Kathryn Sanford's Reflections

Through my work with Campus Kitchens I have developed various community partners and true relationships. The Campus Kitchens project has many more partnerships than most of the projects at CPS. We work closely with numerous restaurants to expand our food production and connect closer to the community. In addition to community partners in the restaurant field, I work closely with employees of SCCAP. South Central Community Action Programs is an umbrella organization for local social programs. We share are kitchen space with the Life Skills program; sharing the space has forced CKP to be flexible and responsible in coordinating schedules with SCCAP. The director of SCCAP, Megan Shreve has been of great support. She has helped to nurture the program and worked very well with us in our early stages. She has been very generous in her efforts for the program.

The strongest relationships that I have formed have been with the women of Circles of Support. Bridging the gap between age, class, and race we have truly created friendships. At first glance one might assume that a young college girl could offer working mothers living in poverty nothing, but it is the true value of a supportive friend that proves that wrong. I have wonderful new friends that have welcomed me into the Gettysburg community. Being able to step outside my mundane college life is a special treat that I treasure, primarily because of the wonderful friendships that I have formed.

I have truly learned a great deal from my community partnerships. One of my important relationships has been with. Through Lisa’s “tough love” mentality I have been challenged. I have been challenged to accept my own mistakes and live with the consequences. I have learned that people have very different ways of handling situations and that no one way is correct. From the local restaurants I have learned proper business etiquette and how to make them feel comfortable and involved. I have also learned that the best way to work with a separate organization such as a kitchen is to fully communicate the reciprocal value of the partnership. My relationship with Megan Shreve has taught me how much one person can change the world. She inspires me to challenge CKP to be the best it can be.

The strongest relationships that I have formed have been with the women of Circles of Support. Bridging the gap between age, class, and race we have truly created friendships. At first glance one might assume that a young college girl could offer working mothers living in poverty nothing, but it is the true value of a supportive friend that proves that wrong. I have wonderful new friends that have welcomed me into the Gettysburg community. Being able to step outside my mundane college life is a special treat that I treasure, primarily because of the wonderful friendships that I have formed.

I have had great experiences with my learning circle. Circles of Support has provided me the opportunity to let my CPS program, Campus Kitchens flourish. I have been cooking for Circles for months now and it has given me a lot of experience with how to cook for a large amount of people.

I also have experienced new and wonderful friendships. Through sharing a meal together we have shared various parts of our lives. This is a great outlet for each and everyone of us to have someone there to listen to your day and support you. The breakdown of stereotypes and barriers has been truly amazing. By combining such a diverse group of people, a true sense of the hardships that people face in their everyday lives comes to life. These new friendships are something I will always treasure, as they have helped to define my college experience.

I have learned a great deal about myself and the community that I live in through my experiences with my Learning Circle. I have learned that friendships can be created in a short amount of time when honest people unite in a common interest. I have also learned that the Campus Kitchens Project is a great program that has supplied delicious meals. Circles of Support has been able to better serve the needs of the women and families involved from the support of Campus Kitchens. I have learned that even with a great plan in mind, the process to get there can be long and tedious. There were many times during the weeks of Circles where I felt time was not optimally being used. Learning the importance of patience and that big change cannot happen over night has been a valuable lesson. Similar the lesson of the importance of a listening friendly ear has taught me that everyone has something to contribute. I was able to help these women simply by being their friend and hearing their story, this is a valuable life lesson.

My experiences with student leadership center around my role as managing the Campus Kitchens Leadership Team and promoting Campus Kitchens to the Gettysburg community. In managing the Leadership Team I have had to coordinate schedules and delegate responsibilities. I also took on a major role for promoting Campus Kitchens especially the Kick-Off, food drive, and recruitment of new volunteers. By competing in Miss Orange and Blue in honor of Campus Kitchens I have taken on a unique leadership role. As an employee of CPS people often come to me for volunteer opportunities and it is my responsibility to guide them to the organization that matches their needs, this allows me to be a CPS leader in the community. I also used my leadership skills to lead a freshmen pre-orientation Ascent trip to Washington D.C.

My progress to become a more active and effective student leader has opened my eyes to new things. I have learned that by engaging my different social groups in social justice discussions I can best be a tool for change. As an employee of CPS I am in the position to be aware of many more issues in the world, and I have the responsibility to pass that knowledge on.

When it comes to the Leadership Team I have learned how to manage a group of very active and involved college students. I have found this to be a much more difficult task than I had imagined. Coordinating schedules is a very complicated job that I have learned to respect. I have also learned that when great minds are brought together amazing things can be accomplished, such as the emergence of a very strong Campus Kitchens.

Through the Ascent trip I learned valuable skills about sharing a leadership position. A great lesson was that although people may have different leadership styles, it does not mean that they are not effective. I worked with a person who had a different style than my own, but it worked wonderfully because of the open communication between us.  

My experiences with personal and professional development are centered on managerial work and relations with my various community partners. I have been responsible for planning events, which includes scheduling times, places, and people. I have been a continuous leader of the Campus Kitchens Leadership Team. In November 2007 I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota and in October 2008 I traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the national Campus Kitchens conferences. I have organized paperwork and reports to comply with the national Campus Kitchens requirements. I have also been an active member in creating meals for Circles of Support as well as a community ally.

My personal and professional development through learning was centered on the new insightful questions that CPS introduced me to. Through my experiences I have witnessed the injustices of the world and especially here in Gettysburg. One of the best ways in which I have learned has been dealing with the injustices that have been so clearly brought to my attention of sustainability and race. When an injustice is placed in front of you, it is a test of your character to react to it. My reactions over the past months have shaped my learning. Learning more about the injustices is where I have succeeded. With that knowledge it is up to me to share that knowledge with others. By doing so I am learning more about the issues and myself. In the end my learning comes down to witnessing unjust violations and reacting to them through knowledge and understanding. I have also tried to go deeper into the social justice issues.

My work with managerial requirements has made me accountable to the small details in my work. I have come to respect the work that goes into even the tiniest tasks. I will carry the office skills that I have gained with me for the rest of my life. They are basic necessities that have taught me to appreciate the smallest details.