We’re in active preparation mode for our inaugural meeting next week. Emails have already been sent, and now, we’re eagerly awaiting responses. Simultaneously, we’ve meticulously crafted a presentation for the meeting and are ironing out the last-minute logistics. It’s an exhilarating moment as we anticipate seeing the culmination of our efforts over the past few weeks come to fruition!

We’re now entering the final stretch of laying the foundation for our community board. This week, we successfully completed the finalization of the Google form, which will be included in our outreach emails to potential partners to gauge their interest. Our inaugural meeting is scheduled for August 29th, marking an exciting milestone in our journey.

This week marks my final week in the United States before my vacation to Kenya. During my time away, I’ll be working remotely for the duration of the research program. As for this past week, our mentor took the time to review several miscellaneous tasks assigned to us and provided valuable feedback to us.

This week, our mentor equipped us with essential readings on recruitment studies, ensuring that we are well-prepared and knowledgeable about the topic as we gear up to conduct our own study in the upcoming fall.

We began the development of a Google form, designed for potential partners to express their interest. Simultaneously, we put the finishing touches on email drafts tailored for potential organizations. We also continued our work on crafting a graphic for the program, intending it to be a valuable addition to our recruitment materials and correspondence.

During the past week, my mentor provided feedback on the email template, and I’m in the process of reviewing it to incorporate suggested improvements. Additionally, we’ve initiated the development of our brand identity, which encompasses the creation of a logo, comprehensive overview materials, and a graphic element.

This week, I focused on developing an email template to reach out to potential community partners. The email highlighted our research team’s identity, articulated our mission, and explained why we were interested in collaborating with their specific organization.

My research advisor is out on leave for the next week and a half. It is up to me and the other undergraduates working on the project to hold each other accountable to ensure that we are meeting deadlines and completing our deliverables!

I am continuing to work on building the chart for the community partner list. Now, I am focusing on the motivations as to why they would want to partner with us as well as what can we do for them. Once that is done, I will create an email template that we will send out to the organizations that we want to partner with.

The first week of the program! We got assigned our tasks. My first task is gathering a list of organizations within the Seattle area that focus on uplifting the Black community. I am creating a chart with their contact information, mission statement, contact status (if we have already contacted them in the past), and any other relevant information. In addition, we got introduced to the group’s Notion channel, where we will organize all of our tasks and duties. Feeling good about our first week!