Introduction

I am proud to be in the University Honors Program at the University of Cincinnati. One of my

favorite parts of the program is the focus on experiential learning through Honors
Experiences. There are three ways to gain Honors Experiences: taking an Honors seminar,
completing a pre-approved experience, or completing a Self-Design Experience. In Gateway to
University Honors, we are learning about these three types of experiences. Below, you will find
a mock self-design proposal that I completed for class. This was meant as a learning experience,
to become familiar with the process of writing a proposal. I took this opportunity and wrote by
mock self-design as a project that I actually hope to complete during my time at UC. More
information about the University Honors Program and Experiential Learning can be found at
www.uc.edu/honors

Proposal
HONORS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM

Complete this proposal prior to your projects start date and upload it in the UHP Database
(https://webapps.uc.edu/uchonorsstudent). Create a project (Add a new record) in the
Tracking Project tab and then upload your proposal document as an attachment. The deadline
for submitting proposals is on the 5th of each month.
While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4 pages in
length (single-spaced). Please maintain the proposal format.
Basic Information
Full Name: Kaitlyn Luckey
UC Email: luckeykm@mail.uc.edu
College: College of Engineering and Applied Science
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Title of Project: Discovering My City
Thematic Area (choose only one): Community Engagement
Expected Project Start Date: April 1st, 2015
Expected Project End Date: August 12th, 2015

Project Information

1. Provide a detailed abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.

My proposed honors experiential learning project is called Discovering My City,
and it entails doing just that. I want to learn about the city of Cincinnati in a
hands-on way, going places and doing things instead of reading books. I plan to
attend city events and festivals, to use public transportation, to visit
neighborhoods with which I am unfamiliar, and to visit unique restaurants and
coffee shops in various communities.
The goals of this project are to become more familiar with my city, to broaden my
horizons, to learn about the history of the city, and overall to become more aware
of what is going on around me every day. I hope to become an active and engaged
member of the community and meet new people along the way.
This project has personal meaning to me and aligns with my passions. I have lived
in Cincinnati all of my life but I was on the West Side, which is usually known for
being in a bubble. Now that I am in college, I have a strong interest in learning
about what else is out there, exploring and discovering my city. Late in my high
school career, I started developing a love of Cincinnati. This was only
strengthened when I decided to attend the University of Cincinnati. I am now
taking active steps to become more aware of and involved in my community. I
recently wrote a research paper on the public knowledge of the Cincinnati
Streetcar project. I knew that I did not know much about it even though I am from
here and I honestly was not surprised to see that most other students on this
campus are not aware either. This makes me want to change to change myself,
my friends, my community. I want to be more aware, I want to get involved in
this city and know what is happening all around me. I want to open my eyes to all
of the aspects of the multi-neighborhood city we live in. Restaurants in OTR,
shops in Hyde Park, festivals Downtown along the river I want to see it all.
The time commitment for this project will be about 100 hours total. Over the
course of about 19 weeks, this will be an average of 5 hours a week. This time
will be put in in preparation, research, direct contact, and reflection. I will need to
prepare a schedule for each day I plan to explore, which will require research on
events, restaurants, locals news, etc. Direct contact with the project will be spent
going to events, visiting restaurants and coffee shops, meeting new people, and
simply wandering the city to see what I find next. I will reflect after each day of
exploring, as well as bi-weekly, on what I discovered, how it makes me feel, and
what I plan to do next with it.
Clearly and thoroughly address how each of the following elements will be exhibited in
your work:

2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area (identified above)
The Honors Thematic Area that which my project aligns is Community
Engagement. The two learning outcomes to which my project connects are:
Relates, communicates, and works effectively with others towards sustainable

social change and Participates in community and understands own role as a

citizen of community.
For the first learning outcome, Relates, communicates, and works effectively
with others towards sustainable social change, I will achieve this by meeting new
people, getting involved in my community, and encouraging others around me to
do the same. Social change is happening in our city with the renovations in
Downtown and OTR. This is a part of our city that I am excited to become
involved in and I hope to inspire that excitement into other UC students as well.
Social change will come from more people going Downtown, eating in OTR,
taking public transportation, being aware of what is happening in the news, being
aware of neighborhoods near them, and simply being engaged in the community.
This is what I hope to explore and learn, and in turn inspire into others around me.
For the second learning outcome, Participates in community and understands
own role as a citizen of community, I will achieve this by becoming involved in
community events and being more aware of what is going on around me. This
entails reading newspapers, going to community events, talking to people in my
community, paying attention to issues affecting my city, and becoming involved
in social change in this city. I look forward to being more aware of the news,
political, cultural and social events and issues, and changes occurring in my city.

3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories (include reference list, as appropriate)

A. This connects to my personal development and personal goals. I want to be
more aware of and involved in my city, and this project will allow me to do
so. I did not like the feeling of not knowing about the Cincinnati streetcar, not
knowing who the candidates are listed on the ballot when I went to vote, and
not knowing how to use public transportation. I have set personal goals for
myself to become more aware, more involved, and more knowledgeable so
that I can be the best citizen I can be.
B. (not researched) I found articles describing college students involvement in
their cities, benefits of getting involved in the city at a young age, and articles
about social change occurring in Cincinnati with renovations and changes
coming to the city.
4. Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity
This project is entirely self-initiated. There are people who attend events and are
engaged in their community, but my project is unique to my experience. I am
designing it on my own out of my own interest to become involved in my city.
The skills I have that will benefit me in this project are being outgoing, my
eagerness to learn, and my love of talking to new people. This idea came from a
variety of smaller events. A good friend of mine has become very involved in the
city lately and this inspired me to want to learn more and become involved as
well. Doing research on public knowledge of the city streetcar and looking into
various aspects of the city have given me interest in exploring, too. I am taking

the initiative on this project by planning the entire schedule, setting up all
exploring visits, and reflecting on my experiences.
5. Reflection
Throughout my experiential learning project, I will reflect after each experience
as well as bi-weekly and overall at the end of the project. I will reflect through
journal entries and collecting pictures to create memories and connections about
my experiences. I will write an overall reflective essay as well as a documentation
for my Honors Portfolio.
What I talk about in my journal entries will vary based on each experience, but
will generally look at what impressions/notions I had going into the experience,
how I felt during it, what happened, how I felt immediately after the event, how I
feel several days afterwards, what I learned, and what I plan to do next with that
experience.
6. Dissemination
For my project dissemination, I think it would be fitting to share my experiences
with a University Honors Association meeting and in a Gateway to University
Honors class. These would both be fitting because these audiences will have the
opportunity to learn about a Self-Design learning project as well as what I learned
from exploring my city.
7. Project Advisor(s)
For my project advisor, I would either ask my friend, Kyle, who is very involved
in the city or a professor/advisor at the University of Cincinnati who is interested
in and knowledgeable about the city of Cincinnati.
8. Budget

My budget will include money for public transportation, admission to events

and museums, as well as products at restaurants that will benefit my
experience.