Chapter 16: Following Your Community Engagement

Following Your Community Engagement

Growth and Mistakes

You may notice that you see things differently than you did before your Community Engagement experience. Celebrate this growth! If you think you could have done better, then remember that mistakes are also opportunities for growth, and you can share lessons you’ve learned with the next practicum student or class to work with that community partner. Everyone benefits this way!

Moving Forward

It can take time to process an experience, and sometimes the full impact of what you have learned won’t come to you until much later. Your instructor will provide discussion opportunities to help you share and learn with your peers. Reflection assessments also help to cement learning and give you opportunities to consider how you will move forward from this experience.

In the short time that you have been involved in the community, it can feel like you haven’t contributed much to broader social problems. It is likely, however, that you have a better understanding of these issues and this understanding can help you plan your future community interactions and/or your career pathway. Don’t forget that even a small contribution can have a ripple effect and can serve the greater goals of McMaster’s Community Engaged initiatives.