Sydney Bowden
1 December 2012
Com1000: Communication and Community Engagement
Community Learning Project
Communication is the simultaneous experience of self and other (Roberts &
Henderson & Edwards, 2012, p.4). Community is what allows us to experience life as
something larger than a solitary individual: to be part of something that transcends the
boundaries of our single selves to enrich us all (Roberts & Henderson & Edwards, 2012,
p.4). Community engagement means opening up yourself to communication; freely
giving your gift of self and accepting the gift of (an) other’s self (Roberts & Henderson &
Edwards, 2012, p.6). Throughout my volunteer experience with Drive Safe Kalamazoo I
was able to heavily engage with not only my fellow peers that were volunteering, but
with the patrons we served, as well. I was able to get a better hands-on understanding of
what community engagement is while using my communication skills; as well as
servicing many Western Michigan University students in the Kalamazoo area.
Drive Safe Kalamazoo is a non-profit organization that ensures safety in the
community by providing free non-judgmental rides to students and their guest. This
organization is only responsible for picking patrons up from an event then they must take
them straight to their destination. The nights of operation are Thursday through Saturday
from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Lucky for me, I was able volunteer on the Friday during
Halloween weekend. The night turned out to be a bit more then I expected. My
volunteering experience was an even split between good and bad.
Our night of operations began at ten in the evening at the drive safe headquarters.
Our group started off with self-introductions then we went through the workplace
socialization where we learned what the night’s operations would consist of. Also, about
the friendly tip jar competition between volunteers. Those that volunteered to either drive
or navigate in the car while picking up patrons were paired with someone of the opposite
sex for safety precautions. During the night that I volunteered I took on the task of being
the driver for the first half of the night then I switched off with my partner and became
the navigator. My partner and I developed a peer relationship that took a downward spiral
by the end of the night.
Communication played a major role during the night’s operation between the
dispatcher and the navigator and the navigator and the driver. The dispatchers’ duty was
to provide the address, number of patrons being picked up, and name of the next patron
that we were required to pick-up. The navigator’s duty was to give the driver directions to
the next destination. Unfortunately, for me the informal communication between my
partner and I was off beat because we both were aiming to be the superior of the night so
for many reasons we were not connecting well. There was a shared role of leadership
between my partner and I because we each had our own duties in the car that we needed
to fulfill. The disadvantage of our small group partnership was the group hate that we
both felt and the conflict handling style used was dominating where we both had more
concern for ourselves with less concern for each other, and the ways in which we could
have made our night enjoyable.
Using Tuckman’s stages of development our group was able to accomplish the
task and achieve our goal of getting all our patrons to their destination safely. The
interaction between the patrons and I was very warm and welcoming. The social
interaction with the patrons was what made my experience partially enjoyable. We had
two types of patrons that we serviced which were those that were sober and those that
were intoxicated. While making them feel warm and comforting at the end of each ride
we encouraged that they donated to the organization, which helped our team achieve the
goal of winning the tip jar competition for the night.
The organization replies heavily on communication between the drivers and the
guest because they aim to fulfill their mission statement. By using paper, word of mouth,
and their Internet resource the organization has successfully spread the word about the
service that they provide. Their goal is to ensure safety within the community and by
using three different forms of communication it has successfully achieved their goal in
the local community. The one thing that I would suggest that they do a better job of
communicating is the area in which they provide service. We received many on campus
calls to pick students up from one area on the campus and take them to another on
campus destination, but unfortunately we can only take a student to their dorm after
picking them up from a off campus location.
In conclusion, communication and community engagement is the simultaneous
experience of self and other while opening yourself up to communication while giving
the gift of yourself and receiving the gift of someone else. I had the opportunity of
volunteering for Drive Safe Kalamazoo that is a non-profit organization that provides free
rides to Western Michigan University students and their guest. Throughout my
experience I was able to use my communication skills to enhance my experience with the
organization. In the end, I found this experience to be very enjoyable and using my
communication skills I helped to make the night even better and I was the winner of the
tip jar competition!
Work Cite
Roberts, T.L., Henderson, L.K., Edwards, C., & Edwards, A. (2012). Communication and
Community Engagement. Communication and Community Engagement, 3, 3-6.