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2019 Ignite Final Report

During the 2018-2019 year, the Jones Center for Leadership & Service hosted three different types of Ignite (Leadership Summit, Knox, and Serves) and partnered with UTK Rec Sports to host Ignite Outdoors. Each program is grounded with the same learning outcomes. The setting and activities of each program allows the Jones Center for Leadership and Service to provide a distinctive experience to incoming Volunteers. This year, 721 (unique) incoming Volunteers participated in the program with 70 (unique) student leaders. An overview of each program is below.

IGNITE LEARNING OUTCOMES As a result of their participation in Ignite Program students will be able to …

§ Express greater self-awareness as it relates to personal strengths, privileges, preferences and challenges. (Leadership, Self-Knowledge)

§ Articulate a heightened sense of civility, justice, and respect for those around them. (Intercultural Competence)

§ Identify their core values and commit to act on them. (Self-Knowledge) § Compare and contrast the elements of effective and non-effective teams. (Leadership) § Identify new friendships that were formed while attending an Ignite program. (Student

Engagement) § Articulate an increased sense of belonging. (Student Engagement) § Demonstrate increased confidence in their decision to attend the University of Tennessee.

(Student Engagement) § Articulate a greater ease in transition from high school to college. (Self-Knowledge, Healthy

Living)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS Ignite Knox Ignite Knox is a four-day community engagement focused leadership program that introduces students to the Scruffy City through cultural, outdoor, and service experiences. Students who participated in Knox volunteered at Knoxville community organizations, participated in dialogue about social issues in Knoxville and visited various city landmarks through excursion trips. The 49 participants were able to stay in a residence hall during the program which allowed them to become more acclimated to the UT campus throughout the week. A group of 14 Ignite Team Leaders led groups of students in activities including team builders, service in the Knoxville community, and city excursions, facilitated leadership workshops and served as mentors. 2 Ignite Knox Student Directors assisted in leading the Team Leaders as well as planning and executing the program.

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Ignite Leadership Summit Ignite Leadership Summit is a three-day off-site retreat that informs students of leadership opportunities and engages them in conversations about UTK traditions. The program also includes intentional programming on identity, inclusion, and values, as well as understanding one’s leadership style. A total of 157 students participated in a total of two sessions this summer: 58 in July and 99 in August. A group of 20 Ignite Team Leaders (current student leaders) led small groups of new students in activities including team builders, a ropes course, and leadership workshops. 2 Ignite Leadership Summit Student Directors assisted in leading the Team Leaders as well as planning and executing the program.

Ignite Outdoors Ignite Outdoors is coordinated by UTK RecSports Outdoor Program. It is a four-day adventure-based leadership program. This style of retreat allows for small groups to develop strong connections and supportive communities. Professional staff and student leaders implement leadership development by providing activities and challenging students in nearby mountains and rivers. This year, 75 Outdoors participants had the opportunity to attend Wilderness Kayaking, Explore Hiking, Explore Climbing and Wilderness Canoeing with 14 sessions. The UTK RecSports Outdoor Program provides a safe environment with extensive training to equip staff with necessary skills to conduct the Outdoor programs. Due to the need for specific training for outdoors focused activities, the UTK RecSports Outdoor Program has separate hiring and assessment processes. Ignite Serves Ignite Serves is a four-day service-based leadership program held on campus six days before traditional move-in day. This year, there was a focus on both direct and indirect service in hopes to educate students on their ability to make a difference both on and off site of community organizations. Students who participated in Serves volunteered each day at 31 Knoxville community organizations, completed indirect service for 5 Knoxville community organizations, and then incorporated those experiences into afternoon workshops on social justice, servant leadership, and diversity. The 440 participants were able to stay in their residence hall rooms during the program which allowed them to become more acclimated to the UT campus throughout the week. A group of 50 Ignite Team Leaders led groups of students in activities including team builders and the mentioned service, facilitated leadership workshops and served as mentors. 2 Ignite Serves Student Directors assisted in leading the Team Leaders as well as planning and executing the program.

PROGRAM ACCESS Financial Resources In 2019, we received several donations from generous donors and we were able to offer 75 fee waivers to Ignite participants who identify as high or moderate need through financial aid. Interim Vice Chancellor Davis allocated $10k for fee waivers and the Jones Endowment allocated $5k. We will continue to fundraise to allocate waivers for students considered to have high need. Many of those students disclose that without the waiver, Ignite would be too expensive to participate. In 2018, the cost of Ignite was $150 per program. In 2019, there was an increase to $200 per program for the 2019 year. The $50 increase covered more meals to ensure involved students access to all meals for the duration of the program.

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ASSESSMENT RESULTS FROM 2019 PROGRAMS

Ignite Leadership Summit * Survey response rate- 75% As a result of participating in the Ignite Leadership Summit program…

§ I feel an increased sense of belonging at the University of Tennessee. 96.55% Agree

§ I am able to express a greater self-awareness as it relates to personal strengths. 93.13% Agree

§ I am able to articulate a heightened sense of civility, justice, and respect for those around me. 90.67% Agree

§ I am able to Identify relationships with other

Tennessee Vols- students and/ or faculty / staff. 93.69% Agree

“As a vocal leader, I learned that nonverbal communication can be a challenge for me, especially in group activities. One of my strengths, and something I feel like I worked on the past few days, is helping people to be heard when they are not being listened to.” -2019 Summit Participant “Ignite helped me to understand what it means to be more inclusive towards others. I feel like people don’t often talk about how we can fix issues of privilege and make sure everyone feels welcome. The discussions I had here at Ignite were very insightful and I feel better prepared to be an ally to others going into UT.” -2019 Summit Participant “The people and all the leaders and staff at Ignite possess a special love for people. I feel confident that I can talk to any of the students and staff about whatever is on my mind, knowing that they will be there to lend a hand if needed.” -2019 Summit Participant “At Ignite, I found that a good leader is a good listener who hears all ideas and thinks and plans before they act. They also get sleep because that helps the brain juices flow.” -2019 Summit Participant

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Ignite Knox

* Survey response rate: 92% As a result of participating in the Ignite Knox program…

§ I feel an increased sense of belonging at the University of Tennessee. 100% Agree

§ I will be able to transition into the University of Tennessee with ease. 100% Agree

§ I am able to articulate a heightened sense of

civility, justice, and respect for those around me. 100% Agree

§ I am able to identify the elements of effective

teams. 100% Agree “Ineffective teams involve those who aren’t willing to step out of their comfort bubble and those who aren’t willing to help people. Vols help Vols. Not everyone has to fully participate, but everyone should put in the effort to make others want to be where they are.” – 2019 Knox Participant “These relationships, both with my peers and my TLs have made the campus feel smaller and safer. It’s nice to know people who care about me and have my back. I know I have friends coming into college now and I feel like I’ve made really strong connections with some of these people.” – 2019 Knox Participant “I really loved our team meetings throughout the week. It allowed my group to become more comfortable with one another and we were able to share some of our biggest fears. I saw how everyone was just like me and we were essentially in this together. It made me feel confident that I was going to be able to connect with other vols.” – 2019 Knox Participant “Through the team building exercises and Always sometimes Never, I was able to truly understand the congruency of values and action. I began to realize that sometimes our values do not always meet up with our actions and to become a more civil and respectful person, I must work through that.” – 2019 Knox Participant

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Ignite Serves * Survey response rate- 46% As a result of participating in the Ignite Serves program…

§ I feel an increased sense of belonging at the University of Tennessee. 99.51% Agree

§ I am able to articulate a heightened sense of civility, justice, and respect for those around me. 98.53% Agree

§ I am able to commit to act on my core

values. 97.53 Agree

§ I am able to identify relationships with other Tennessee Vols - students and/or faculty/staff. 98.92% Agree

“Getting to know the TLs and group members this week has had a significant impact on how my first semester is going to go. I will be going in knowing that my now friends will be there for me and that I can go to my TLs with anything I need advice on or am having problems with. It's a comforting feeling going in to a new place already knowing people and having a support system.” - 2019 Serves Participant “Now feel like I can be a leader and branch out, I feel like insecurities that I have about myself can be overcome.” - 2019 Serves Participant “I had never been in a situation before where respectful conversation about inclusivity could happen among people who don’t know each other well. It felt like magic and it makes me more confident about having discussions like that about potential problems that affect me and the people around me.” - 2019 Serves Participant “Ignite taught me that active citizenship means to stand up in sit down moments, to get out and give back to the community that has provided you with so much, and to identify and address social issues.” - 2019 Serves Participant

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Ignite Outdoors * Ignite Outdoors is assessed in detail by UTK Rec Sports.

Reflections from 2019 Team Leaders

“Even with the mistakes (which help us grow on my part) I saw the positive ways in which I can impact people, and with my problem areas in mind, I am able to grow.” – 2019 Serves Team Leader

“Ignite has made me more confident in my abilities. Seeing my Ignitees blossom throughout the week calmed my fears about the program and solidified how I feel about my leadership abilities. I feel like the class we took and all of our experience has made me into the leader I am today.” – 2019 Knox Team Leader

“My leadership style has changed so much. Previously, I thought that leadership was only shown by contributing ideas. Now I know that it is important to listen to the shared ideas and allow others to take the lead. Bear the torch.” – 2019 Leadership Summit Team Leader

Reflections from 2019 Campus and Community Partners

“Thank you for the opportunity to facilitate! No matter what, the month of August is always busy. But Ignite is always refreshing and is definitely an element of our campus that make me proud to be an alumna!” – 2019 Leadership Summit Facilitator

“The UTK Ignite volunteers who came to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley did a phenomenal job. It almost felt like we didn't have enough for them to do because they worked so fast and well. It's not every day that Montgomery Village gets volunteers, so our kids will definitely remember your students and their kindness. We truly appreciate you all.” – 2019 Serves Community Partner

“I was excited to hear the debrief immediately following our service time. The students reflected on the experience, food insecurity in Knoxville, direct vs indirect service, and more. It was inspiring to see such a thoughtful, meaningful, deliberate, and well-organized approach to volunteering.” – 2019 Knox and Serves Community Partner

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2020 AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION

Campus Partnerships, Marketing, and Recruitment • The Office of New Student and Family Programs plays a vital role in marketing during

orientation. This upcoming year, the office is undergoing a split. Family Programs will now be separate from orientation. Orientation will now be housed under a new Vice Chancellor for Student Success, reporting through the Provost. Within the transition period, will we communicate with both offices on how to best collaborate in marketing for Ignite.

• During the 2019 sessions, the University of Tennessee Student Media created a promotional

video highlighting the different sessions. We hope to use this video during orientation breakout sessions and in JCLS interest meetings.

• The Honors College Honors Leadership Program (HLP) requires students to attend the Ignite

Leadership Summit sessions. In 2019, 88 HLP students attended an Ignite session. We will continue our partnership with the Honors College to continue to serve the HLP population.

• The Volunteer Bridge program, housed in the First Year Studies office, works with students who did not quite meet the requirements to be admitted into the University of Tennessee. The students are placed into the Volunteer Bridge program with the efforts to improve their requirements and ultimately receive admission to UTK. Housed on the University of Tennessee campus, they take courses at Pellissippi State Community College. In 2019, we met with the professional staff of the program and discussed the possibility of partnering together and recruiting the Volunteer Bridge students as Ignite attendees. In 2019, 10 Bridge students attended Ignite sessions. We are also proud to announce that for the first time, a Volunteer Bridge student will be an Ignite Team Leader for the 2020 year. We plan to continue collaborate with the First Year Studies office and increase these numbers.

• We believe that Ignite can be beneficial to several different student populations. With the

intention of recruiting more attendees, we will work to promote Ignite in collaboration with more campus partners. Other potential campus partners and student populations for the 2020 year:

o ME4UT participants o Transfer participants o First Generation college students o Athletes

• In addition to campus partners, we will use the data from 2019 to add to our marketing

strategies. o The format in which most participants learned about Ignite

§ Most common answers: orientation, emails, and friends o The high schools of the participants

§ Guidance counselors of high schools represented in this year’s population will receive an email to share with students committed to the University of Tennessee

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Ignite Knox • The Ignite Knox session in 2019 had an incredible response rate. Feedback we receive each

year involves the benefit of having smaller groups. Due to this feedback, in 2020 we will be adding an additional session of Ignite Knox. The capacity will remain at 65 and the Team Leaders specific to Ignite Knox will work both sessions. Both dates directly follow new student orientation sessions to benefit our out of state students.

• Excursions o The 2020 excursions will be more specific to Knoxville and its history

§ The bowling alley and the zoo will be removed from the excursions list § We will explore more excursion options for differently abled students

• We will attempt to have more guest speakers throughout the sessions

o Key Knoxville leaders Ignite Leadership Summit

• In 2018, we had a June session of Ignite Leadership Summit and an August session of Ignite Leadership Summit. The June session consistently had lower participant numbers. In 2019, we attempted to raise the participant numbers by moving the first session to July. The July session had more participants but still had a lower number. In 2020, we will be having one Ignite Leadership Summit occurring in August. The capacity will be increased to 250 participants and August will allow for more attendees.

• The downfall of having one Ignite Leadership Summit session in August is that the dates will overlap with the sorority recruitment process. Unfortunately, the 2020 dates were difficult to solidify in collaboration with all campus partners and this could not be avoided in 2020. In 2021, we will do our best to ensure Ignite participants can attend both Ignite and sorority recruitment.

• The location of Leadership Summit in 2019 was the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. The location books several other programs while Ignite Leadership Summit is occurring. We have had several conflicts with double-reserved spaces. There is also a large hill that participants and team leaders must walk up and down throughout the session. We consistently receive feedback that this is the students’ least favorite part of Leadership Summit. We will be moving to Coker Creek in Monroe County, Tennessee to have more accessibility and the space reserved solely for Ignite.

Ignite Serves • In 2018, we secured service sites for Ignite Serves and had a few miscommunications with

community partners. There were groups that showed up to complete service that partners were not expecting. In 2019, we were more intentional about communicating specifics early and more frequently. However, there were a few service sites that were not reserved until a few days before the program. In the Fall 2019 semester, the office created a spreadsheet of each community partner with updated contact information. In 2020, we will start the process of reserving service sites earlier and use the most updated spreadsheet of community partners.

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• The Indirect Service portion of Ignite Serves is one we get negative feedback on. Due to the

high number of students present for Ignite Serves, projects seem to be completed quickly and students do not always see the value. In 2020, we will have partner pairs of Team Leaders contact different community partners to receive project ideas. Each team will do Indirect Service individually and deliver the finished product following the completion of the project.

Ignite Outdoors

• While Ignite Outdoors is completed in collaboration with Ignite Outdoors, there have been several office transitions that have stalled the communication process for the program. In 2020, we will rekindle the communication and collaboration with UT Rec Sports to ensure each office’s needs are met and the program is receiving all support necessary to reach its potential. Specific communication and collaboration will include:

o Cost o Registration platforms o Marketing o Program housing o Team Leader selection process o Team Leader training

Ignite Team Leader Training

• Ignite Team Leader training occurs in the Spring semester before the summer programs. It is an academic course in the Education, Leadership, and Policy Studies department, ELPS 350. According to student feedback, the areas that lacked or can be improved are facilitation practice and program specific breakout time.

o Major components of the course include a Values Vision and Mission assignment and the creation of a strategic plan. We will attempt to make these assignments more intentional to better facilitation practice for Team Leaders.

o We will allot more time for program specific breakouts.

• There will also be 5-minute presentations by each partner pair specific to their programs. This will assist in presentation experience and overall student knowledge of the community we are serving.

o Knox- Knoxville history o Serves- A Knoxville community partner o Leadership Summit- A Knoxville community partner

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MANY THANKS

There are several people involved in making Ignite a success. The Jones Center for Leadership and Service would like to thank each office and person involved for their dedication to student success. The program would not be the same without your kind and generous contributions. Thank you!

o Clay and Debbie Jones o Chancellor’s Excellence Fund o The Office of the Dean of Students o New Student and Family Programs o The University of Tennessee Housing Staff o The Student Union Staff o Ignite Summit Facilitators

§ Eddie Higginbotham IV § Mark Willoughby § Cameron Freeman § Virginia Stormer § Simone Stewart § Claire Chernowsky § Cory Major § Matt Blaylock § Kelly Phillips § Laura Bryant § Christie Banks § Megan King § Avery G. Howard § Meghan Woodward § Alex Schnurpel § Abigail Brumfield § Katie Wiley § Kelly Mihalik § Maria Martinez

o Donors § Kenan Grace Smith § Madison Hailey Murphy § Vy Yen Quach § Thomas Scott Cortez § Laura Kissel Galloway § Bradford Reszel § Avery G. Howard § Richard Perry Spencer § Christine Marie Holloway § Trust Company of Knoxville § Eddie Higginbotham, IV