

Now the semester is coming to a close, I have reflected on my service learning organization volunteering. Enjoy!

Final reflection

It's been a busy few months, but the semester is finally coming to a close. I took some time to reflect on my work with the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy. 

Finally Volunteering!

The s'mores booth

I finally got to volunteer for the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy! Just before Thanksgiving break was the Great American Smokeout- a national day set aside to encourage people to stop smoking. On the University of Kentucky's campus the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy set up a huge party in front of the library, complete with s'mores, hot chocolate, and many other treats. I got up early on November 19th and went over to the nursing building to help set up for the day. I hauled some posters and other relevant knick-knacks out to the tailgate site, and then I helped set up tables and displays. In a span of about 45 minutes we transformed the walkway into a massive display all about the dangers of smoking. There were graphic displays with damaged organs in jars and a large bin where cigarettes could be thrown out. There were also tamer booths with games and anti-smoking pledges that could be signed. Once the event was set up, I was given  a large stack of cards with information about Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy as well as a coupon for a free drink. I spent the rest of my time walking around campus, handing out these cards and advertising for the event. I spoke to many people all over campus about the event and the hazards of smoking- even for nonsmokers. It felt so good to finally work with this organization!

Paul and I handing out cards

It was awesome to finally get some insight into how this organization serves the university and the greater community. Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy does so much good- by educating the community on the dangers of smoking, advocating for laws that protect the quality of air for all, and enforcing smoking bans- and I enjoyed getting to help spread the message. It was really rewarding to feel like I was doing something to help encourage people to stop smoking. It is such a problem, especially on this "smoke-free" campus. Unlike our earlier service this actually felt like we were making a difference, and it was awesome!








Want some more information about Kentucky Smoke-free Policy? Check out these great links:

Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy website: http://www.mc.uky.edu/TobaccoPolicy/KCSP/

Social Media:

Twitter and Facebook

This video is actually a positive one!! I have photos of the tailgate and a short video of a "crowd" that stopped by, it was definitely a lot of fun and I got to meet some really nice people.

third reflection

November came, and this was the month where I was able to volunteer for something fun, entertaining, and educational. I was able to inform people about smoking and the hazardous effects it has on them and other people. This was a tabling event where I was able to show statistics, visuals, and give them papers with various facts about smoking. It was outside before the Thanksgiving break, in front of the library where thousands of students walk by everyday. Even if the students didn't stop or just walked by, I feel that tabling outside had an effect on everyone because it just made them more aware of the cause that this organization stands for. There was corn-hole, group members were able to hand out drinks, people were able to come up and write motivational sayings or quotes that promote the stopping of smoking on the campus. It was awesome seeing the students just stop by, because it showed they were willing to learn more about the topic and what they could do to help the campus stay as smoke-free as possible. Students were able to learn about a variety of topics associated with smoking, specifically lung Cancer because November is Lung Cancer Awareness month. They were able to fully see and understand how the lungs will change from a healthy pinkish color to being black and making it hard for them to breathe. Students were also able to learn about e-cigarettes, secondhand smoking, and smoking hookah. Many students had misconceptions that these were less dangerous, but in fact they just harm your body in different ways. The activities for students to engage in were enjoyable, and this experience as a whole was pleasant. However, this seemed to be the only big event that this organization had for the group to partake in; that was interesting, to say the least.
  

Video Post 2

Info table 

Motivational quitting board

Tobacco trash can

video reflection

This is a video reflection on what I have done so far for Kentucky Smoke Free. I am also attaching the link below just in case the video does not play above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-d-bDpKdBU#action=share

Ted Talk Analysis

Reducing Smoking Deaths: Is it Rocket Science?

Today I am analyzing a Ted Talk given by Linda M. Collins at a TEDx event at Pennsylvania State University entitled "Reducing Smoking Deaths: Is it Rocket Science?". In her talk Collins presents behavioral interventions, like counseling, to meet the goal of lowering the amount of people who smoke in the United States to 12% by the year 2020. She uses the example of NASA's successful moon landing to detail a way to design interventions methodically and analytically so that we can be sure the interventions are working to lower the number of smoking adults. After all, NASA met there goal of putting a man on the moon in ten years, why should this goal be any different?

The title of the speech sets up the subject quite nicely. From the title the audience, and I, knew she would be talking about the smoking epidemic in this country. Everyone knows that smoking is bad, and they should try to quit. But because so few do quit successfully, the audience was expecting the speech to lay out a new method to encourage stopping tobacco use. This she did, but she also criticized the way that clinical trials that try to determine the way to help people stop smoking are run. I, for one, also did not expect the use of the NASA example, however I thought it tied in nicely to the lesson of the talk.

The ideal shape of  a presentation

I think that the speaker did a very good job of setting up the contrast between what is and what could be. She begins by setting up why smoking is bad. She puts the statistics in terms which her audience can understand, saying that "the equivalent of the entire population of Atlanta dies because of cigarette smoking" and "the equivalent of the entire undergraduate population here" die because of second hand smoking every year. That created a jaw-dropping moment, because it put the statistics into tangible amounts the audience could grasp. People on the campus of Penn State know how massive the undergraduate population is (about 46,000 students according to Google). She then contrasts our failure to lower these numbers with our great success of landing someone on the moon. She jumps back and forth from how we currently help people quit smoking and how we worked to get to the moon to show how, if we applied the same concepts to smoking, we might get the same results. She then presents utopia, the study she is collaborating on to determine behavioral interventions that have the greatest chances of helping someone stop smoking. She talks about how this study could also be applied to help those with substance abuse problems or other disorders. This helps the audience to see her solution as the ideal way to approach the future.

her facial expressions do not convey excitement about her ideas

I think that Collins could have improved this talk by working on her delivery. For most of the speech her face was impassive, and, although she spoke passionate words, her vocal inflection did not reflect passion. She also shifted awkwardly on the stage as she spoke, and this left the impression that she felt uncomfortable. She also had no visual aids. I feel that some graphs depicting the smoking trends in America, or even a picture of an early NASA prototype would have helped the audience have a clearer understanding of the message. Improving the nonverbal aspects of her speech would help Collins become a more effective speaker and share her message easily.

This applies to my service learning organization because Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free policy routinely works on clinical studies to help people quit smoking. Many of Collins' ideas would be helpful for them to utilize as they work towards a smoke-free tomorrow. If you would like to learn more, you can visit the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy here.

Smoking Deconstructed Ted Talk

James Monsees is the CEO and co founder of the tobacco company, Ploom. He stated in the beginning of the speech that he loves smoking. His company works to redesign the smoking stigma. He has developed many consumer products for the past twelve years. He is an entrepreneur who graduated from Stanford University.

Overall, this speech was boring, and he was very monotone the entire time. He had no emotion or power behind the facts that he was just spitting out of his mouth. I have to give him credit because he seemed to know a lot of information on smoking and how people have a certain stigma about it. He was very professional and made great eye contact with the audience. He did not have images and facts on the screen behind him which did not help the presentation because the audience was probably falling asleep during it. He definitely needed to incorporate images or powerful facts on the screen to capture the audience's attention. He also did not really use any nonverbal communication to fully engage the audience. He just stood there and spoke the entire time, about how "smoking tobacco is a prestigious social behavior." During the Ted Talk, James could have improved with his tone by changing the pitch of his voice to emphasize the importance of certain facts or points during his speech. I also felt that he needed to be more loose and relaxed. It seemed like everything he stated was very rehearsed/memorized and just stated a bunch of facts (some were basic common knowledge that everyone already knows about smoking).
The name of this Ted Talk was "Smoking Deconstructed". This is basically what he was talking about the entire time. He was breaking down the act of smoking and its effects on people. Everyone already knows that smoking is bad for you, and people should not smoke. James stated facts that reached people; he stated that over a billion people smoke everyday, and that smoking is responsible for 5 million deaths per year. However, he states positive facts that focuses on the consumer and not smoking itself. He states that on one side of the spectrum it connects us to the past and on the other it is very dangerous.Tobacco companies and pharmaceutical companies are trying to innovate smoking (patch, nicotine gum). These focus more on the consumer staying abstinent from it, instead of what smoking does.This Ted Talk was directly related to my service learning organization because Kentucky Smoke Free is all about preventing people from starting to smoke and helping those who are already smoking, to quit.

Hey so I did a reflection video! Im going to go ahead and post the video that I am commenting on below.  In case you're extra curious about the health cost, and emotional costs associated with smoking. Enjoy!

Ted Talk Analysis - Smoking Deconstructed

The Ted Talk I observed was titled “Smoking Deconstructed” by James Monsees. The speaker is a graduate of Stanford University and the CEO of PAX labs, a company that produces premium vaporizers. The speaker, at Brussels in 2013, attempted to deconstruct the stigma against smoking, providing historical examples in the process. He seemed be vying for the then upcoming changes in the tobacco industry, namely vaporizers and electronic cigarettes. As my service learning organization is Kentucky Smoke Free Policy, I thought the Ted Talk was an obvious and relatable choice.

James Monsees at his talk in Brussels

The audience knew the general information about smoking – that a lot of people do it, despite the known, hazardous health effects. The audience then expected the speaker to provide more specific insight such as statistics, and perhaps even the human psychology behind smoking. I expected, more or less, the same things as the audience.

In my opinion, the speaker had some good examples and support. He definitely knew what he was talking about; for example, he cited the CDC to provide some startling statistics about smoking. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths, it accounts for 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S. each year, and people who smoke on average live 10 years less than others. He also brought up some good points about the positives associated with smoking - how it looks cool, even elegant – and provided historical figures such as Marilyn Monroe and James Deen who through smoking, “exuded personality”.  

Overall, the Ted Talk was quite lackluster. First, I have to mention how dull, dry, and monotone the speaker’s delivery was. He basically used the same tone for the duration of the 18 minutes, creating this very unappealing performance. The most important thing about his lack of tone variance was that he seemed dispassionate. While he certainly seemed to be an authority on the talk he was giving (based on some examples), he didn’t know how to effectively deliver his knowledge to inspire the audience. He also did not have a single visual example, which might have helped to make his presentation more interesting. Perhaps most critically, he started looking at his notecard towards the end. This severely lowered his credibility, as he didn’t seem fully prepared.

From 15:05~15:20, the speaker has some awkard pauses

In terms of content, the speaker could have had better organization and clarity. At one point, he starts talking about this one experiment conducted in the 1970s by Bruce Alexander. He then continues to elaborate on the specifics of the experiment conducted on rats for several minutes. The problem was that while he did explain how the experiment was related to his topic, it was done only in a very loose manner. He didn’t quite elaborate fully on how the example he provided was actually relevant to the act of smoking. Also, he seemed to jump around with his points, not proceeding in a logical and cohesive manner. Right after the experiment example, he suddenly started talking about his past experiences, without really transitioning properly. This lack of clear organization further made the presentation as a whole quite boring. If he could have presented in a more engaging and clear manner, the talk would have been many times more effective. 

Smoke-free? Or maybe not

Is the University of Kentucky truly smoke-free? I don't think so. Laws in dusty books that cannot be enforced do very little to change anything practically. I feel that the only way to truly achieve a smoke-free tomorrow is to work together as a community to change the way we view smoking and value the our lives and the lives of those around us. 

I finally figured out how to fix my issues with uploading my video! Enjoy everyone! Comment if you have any questions.

Video Reflection

Not much has changed since the previous reflection, but here goes. I am just waiting until Monica contacts the group regarding more volunteering opportunities.

My first experience with Kentucky smoke free

My first experience with the organization was tedious and did not have anything to do with the actual service learning organization. That being said, I understand that the organization is in the process of moving to a new location, therefore all the boring office work has to be taken care of in order for them to have a successful transition to a new place. Ms. Monica Mundy asked everyone in our group to scan piles upon piles of papers. I was sitting in a chair, scanning papers for two hours, and constantly having to get up because the printer would get jammed every two seconds (it felt like). There was a lot of repetitiveness, and I did get aggravated because of the amount of papers that had to be scanned, but mostly because scanning papers has nothing to do with the smoke free topic that this organization focuses on. Overall, my first experience with the organization seemed pointless to me because it did not feel like I was doing anything of value to help society and the community as a whole. In summary, I picked up piles of paper, sorted through them, removed staples to make sure they didn't go through the printer, and then scanned them to Monica's email so she could peruse through what was necessary to keep versus what should be trashed.

 A printer room that depicts where I was sitting to scan papers to Monica's email

Even though my first experience did not specifically relate to a smoke-free campus, it had to get done in order for the organization to launch campaigns, and move to a better space to be better inform students about the harms involved with smoking. Monica informed the group that the bulk of the campaigning and volunteering would be done in November; November is Lung Cancer Awareness month, which is one of the main effects of smoking. As with any growth of an association, they all have to go through the laborious process in order to do more fun and interesting activities. Some of the upcoming activities that were brought to my attention were tabling to students so they have the opportunity to receive extra information regarding smoking, and participating in social media campaigns. Both of these actions can reach out to thousands of people, and hopefully persuade people to think twice before sticking a cigarette in their mouths.

Just an example of a campaign that can speak to people 

Kentucky Smoke Free, The First Experience

To be honest, all the member in my group, myself included, have not had any actual, relevant service experience with Kentucky Smoke Free Policy. We were told by Monica that the majority of the service learning would take place in November with their initiative.

UK College of Nursing, where volunteering took place

Frankly speaking, the most interaction I have had with the organization is limited to scanning their documents. When I first went in to volunteer, I was expecting to lend some assistance to some more important tasks at hand, but I was quite disappointed that I was left to do was essentially busy work. Quite literally, I scanned hundreds of sheets of documents and newspapers within the time span of the two hours that I was there. Aside from the fact that I was somewhat annoyed with having to do non-essential work, the scanning itself provided many frustrations. If some of the papers were stapled together and I didn't know, the printer would jam while trying to scan, making me incredibly frustrated at times. The repetitiveness of the work that I had to do did not alleviate matters either. It was incredibly boring to be doing the same motion of taking papers and loading them for two whole hours. While I do realize that the work I was doing benefited the organization with their moving process, it was honestly hard to care about it. I did the work that I was asked of in a diligent manner, but I did not really enjoy a single minute of it.

The piles and piles of documents that were scanned

With that said, I certainly hope that the experience in November will be much better. I want to get into the actual important things, not the minutia. I agree with the organization's ideals and initiatives - I would just like to have the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way. I hope that what is to come will allow me to do just that.

Signature symbol and acronym for the Kentucky Center for Smoke Free Policy

For the past month the Kentucky Center for Smoke free Policy has been in a shuffle. Everyone is buzzing about the upcoming move at the end of this month and beginning of next month. What this new location will mean for the organization, is more space to work, and a new beginning for the mission that they started years ago.
If you were to go to their website you can read about some interesting findings that the teams at the center have been finding. For example, the team [Ellen J. Hahn (principal investigator), Kiyoung Lee (Faculty Associate/Environmental Scientist), Heather Roberston (Program Administrator), and Amanda Bucher (Data Coordinator)] handling the monitoring of air quality found that some "workers and patrons in Greenup County were exposed to indoor air pollution levels approx. 2.3 times the National ambient Air Quality Standard for outdoor air, " (Bucher, Hahn, Lee, & Robertson, 2015). This just shows how people can be working under hazardous conditions without even realizing that their lives are at risk. When looking at this data, keep in mind, that it is legal to smoke out doors, and thusly it is responsible to assume that the levels of toxins outdoors will be high; there is no reason that the toxins found inside of buildings should exceed that of the conjoint outside, its also important to recall that smoking indoors is illegal. So then how is this even possible? These are the questions that the teams investigate over that the center- and this is the fundamental importance of KCSP, not only for the community of Lexington, but to the state as a whole; Kentucky.

Banner that the KCSP used to campaign 2nd hand smoke

Now while people over at KCSP have been busy working on the collection and analysis of data I myself have been helping the great cause. Perhaps not on the same level, but... I have more or less done some good. For two hours I went and scanned and sorted important documentation. The move, as mentioned earlier, has been using quite a bit of man power, something that is hard to have in a place that is constantly bustling with the prospects of a better tomorrow. Time is scarce, needless to say, and every moment counts. This is why, even though it wasn't as glamorous as some other jobs, I feel my time was well spent. I know how helpful an extra pair of hands can be sometimes and I could definitely tell every second I spent helping, was greatly appreciated. The copier did jam, every three or four papers, but I can't complain; I know that while I took over the coping job, someone else was able to go and analyze or collect new information that will probably be beneficial to my health and the health of others in the future.
I am excited to say that in the up coming month, November to some, or Lung Cancer Awareness month to KCSP, I will be having a more hands on experience. We will be tending to tables and booths set up around campus. Here we will passing out pamphlets and brochure on some of the dangers of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd hand smoke. Things that most people won't know about and information that will hopefully change the life or lives of college student(s). Aside from the booth, we also have some interesting assignments to follow up on their social media campaigns. Hopefully I'll get to tweet some interesting facts out about some new discoveries that the teams have been finding.

Service Doesn't Mean Becoming a Superhero

The real smoke-free superheroes!

We're halfway through the semester, and I haven't really had much to do with my service learning organization. There just hasn’t been much going on in the smoke-free scene. What little I have done, hasn’t had anything to do with Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy’s mission of promoting a smoke-free tomorrow. Most of our service will be completed next month. November is national lung cancer awareness month and the third Thursday is designated as the Great American Smokeout.  Starting soon the organization will need us to table and hand out pamphlets on campus in between class and create social media campaigns for their facebook and twitter handles. So it was with this assurance of future helpfulness that I went into my service this past month.

For two hours I went to the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy office and scanned papers. They are trying to update the file system from paper to digital, and that’s a lot of work! It’s a lot of boring work- standing at the massive, 20-in-1, industrial Xerox machines feeding papers through, pausing of course every five or so pages to unjam the machine when a document inevitably didn’t feed correctly. It was mindless and tedious and more than a little frustrating at times. Honestly, it didn’t feel like the real, life-changing service I had hoped for when beginning this endeavor.  But when my scheduled time was finished and I came to get my hours sheet signed by my supervisor, everyone was so grateful. I felt like Clark Kent, unnoticed and rather superfluous, but they thanked me like I had just saved the day, Superman style. They thanked me for saving them hours of work and hassle. In my two hours I made their lives at least a little easier. And that’s the point, isn’t it?

my new nemesis 

Sometimes, the most helpful things are the simplest things. Serving my service learning organization sometimes means filing papers and scanning documents. Service can’t always be leading a single-handed crusade against the evils of the world. It can’t always be great and exciting and important-sounding. Honestly, my standing back and doing the boring work to allow the experts to work on plans for the coming month, was likely the best thing I could do. Learning to serve means learning that you don’t always get to wear the cape- the most helpful tasks are the mundane, the boring, the unheroic. And completing these tasks joyfully is the best thing that I can do for the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy. 

The Kentucky Center for Smoke Free Policy is an organization that works with educating the general public of the many dangers of smoke, both from tobacco products and from "e-cigarettes." KCSP (Kentucky Center for Smoke Free Policy) goes above and beyond that of typical campaigns by actually conducting experiments and observations in-house (the organization conducts experiments themselves). When my group and I went to meet Monica Mundy, our supervisor, we also had the privilege of meeting the data collection Manager, who is responsible for over seeing and examining all of the data collected so that everything presented to the advertising team is factual. The KCSP is an organization that is decorated with successes, such as being a part of helping 30+ communities become smoke free. They also help aid in the education of students attending UK, this program is working with college students who are looking to gain experience in a real world application, from the data being collected, to the information going to the public, the students help.

(the the far left, is Susan Mtoubsi, April Gahafer, Monica Mundy, Mariah Caise, and the far right is Marygrace Gugger)
        

          My group members and I went to meet up with Monica Mundy on Tuesday. September 15^th and it was during this meeting that we were allowed to get a deeper understanding of what we would be contributing to this courageous mission. Monica explained that the first few weeks of our volunteering would be spent going through and organizing important files. We are going to be scanning files and cataloging them in such a way that is going to be easily accessible for everyone once they move to a new location. Following those primary weeks, we will begin advertising the KCSP campaign by networking social media, and by updating their webpage. If you were to go onto the website you would notice immediately the condition that it is in; its very unsightly, difficult to maneuver and overall, in need of an upgrade. My group members and I look forward to the opportunity to help not only the website, so that people can be further educated in the consequences of smoke inhalation, but also the overall mission.

(This is a picture of the outside, old, location of the Smoke Free Policy Center.)

Initial Reflection

The Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy or KCSP for short is an organization under the UK College of Nursing that focus on promoting smoke-free communities and providing information regarding all types of smoking. To be honest when I first visited the website, I found it quite unappealing. There is a lot of unused blank space which could have been utilized in a more efficient manner. I have yet to meet with the supervisor, Monica Mundy, for my first orientation and so my thoughts on the organization are purely based on what information I could gather via the internet. While certainly their website was not very aesthetically pleasing, I was impressed by the sheer amount of information made available for the public to view. For example, they provide a detailed informational sheet regarding e-cigarettes, its components, and potential health hazards. I thought this was very important because most people, including myself, likely would not know how e-cigs are similar and different to regular tobacco products. Through the very informative information, I was able to learn that while advertisements say that e-cigs are supposedly better alternatives to smoking tobacco, they have the same effects as smoking tobacco after using for five minutes.

information provided on e-cigs

From my research, I was not able to find if the KCSP had a FaceBook or not, but they did indeed have a very active and involved Twitter page. Through social media, they have been spreading their initiatives and showing people how earnest they are about creating healthier environments and informing the uninformed. While the website is the main source of information for anything smoke-related, their social media seems to be the main source of current events and updates taking place for the organization. Not only that, I think the avid use of Twitter is a great idea of trying to connect with the younger generation consisting of students and even children. It is better to inform people about the hazards of smoking as early as possible, and the KCSP clearly realizes that. It is good to see that the people within the organization seem to be very passionate about what they do. They are constantly striving to make the air cleaner, and as fellow advocate of non-smoking, I am looking forward to working with them. 

a poster promoting tobacco free areas

Initial reflection the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy

 The Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy works to encourage communities to become smoke-free by making data on the dangers of smoking easily accessible and helping to educate the public through a conference and direct public outreach. Being “smoke-free” means that a city or county has passed laws prohibiting smoking inside or near public buildings and workplaces. This is still an important campaign. Even though the University of Kentucky has been smoke-free for seven years, Lexington itself has only begun the transition to being smoke-free earlier this year. Still other communities have yet to begin the transition at all. On the 15th of September, I met with Ms. Monica Mundy to discuss what my volunteering will look like this semester. She mentioned that once the Center moves to its new, larger location, most of my service will be designing social media campaigns to encourage smoke-free policy. I visited the website for Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy and their twitter page to better learn what that should look like. 

homepage of Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy

The website was not visually appealing, the information is squeezed in the center of the page and the graphics are much too small, but it is very easy to navigate. I could easily find their mission statement and the fact sheets with seemingly endless evidence that describes in no uncertain terms how bad smoking is for an individual's health and the health of a community. But in the nicely bulleted lists the information is cold and impersonal; the twitter page was what held the shock value. 

graphic depiction of a smoker next to a nonsmoker

smoking while pregnant is dangerous to both you and your child

On the twitter page graphic images and sharp, snappy catchphrases take the information from the fact sheets and help to distribute it to the larger world. Like any successful social media campaign, the messages are short and poignant. An organization has mere seconds to catch the attention of the scrolling audience. They do that through simple, bold type that's easy to read quickly and shocking images. The top image, for example, caused me to stop and try to decided what exactly the guy smoking is made of and how to I keep myself from looking the same way. 

Social media campaigns against smoking are all about depicting smoking as negatively as possible as quickly as possible. And not just for the person who is choosing to smoke, for everyone who is unfortunate enough to be around them. I am excited to work with Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy to help design this year's campaign. I believe smoking is a selfish choice because of the lasting harm it does to those around the smoker. Therefore I am excited to help encourage people to quit- for the sake of their children, their significant others, or even for the sake of their pets. I am also excited because this campaign gives me an opportunity to help translate science to the human experience. I am challenged to take data from studies and express it in ways that everyone can understand. I think this is an important step for public education of the dangers of smoking; not everyone understands what a researcher means when he or she expresses values to a 0.05 confidence interval, but everyone can understand that smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in Kentucky. I cannot wait to begin working with Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy!

Initial service learning reflection post

The Kentucky Center for Smoke Free is an organization that is focused on the surveys and research conducted throughout time. They have factual information to back up the cause that it stands for, which is reducing the use of tobacco and second-hand smoke. This is a serious organization with devoted people who are striving for the same goal. These people are all positive and I can tell that they want the best for society. This organization wants people to know the health risks and danger they are putting their bodies through.

            The first meeting with Monica Mundy was informational and reassuring as to what we are going to be working towards. At first we will have to help sort through files to prepare for the organization’s move. But after that is done, she informed us that we would spending a lot of our time campaigning on social media for taking care of your lungs. We are going to be creating various ads and promotional flyers to support the cause of keeping our lungs healthy. We will be creating Facebook pages and posting tweets on twitter to further spread the word of our organization and get people more educated. Monica also told us that the bulk of our volunteering would be done in November, which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. During this month we will be mainly at tables all over campus to inform the students about Lung Cancer and how to keep them as healthy as possible. Also, there will be a sort of festival to honor the 7^th anniversary of the Kentucky Smoke free at the University. It will be an opportunity for students to play games, and win prizes while acknowledging the organization’s purpose for smoke free policy.

Many people are unaware of all the hazardous effects any type of smoke has on a person’s body, so I’m excited to inform people and make them aware.  This organization makes people aware and it has factual evidence to back it up. It has conducted surveys on the hazardous effects of second-hand smoke, providing strategies on how to have cleaner air indoors, and intervention from lung cancer. In addition they educate people on the link between lung cancer and radon, which is a radioactive gas in the air. Also, by using Facebook and Twitter, they are able to appeal to many teenagers and kids these days because everyone is always on social media sites. They tweet personal and intense statistics or pictures to draw attention to the people scrolling through. For instance one picture (above) the KYsmokefree tweeted as the caption: What would you miss more: your children or your cigarettes?