CDA Student Spotlight: Jordan Jurinsky

Jordan Jurinksy B.S. Sociology Q: Where are you from originally and what did you do before Vanderbilt?  I spent most of my childhood living in small town named Maryville right outside of Knoxville in east Tennessee, but I’ve also lived in North Carolina, Colorado, California, Texas, Florida, and Nagoya, Japan. Immediately prior to coming to…

Posted by Janine Christiano on November 25, 2018 in Current Students, Current students

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2018 Final Projects

Of the 2018 CDA graduates, 5 completed a project for their final assessments. These projects, designed and conducted within an organizational or community context, integrate core philosophy, coursework, and field experience of the Community Development & Action program. Accompanied by a final document and presentation, the final projects account for a minimum of 100 hours of…

Posted by Anna Warren on May 7, 2018 in Current Students, Final Projects and Theses, Current students, Final Projects

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2018 Theses

Of the 2018 CDA graduates, three completed theses for their final assessments. These intensive, independent research projects covered a wide range of scholarly interests that intend to contribute to the field of community development. This year’s completed master’s theses are described below. Lauren Baer Foster Care for Teenagers: Motivators, Barriers, and Strategies to Overcome Barriers Forty-three…

Posted by Anna Warren on May 7, 2018 in Current Students, Final Projects and Theses, Current students, Theses

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CDA Student Spotlight: Allie Mikels

Allie Mikels B.S. Public Policy Studies and Economics   “For me, CDA was a great fit because of its focus on preparing people to be local change agents – which means something different to each of us, and yet unites us all.”  Q: To begin, where are you from originally at what did you do before coming…

Posted by Anna Warren on November 10, 2017 in Current Students, Current students

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CDA Student Spotlight: Hannah Nell

Hannah Nell B.S. Agricultural and Applied Economics, Political Science                 “The most valuable thing I have learned through the program is that there are tons of other people in the world who care about the things I care about and feel as much joy as I feel in…

Posted by Anna Warren on October 20, 2017 in Current Students, Current students

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CDA Student Spotlight: Marisa Flores

Marisa was born and raised in the great state of Texas.  She attended Texas Tech University, where she studied Human Development & Family Studies with a minor in Psychology before pursuing my EC-6 Elementary Education Post Bac at Lubbock Christian University.  After working at a local summer camp for several years, she took over as…

Posted by Michelle Wijaya on May 6, 2016 in Current Students, Current students

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CDA Student Spotlight: Joseph Gutierrez

Meet Joseph, a current first-year CDA, originally from California. He double-majored in Literature and History at UCLA and graduated in 2009.  After graduating, he moved to South Korea to teach English.  He loved Korea so much that he ended up staying there for 4 years.  He ended up meeting his now fiancée there and followed her…

Posted by Michelle Wijaya on April 4, 2016 in Current Students, Current students

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Kimberly Palmer: CDA Project

2nd year CDA student Kimberly Palmer conducted her CDA practicum at Youth Encouragement Services (YES). We asked her to share a little more about her project. What is YES and how did you get involved? YES is a community-based organization providing after school support for kids from the Napier public houses at the center located…

Posted by herrodl on May 5, 2015 in Current Students, Final Projects and Theses, Current students, students

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Worker Cooperatives

2nd year CDA students Austin Sauerbrei and Patrick Cate have developed an independent study in which they visited various worker cooperatives throughout the Eastern United States. At the heart of their effort is a renewed interest in the power of alternative economies, including cooperatives, to respond to the increasing trauma of economic distress. Building upon a…

Posted by herrodl on February 10, 2015 in Current Students, Current students

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Southeast Ecological Community Conference

On October 10-12th, second year CDA students Lauren Berny, Kelsie Cox, and Elizabeth McInerney traveled to South Carolina to attend the 2014 Society for Community Research and Action regional conference Southeast Ecological-Community Conference: Transforming the Landscape: Creating Positive Community Change from the Ground Up, which was sponsored by the University of South Carolina.  

Posted by herrodl on February 10, 2015 in Current Students, Current students

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