Read over your posts from the semester: where have you grown the most? Where would you like to grow more? How are you feeling about your topic and what you need to do during the summer?
My key take-aways are as follow:
1) Narrow your scope during interview and research.
My target audience are too board and I need to narrow down. During the whole semester, our professors and colleagues kept forcing us to narrow down which made me feel uneasy at first. I couldn’t help asking: how could we narrow our scope before we were able to find a possible answer on it. But quickly I found I was my misunderstanding. As the accumulation on both primary and secondary research, we gradually figured out who really mattered on this issue, how the whole system looked like and where was our possible intervene point. So my main take-away here is that when you are unable to scope down your topic, it may because that you haven’t done enough research.
2) Be bold to talk with others and build your network.
As an international student, it was hard for me to find related community. Professors required us to do 10 hours’ volunteer, which helped me a lot.
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Even though I have made a lot progress this semester, I still have many areas that I can improve.
1) Talk more.
I need to communicate more with my colleagues and professors on my thesis. They are all good listeners and advisors, but I feel myself didn’t communicate enough with them. I hope next semester I will talk more with them and give valuable feedback to their projects as well.
2) Think big.
It is important for us to do really a lot of researches and ideate a lot of ideas before we reach our solution. Sometimes I find a small interesting point and begin to dig deep in that small area without paying enough attention to other things. So I should keep in mind that never jump to conclusion first.
3) Learn more skills.
This semester we are required to make videos which was a new thing to me. Because in the past my work usually focus on graphic design. I know nothing about making a video, but now I learnt Final Cut!!! I think it is important for me learn more film production skills and other visualization methods to communicate my projects and ideas.
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Research
I will approach each of these three topics separately, and I will reach more young mothers as my stakeholders to understand which is the most pressing, and which is the most actionable.
Interview more young mothers all around the city and find one community to work with and
identify the issues that are most actionable for a design intervention are the big goals for this summer. I hope to get more contextual understanding through primary research. As I continue to define and refine the target audience, I will focus on understanding the barriers, expectations, and needs of that audience. Though our target may pivot, I plan to stay within the first-time stay-at-home moms population.
Potential Communities
The Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective.
BYMC distinguishes itself by focusing on the mother. By engaging young women through
individualized support services focused on education and vocational opportunities, we help them achieve a more positive future for themselves, their children and their communities.
http://www.bymcinc.org/
The Hudson River Park Mothers Group connects mothers in Lower Manhattan
Our many HRP Mamas subgroups connect local moms to one another through an active
calendar of FREE weekly meet-ups, lunches, playgroups, mothers circles, book groups, and
fun evenings out. Our 2500+ member private and vetted online community is where you will
find peer to peer advice, and announcements about all of our HRP Mamas exclusive offerings, including, educator led parent workshops, new mom support groups, breastfeeding support groups hosted by experts, and parent education events with award winning speakers and authors.
https://www.hrpmamas.com/
NYC Mammas Give Back
NYC Mammas Give Back is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization that provides infant essentials
and support to agencies and shelters in the NYC area serving homeless pregnant woman and
families and children (ages 0–5) at or below the poverty line.
NYC Mammas Give Back provides a means for moms in the New York City area to support
other moms and their families in need. We are made up entirely of moms who volunteer their time to this cause, regularly collecting, sorting and delivering a variety of new and gently used baby items for families in need. We also provide self-care services to the women we serve, as well as support for special events such as baby showers and holiday events held in conjunction with our partner agencies across the city.
https://www.nycmammasgiveback.org/individuals-seeking-assistance
The moms Groups
The Moms Groups, launched by Renee Sullivan in 2008, hosts professionally led facilitated
chats in 32 locations each week from bump to baby. In our signature programs, you'll engage in parenting discussions, gather valuable resources, and ask all your parenting questions - from sleep and schedules, to finding child care (and everything in between) to make this time smoother, easier and more enjoyable.
After these warm, informative, and friendly sessions, you’ll be connected to a great group of other moms and have essential parenting resources for staying sane in the insane world of parentingTM.
http://www.themomsgroups.com/
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