Reflection 1
Originally, when doing research and creating our website, my target audience was the residents of Cahokia. I’m now realizing that water equity is an issue many people face in this area, including Cahokia residents. I want my target audience to be anyone who could benefit from what my group has curated. My page on the website was about grassroots organizations and non-profit organizations that help and support residents in Cahokia and low-income areas. Instead of targeting my research solely at Cahokia residents, I want to look at a bigger spectrum and curate my research and work for low-income residents in the Southern IL area. Places such as Belleville, East St. Louis, O’Fallon, Collinsville, Fairview Heights, Alton, etc. The list of organizations that I curated can help with other issues, not only the water equity crisis. To revise my work, I will research other grassroots organizations in the area and get information on their mission, benefits, and employees. If possible, I want to reach out to employees of the grassroots orgs and nonprofits to get a firsthand account of what they do and how they have helped people in the past. For secondary sources, I will look at news articles, newspapers, and websites to compare the issues the different communities are going through and also use those sources to gather information so I can analyze what organizations can best benefit residents of each community. Also, using our community partners as a source for future work, and this semester. Looking at what our community partners do and how they benefit and help the community and using insight from our partners to see which step would be best to take with our website and work this semester. Also, getting a second opinion from our partners can help revise work and shed light on things we didn’t include or didn’t think about.
Reflection 2
I want our project to be able to reach anyone with similar issues because I know the citizens of Cahokia Heights aren’t the only residents in a community dealing with a water crisis. Even if we can’t directly help other residents in other communities or areas, I want our project and website to be a tool and guide they can use. A resource to help with their situation, or even a resource to inspire college students like us, or anyone to use their voice and knowledge, just like we are. If more people know about these issues and they’re able to reach others, we’ll be able to bring more attention to them and get more people to pay attention. For the project, our stakeholders will be Heartland’s Conservatory. At the beginning of the fall 2025 semester, I was interested in partnering with other organizations to consider them as potential stakeholders. If we can get in contact and make a connection with these other organizations, they will also hopefully be potential stakeholders in this project & if not stakeholders, they can be used as a guide or resource. Currently partnering with Heartland as our stakeholder were able to use their guidance to shape how we move when communicating, reaching out, and creating different things for the residents of Cahokia. We were able to use their feedback and connections to improve our website, ethics, and collaboration skills. A potential stakeholder I was looking at was a grassroots organization based in the southern Illinois area. This organization does work in St. Louis, East Saint Louis, Believe, and other surrounding areas. This organization has also partnered with SIUE and the Kimmel Hub for volunteer tasks and community service for the students. If this stakeholder were a part of our project, I believe we could collaborate with Heartland to organize an event that can impact the community or draw more awareness to the issues. Also, I believe they can help us shape our website into something bigger and better, making it a widespread resource for many.
Reflection 3
The process of giving and receiving feedback can always be different and look different for me depending on the assignment. Sometimes I believe I can be too critical when giving feedback to others. Giving feedback and receiving it can be crucial. You have to know how to take creative criticism and change things based on the feedback received without feeling any type of way. When giving feedback, especially in our group, I always look at their work and the effort that’s put in. Mostly, the feedback is just grammatically incorrect or just changing minor things around. When receiving feedback, I don’t let my emotions or personal feelings cloud the feedback that I receive or who I receive it from. I analyze my original piece of work and then analyze the feedback that’s given to me and decide what needs to be changed. Sometimes, depending on who gave the feedback, I take in all the feedback that was given to me and then talk to them and ask what I can do better. When giving feedback, I make sure it’s meaningful, honest, and specific, trying to point out areas that need change without being too critical or rude. Focusing on not just what can be improved or changed, but how it can be improved so that the same mistake isn’t made more than once. In order to give better feedback, I can focus on being constructive and not vague. Give a good and clear description and explanation of what needs to be changed or what can be done better. Making the feedback feel collaborative instead of having one feel as though I’m just talking to them or being rude. To improve how I engage with the feedback I receive, I can practice cognitive listening skills instead of being defensive and quick to respond, actually listening and processing what’s said, so I can get a clear understanding. Asking clarifying questions so I can reflect and fully understand before I respond, and also so I can know what direction to go in from now on. Feedback is essential when it comes to any work, especially in CODES, as it can help build a productive, engaging, and respectful experience.