E-Portfolios!
Due date: August 25, 2023
Component
Biography
Path to the BSP
Goals
Community &
Partnership
Project
Showcase
Reflections
Description
Ishaan Brar, Duke 2025, Decaled: Global Health Major, Biology Major, Chem Minor, Service Project:
IDEA Initiative in Balitmore, MD; Research and Policy Analyst & Teaching Assistant
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Reflect on two things:
1) How you came to participate in the Brodhead Service Program this summer: what are the
people, classes, experiences, personal goals/motivations, etc., that brought you to this
particular summer.
2) Your personal philosophy on community engagement: What about volunteer community
work and/or community engagement is important to you? What matters? Link your
personal philosophy to your past efforts and to your choice to participate in BSP.
What are your goals for:
1) Your BSP Fellowship overall, specifically how you hope to learn and grow and how you will
connect this experience your ongoing professional and personal development.
2) Your time at Duke, specifically how DukeEngage & the BSP have been and will continue to
be a part of it.
Describe with whom you will be completing your Fellowship: your host community and community
partner organization. Discuss and showcase the assets and strengths of your project partners, the
mission of your partner organization, and the opportunities for co-education that evolve over the
summer. Link your project to the work of your host organization and the social issues present in
your host community. Be asset-based, community-focused, respectful, humble and reflective.
Document your project over the course of the summer. Use a combination of written description
and media (photos, videos, drawings, blog links, etc.) to show how your project moved from idea
to implementation, and how it serves your community partner’s mission. Bring in testimonial or
reaction from your community partner.
Choose three of the following prompts that are relevant to your experience to reflect on. The
reflection can be a piece of writing, a photo essay, a video, a drawing or piece of visual art, a poem,
song, etc.
1) Describe a critical learning moment that occurred during your Fellowship. Give the context for
what occurred, share what you learned, reflect on the change or growth the learning produced and
the lesson or future applications of the learning.
2) Describe your most meaningful moment over the course of your Fellowship. Give the context
for what occurred, what made the moment meaningful, and how the moment has contributed to
your understanding of yourself, community engagement work, your goals, or another area. Reflect
on how you will carry the moment forward and the implications for your future self.
3) Examine your evolving role as a leader and a teammate. Thinking about your Fellowship
experience, reflect on what you have learned about your role as a teammate and as a leader. What
lessons will you bring home with you? How will you change as a leader and as a teammate?
4) Share what it means to belong to a community. You can define community as a geographic
region, as a group of people, an organization, etc. Think about what it means to have a sense of
place and belonging, and the differences between membership and belonging. How does cultural
knowledge, language ability, understanding of history, etc. contribute to your definition of
belonging? Using your own definition, do you belong to your host community? How have the
unique challenges of this summer influenced your experience of community, and how will you
carry this perspective with you back at Duke and as you begin your career?
5) Reflect on the interactions, intersections, and inherent differences in community engagement
(generally thought to be nonpartisan) and political engagement. Do you consider your work this
summer to have a political dimension? Does your community partner? From your perspective and
based on your own experiences and those of others you have observed, what are the challenges of
doing political engagement work? How are they different from (or similar to) the challenges of
doing community engagement? Where do you think you and your skills are most effective? How
does that thinking guide your engagement choices?
6) Consider the role of community support in the work of your community partner. How is your
host organization perceived in the community? Does its perception impact the ability of your
community partner to be effective in its work? How does your host organization respond to
(embrace, work to enhance, etc.) its role and perception in the community?
7) Address the myths and stereotypes that exist in the type of community engagement work you
are doing. How do these myths impact your work and its effectiveness? What is the "true story" as
you have learned through your community engagement work? How will you be a myth-buster
going forward?
8) Consider the role your project plays in the larger context of the social issue or issues it is
working to address or alleviate. How does your project advance the issue or contribute to a
resolution? Consider the short-term and long-term impact of your project. What are the ethical
challenges that you have confronted or the ethical challenges you have considered but have been
unable to resolve?
Professional
Development
Gratitude
Next Steps
9) Compare your experiences as a Brodhead Fellow to your experiences in DukeEngage. What
could you do more of or do better this summer? How did your ability to make a difference change?
In what ways were you more critical and aware of your own contributions and limitations?
Briefly document your professional development this summer. In particular, highlight the role your
alumni mentor and/or faculty mentor played, the specific skills you grew or developed, and the
experiences that have helped you learn about or refine your professional goals.
Cultivate a list of people, experiences, activities, interactions, moments, etc. for which you are
grateful. Think about how the people, things, and experiences you list contributed positively to
your summer and its impact on you. Think about how you have acknowledge those people, things
and events, and let those involved know how much they meant to you and your fellowship.
Look back at the goals you set for yourself this summer. Access your progress and reflect on your
goals for the future. Think about and share the path you will take to continue to pursue your goals,
or reflect on how your summer experience has caused your goals to change.
Examples of e-portfolios: https://dukeengage.duke.edu/after-your-experience/brodhead-service-program/fellows/
Platform supported by Duke: https://sites.duke.edu/
Also check out: https://www.wix.com/