Introduction to the Team: Kalina

Kalina Encalada is a second year political science major and global studies minor. She is also the MAPS Academy Site Coordinator where she makes site plans and leads volunteers every Tuesday afternoon. Her role requires adaptability and dedication as working with children and catering to their varying needs can be difficult. 

To start off the interview, I asked “What is your role within MAPS and what decisions do you usually have to make in this role?” We began talking about the basics of what it means to be a site coordinator for the MAPS academy. The role mainly entails identifying learning gaps students have, deciding which ones are more of a priority, then creating detailed site plans that can target these gaps. As site coordinator, she also serves as a leader not just to the students but to volunteers who she assigns to different groups to ensure everyone receives the help they need, ensuring an equitable learning environment. 

Second, I asked her about what makes her role challenging. Kalina emphasized the need for adaptability and patience when working with younger kids as they can often be distracted. There needs to be a balance between academic and fun site plans to keep kids engaged but also actually help them grow academically. The lines can get blurred and so being patient with them and adapting plans last minute to best suit their needs is a very important skill. 

This week the shadowing assignment was to develop an icebreaker for students. Kalina mentioned she often plays hangman with the students and the word is a hint to what the day will be about. I felt that, similarly, splitting the students into teams and doing the wordle together might be a good way for the students to break out of their shells, get excited, and get involved.