Summer Archives

Gabby Nguena Jones - Mind Over Matter Campaign

This past summer, I had the opportunity to work within the Baltimore County School Division of Climate and Safety Office for the Mind Over Matter Campaign. My supervisor for this project was Ms. Courtney Brown, LCSW-C.

The Mind Over Matters Campaign is an on-going movement to raise awareness about mental health and promote wellness for the Baltimore County Public School serving more than 115,000 students and staff. Thus, this summer I underwent a revamp of the current curriculum for “Pride Matters”. I reviewed some of the activity pieces they had and developed 14 pieces of curriculum from scratch. The curriculum runs at an average of 10 pages and works through top-down processing. This psychological phenomenon describes the act of going from the general to the specific. In this case, the curriculum sought to focus on national topics (homelessness, foster care, HIV/AIDs, DACA, and etc.) and soon concentrated on how these same topics affect Maryland, specifically areas proximal to Baltimore County.

To make the curriculum come to life, I knew high school students needed to connect it to daily life. Thus, I strived to draft pitch emails and contact organizations for resources and licenses to publish the material for BCPS youth. This was to also obtain SEL (Social and Emotional learning) activities embedded in the curriculum. I was able to obtain licenses and permissions from ReachOut.com, Littles, Life, & Laughter “Coping worksheet,” BCPS Evelyn Chatmon’s story, Westside School’s Identity Iceberg Activity, E.W. Scripps Media Company: 2-WMAR Abc News Baltimore, The Center for American Progress, Baltimore Safe Haven, The Mayor’s Office of Baltimore City, and Maryland Today from the University of Maryland College Park. I also was able to pitch and secure free HeadSpace access for all educators and youth who are 13-18 years old in BCPS.

To ensure the quality of the material and questions, I tested out the curriculum with tutors at Teens Tutor Teens™ and received data to show Ms. Courtney. I met with local organizations such as the Asian American Health Initiative and had reviews from previous licensors on the content. Lastly, I sent out the curriculum to my collaborator portal to provide feedback over the summer.

Through my project, I felt fulfilled. I learned a lot about copyright and used my previous experiences and resources to synthesize content for youth to help them understand topics in the national conversation within their own neighborhoods. I learned that these topics are critical in facilitating understanding of different cultures and respecting how we as individuals will evolve within the context of law, education, and our environment.