Below is an archive of individual student project designs from Dr. Davis’ Psychology of Trauma class. During this class, students were asked to take on a project of their own design to help individuals or groups directly affected by trauma, or the effects of traumatic experiences.
Eric
“My Action Project was a showing of a film called For Colored Girls, in collaboration with TU Housing, SAVE, and ABC. The film follows 10 women as they struggle with and ultimately overcome adversity in their community. The event included free popcorn, drinks, and donuts, and was followed by a thought-provoking discussion revolving around issues brought up in the film. Also, students who attended were able to build toiletry baskets that were directly donated to DVIS here in town, thus directly impacting individuals in our community. ”
Rachel
“Reading or being read to is not only immensely important academically, it is essential for children’s early language development, and in developing the caregiver-child relationship. Very often, children in low-income families do not have access to enriching resources such as children’s books. To begin to remedy this and support families receiving services from DVIS and The Parent Child Center of Tulsa, I hosted a children’s book drive on campus, donating approximately 130 books total.”
Cecil
“For my action project, I volunteered at Tulsa daycare for the homeless. I worked in the clothing room sorting, folding, and hanging clothes. I helped people find clothes and I helped a 2-year-old boy who had just lost his home to a fire find a coat and some baby gloves.”
Danielle
“Medical treatment without consent on pregnant women is being reported more and more often. Such treatment has happened without written or verbal consent, sometimes even without informing the moms. Please consider helping to spread this hashtag. #PregnantLivesMatter”
Allyson
“Project Joy is a holiday item drive benefiting The Parent Child Center of Tulsa. Children receiving services from PCCT may have been exposed to child abuse or neglect, and are at risk for developing a variety of negative symptoms. Providing a small bit of holiday cheer in the way of books, winter clothing, and small toys support the guardians of these vulnerable children and reduce the risk of negative outcomes.”
Mariah
“The goal of my project was to provide children living in the Tulsa Day Center with a blizzard fleece blanket, a heavy material that is comforting and extremely warm. These blankets are used to decrease stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.”
Madaline
“For my action project, I chose to work with the local chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA is a national organization that supports abused & neglected children who are going through the court system. For my project, I collected toys and books for Tulsa CASA. I collected from individuals in Kappa Alpha Theta.”
Zsofia
“My action project centered around the Coffee Bunker, a local organization aimed at aiding veterans in their reintegration into community life. The Bunker offers a variety of resources, such as food, clothing, shelter, education credits, and a sense of community to local veterans. I organized a food drive to help stock the pantry, which gives bags of groceries in times of need, and was able to donate 3 big baskets worth of food!”
Janice
“For my action project, I volunteered at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Tulsa, specifically under CAN, Children’s Abuse Network. My position was titled as a child advocate with the responsibility of providing support for the children that come into the center and keep them company during “standby” before they go in for interviews or until their legal guardian was done with their work. I spent direct time with these children who have experienced trauma of all different types coming from diverse backgrounds which made this such an insightful project for me.”
Dhivya
“For my action project, I worked alongside Dr. Karina Shreffler and Dr. Stacy Tiemeyer, they are working on the HATCH project. The goal of the project is to link ACE (adverse childhood experiences) to prenatal and post-pregnancy outcomes. I was able to implement an outreach program to research and provide the participants with local classes and programs to help expecting and already mothers give the best care for themselves and their babies. I also summarized data from previous publications that were made public to the participants to learn and apply the findings to their own lifestyle.”
Emma
“For my project, I was trained as a Bystander Intervention Trainer for the purpose of training groups on campus how to intervene in potentially dangerous situations to prevent sexual assault. I performed two different trainings, and I believe that through these sessions, many students now have the skills to go forth and be prosocial bystanders. Every step to stop sexual assault on our campus and in our community is a step that can change lives for the better.”
Katie
“I volunteered with the CALM center of Counseling and Recovery Services of Oklahoma, assisting with daily duties at their facility. I learned about the types of traumas faced by adolescents in our own community and some of the interventions being used to reduce negative outcomes related to those traumas, which will be the topic of my tri-fold poster.”
Erin
“This semester I became trained as a trainer for the Bringing in the Bystander Program. This enabled me to interact directly with students and faculty at TU to improve the campus climate around sexual violence. It also encouraged me to step up and be a pro-social bystander in situations that may require my attention.”
Grace
“For my action project, I raised $341 for DVIS and volunteered there to help plan for their adopt-a-family event!”
Kari
“For my action project, I volunteered on a weekly basis at the Coffee Bunker, a veterans support organization in Tulsa. As a volunteer, I kept veteran guests company and helped out with various other tasks around the facility. This gave me insight into the difficulties faced by veterans in transitioning back into the US after deployment.”
Nicole
“I volunteered at the Child Abuse Network (CAN) and my role as a volunteer was to be a child advocate. I put the parents/families at ease by interacting and providing the children with play and recreational activities in the playroom (the teddy bear room). It was an eye-opening experience having to work first-hand with children that have been victims of trauma.”