Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

• Arturo Ochoa, (323) 898-2201, Stylz Dance Studio

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?     

• My mentor, Arturo Ochoa, is an expert in the field of dance because not only is he a regular instructor at Stylz but he also travels throughout the country for performances and various dance workshops that he teaches. He has competed with numerous teams, of which include Gravy Babies and Honeybadgerz. Although he is only in his early 20's, he has already gained a vast expansion of knowledge and experience. He continues to grow as both a choreographer and a dancer, as all experts in this field should. 

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.    

• What is the easiest way to become familiar in the dance community?

• What skills/traits are required in order for an individual to become a professional choreographer?

• What are the first steps that a beginner dancer should take in order to obtain a unique style?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• The most important thing that I gained from my summer mentorship at Stylz Dance Studio is the basic movement that should be known in order for a dancer to freely move their body smoothly. What most people don't know is that a majority of dancers actually start off really stiff. It takes time and practice in order for the body to become used to certain dance moves. Therefore my mentorship really helped me familiarize myself with certain combinations that I would have never been able to do before.      

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did mentorship help you make your decision?  Please explain.

• My senior topic is going to be Dance Choreography. My mentorship helped me make this decision because in all honesty, I was leaning more towards doing a topic in the medical field for my senior project. However, Stylz Dance Studio really reminded me how much I love dance. After taking numerous classes, I learned that dance is not just a hobby anyone can pick up and do. It's much more intricate than that. The easiest way to explain it is that it's an art form. Dancers, like all other artists, must take years of practice in order to become masters in their field. Each class I took left me with an urge to learn more every time. This is what made me finally decide that I wanted to really go more in depth into what dance is and that's why I made it my senior topic.

Link to Senior Project Hours

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

• The three lessons that were most helpful to me would have to be the topics of physical therapy, nursing, and film editing. Physical therapy is a topic that I've always had my eye on every since freshman year so it was nice to see how someone else with my same interest was able to execute the presentation. The nursing presentation really opened my eyes to a topic I had absolutely no interest in but now I might even consider it for my mentorship. Finally, the film editing presentation was really well done in my opinion, so it really gave me an idea in what direction I should take when my time comes to do the senior presentation. 

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

• One thing that I learned through the interviews was that you shouldn't stress out too much about the senior project or else you'll end up wanting to dropout midway through the year. 

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

• The three topics that I am considering are physical therapy, dance, and nursing. Physical therapy and nursing are both careers that I am really interested in pursuing so it would be nice to get a head start with the experience and mentorship that the senior project has to offer. Dance is just a really fun hobby for me, so I thought it would've been interesting to see dance in a more academic perspective rather than just a fun activity. 

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest)

• Physical Therapy: What is the most essential aspect of physical therapy that would need to be touched upon in order to fully satisfy a patient's expectations and needs? 
• Dance: What is the best way to access your full potential when performing a choreographed dance piece?  
• Nursing: What is the most efficient way for a nurse to place a patient into a peaceful state of mind? 

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

• Summer mentorship has not been on my mind too much, but I do know of a private physical therapy center that's located very close to my house. I also know of numerous dance studios all around where I live that I could mentor at. Finally, I was thinking of just mentoring at any hospital that would accept me for nursing or any other medical related topic.