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HONORS SELF- DESIGNED PROPOSAL
Complete this proposal prior to your experiences start date and upload it in the UHP Database
(https://webapps.uc.edu/uchonorsstudent). Create an experience (Add a new record) in the Tracking Project
tab and upload your proposal document as an attachment. The deadline for submitting proposals is the 5th of
each month (excluding July).
Proposals are intended to be well developed plans for your experience. However, experiences are exploratory in
nature, and we are flexible with changes throughout the experience. If your experience changes after receiving
approval on your proposal, contact your honors advisor to verify the changes still satisfy the requirements of an
honors experience.
Basic Information
Full Name: Miranda Frank
Title of Project: Sunshine Childrens Home, horse-riding therapy
Thematic Area(s): Community Engagement, Leadership
Expected Start Date: May 2st, 2016
Expected End Date: June 11th, 2016
GUIDELINES
1. Proposal submission timeline: Proposals should be submitted at least one month prior to the expected
start date of the experience. International experiences require at least two months notice. Contact your
honors advisor immediately for any exceptions.
2. Proposal length: While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4
pages single-spaced.
3. Proposal format: Please maintain the proposal format (e.g. headers, layout)
4. Time commitment: Experiences should consist of at least 75-90 hours of preparation, execution, and
reflection. This is approximately equivalent to the commitment of honors seminars and pre-approved
experiences.
REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
All self-designed international travel experiences require two months notice and must be at least one week in
length. You will need to provide a detailed itinerary (dates, locations and activities). If participating in
independent travel (not with UC faculty, staff or student group), you must also fill out a Worldwide: Honors
Experience application via UC International.
Additionally, the Student Travel Policy restricts UC-sponsored travel to countries under a U.S. Department of
State Travel Warning. Those who wish to visit a country with a travel warning must seek an exemption through
UC International. Students traveling without a faculty or staff leader must individually request an exemption.
We cannot allow you to count this travel as an honors experience nor can we give you a grant without an
approved exemption.
1. Abstract
Briefly describe the experience. What makes this experience personally meaningful? What goals do you have for this
experience? What is your timeline for this experience?
*If you are proposing an international experience, provide an itinerary.
**If you are developing this experience from an existing opportunity (class with a study tour, campus organization, co-op,
etc.) that is not already an honors seminar or pre-approved experience, how will you differentiate your experience from
what is already required of other students?
By chance, during the spring of my junior year of high school I ended up with multiple brochures in my backpack
about Sunshine Childrens Home, an activities center for children and adult with a range of disabilities. In my search for
new volunteer opportunities I decided to step out of my comfort zone and join a horse riding therapy program, which
encompassed two aspects I never expected to excel at: working with horses and with children. My initial hesitance in
dealing with the clients and the other massive, furry volunteers, faded quickly because of the barns cheery and supportive
atmosphere. The coordinators taught me the technicalities of the program, such as how to stand around the horses and how
to properly help the clients stay on the horses, but the personal touches of those Saturday mornings sessions created a love
of the program that made me stay even when I needed no more volunteer hours. Each client I had the pleasure of helping
over the years, whether it was a four-year old boy with autism or a middle-aged woman with a mental disability, possessed
a contagious joy that automatically spread to anyone in the barn. Their happiness extended to their sense of calm as well;
if they struggled with certain activities, such as throwing a ball through a hoop while on horseback, they showed no signs
of frustration. I fell in love with our clients and believe they can teach us qualities of gratitude and patience. As I return to
volunteer at Sunshine after this spring semester, I hope to further develop my passion for helping those with disabilities in
a way that I may learn how to bring other people into the program and to utilize it in the future.
With an emphasis on community service and leadership, my project in the simplest sense would be to volunteer
extensively with Sunshines horse riding therapy programs. Beyond taking part in the program as I have regularly, I hope
to become a vital member of the team by acting as a leader. As an experienced volunteer in the group, this summer I will
teach new members tips I learned when I first joined and encourage them to stick with the therapy to make lasting
connections with the clients. Now as an established regular in the program, I possess the power to truly be an advocate for
it, in which I will talk to others, such as my prior Key Club, about joining because we always need more volunteers. In a
more personal sense, I plan on learning more about child psychology from the coordinators and visiting graduate students
in order to figure out if I may want to pursue that realm of psychology as opposed to clinical. In addition, I often work
with the same clients on a weekly basis for the sake of familiarity; however, I should make connections with all the
clients, not just my usual ones, even if its just talking to different ones before they mount the horses. Sunshine already
plays a significant role in my life, but my main goal is to now give back to the program to help it grow.
Though subject to change, the summer program schedules run 9-12pm on Saturdays, 3-6 on Mondays and 6-8 on
Tuesdays, so I plan on attending each day for a regular six-week session as soon as I return home from college, tentatively
May 2nd - June 11th. Beyond the hours spent with the clients, about an hour should be added to for each day to include
travel, setup and cleanup time. After each day of the program, I will work on my ongoing reflection, and each week I plan
to research various methods used in horse riding therapy. If I cannot meet the required hours needed for the experience by
my projected end date, I will continue volunteering as long as possible before the July 1 st due date, and after the projects
completion I will, of course, stay a part of the program and add information, photos, etc. to my showcase as I please.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Brief description of the experience
Personal connection to the experience
Identified goals for the experience
Required Revisions:
Effective:
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Timeline from start to finish
*Itinerary (international experiences only)
**Explanation of differentiated experience
from what is required of other students
2. Experience Advisor
Identify an experience advisor and provide their contact information. Explain why you chose this person and how you
plan to utilize your advisor for this experience.
Note: Advisor(s) should have knowledge or expertise in an area related to the experience. Honors advisors, undergraduate
students, and family members cannot be experience advisors.
Alicia Rybak
Direct Support Professional, Sunshine Childrens Home
419-865-0251
[email protected]
I worked alongside Alicia this past summer in two horse riding therapy programs. As a long-time volunteer and now one
of the barn coordinators, she understands all the workings of the therapy and is the ideal person for me to go to with
questions about how I can improve my interactions with clients and how her college education led to her current job. I
will also ask her about who she would prefer I try to bring into and keep in the program.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Required Revisions:
Effective:
Experience advisor name and contact
information
Description of why advisor was selected
Specific plans to engage with advisor
3. Connection to Learning Outcomes
List 3 learning outcomes from any thematic area(s). Provide specific activities you plan to engage in to help you make
progress towards the chosen learning outcomes. Describe how you expect each activity to help your progress. Include an
estimated time commitment for those activities.
Articulate the purpose of service on a social issue or public policy and how service mutually enhances individual
growth and the common good.
By volunteering with therapeutic horse-riding, I am taking part to help alleviate clients physical pain, better their
social skills and equip them to become more independent, therefore improving their self-esteem. In addition, just
showing up to therapy consistently with a good attitude, shows the riders that theyre important and shows the parents
that their children are being taken care of properly. Throughout the six weeks in the program, working directly with
the riders will motivate me to grow as a person in the way that I will become more patient and grateful, qualities they
possess. I will also have to improve as a communicator, not just with the clients, but their parents and other volunteers
as well.
Develop strategies to identify and respond to challenges and obstacles.
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Often the barn shows scenes of organized chaos, but occasionally we just see chaos. Based on my past
experience with Sunshine, I can predict most of the possible obstacles during our usual programs, so I can make
preliminary plans on how to deal with tricky situations, then adapt them to each circumstance. For example, I
know already certain clients yell when excited, which may scare the horses and cause them to buck; I will need to
quiet them quickly, but how Ill do so depends on the specific client. When I find what works for each rider, I will
remember how to respond for the next time. The process of creating strategies will unfold over the six weeks and
help me for the rest of the summer.
Synthesize the current trends related to a specific issue or field and evaluate how thought-leaders are currently
addressing them.
New research is constantly being released about treatment for various disabilities and developmental
delays, but I prefer to primarily follow the leaders of our barn, the ones who have been attached to that
place for years and learn the needs of each client and parent that comes in. As I work in the barn during
May and June, I will watch how the barn coordinators act as leaders. I want to first observe how they
speak to clients, parents and volunteers and how they fix issues; then, I hope to ask them about their
perspectives on how they contribute to the program.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Required Revisions:
Effective:
3 learning outcomes explicitly identified
from any thematic area(s)
Examples of activities and explanation of
how each will assist the progress towards
the chosen learning outcome
Estimated time commitment for each
activity
4. Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes
List 1-2 academic resources you plan to use to enhance your understanding of the learning outcomes. Explain how each
resource connects to your learning outcome(s) and helps you execute your experience. Please include the title and
author/creator for each resource.
Note: Academic resources are professional works that can be used to assist your understanding of the topic. Some
examples are books, documentaries, videos, or research journals.
Bass, M., Duchowny, C., & Llabre, M. (2009). The effect of therapeutic horseback riding on social functioning in children
with autism. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 39, 1261-1267.
Researchers Bass, Duchowny and Llabre tested autistic childrens social motivation and sensory sensitivity/seeking before
and after a twelve-week session of horse-riding therapy, concluding that a significant increase in the factors occurred. The
study gave details of the participants and process, both similar to Sunshines current hippo-therapy program. With hippotherapy, the way a persons words or mannerisms are interpreted by the clients can either really help or hinder their
progress. Therefore, in understanding to a greater extent what specific activities contributed to the kids social and sensory
improvement, I can change my actions and words to better fit the goals of the program.
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Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Required Revisions:
Effective:
1-2 academic resources connected to the
learning outcomes
Title and author of each resource
Description of how resources will help
make progress towards learning outcomes
and execution of experience
5. On-going Reflection
The on-going reflection should help you process the experience and progress toward your chosen learning outcomes.
Describe your method for reflecting throughout the experience. Indicate specific reflection questions/topics you plan to
use to guide your reflective process.
Note: A variety of methods can be used for on-going reflection. Some examples are videos, drawings, blogs, songs, and
journals. Reflection topics to consider include your ideas/insights about the experience, connection to other areas of
involvement, and your progress towards the learning outcomes.
After each day I volunteer at Sunshines barn (Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays), I will record my hours, then reflect on my
experience through a journal that utilizes the following guideline questions:
How has your client been progressing, and how have you helped with that? What can you do to further their progress?
How have I improved from last week in interacting with clients and their families and what should I change with my
actions?
How can I ensure the other volunteers are enjoying themselves and working to better themselves?
How can the skills Im learning play into a future career in child psychology?
Why do I enjoy volunteering at Sunshine, and how had that answer changed from when I first started?
What do I not particularly enjoy about volunteering at Sunshine, and how could that affect my decision to go into child
psychology?
How do more experienced members of the program handle certain situations, and how can I mirror them while also
finding what works for me?
What are my core values as based on my reflections of my experiences at Sunshine?
For hippo-therapy, how does the aforementioned articles concepts match and/or contradict the reality of the sessions?
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Required Revisions:
Effective:
Method for ongoing reflection
Reflection questions/topics clearly
specified
6. Sharing Your Learning
Describe how you plan to actively share what youve taken away from this experience with a targeted audience. Explain
why you chose this specific audience.
Note: While social media can be an effective platform for sharing, only posting on your personal learning portfolio or
social media account(s) does not reach a targeted audience.
After completing my project, I hope to share my experience with my high schools National Honor Society and/or Key
Club and Sunshines volunteer web page. I would speak with the advisors for NHS and Key Club asking if I could come
into one of their meetings in the fall and recruit new volunteers by describing therapeutic horse riding and why I love it;
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the groups are ideal since they both revolve around volunteerism, and high school students usually have the time and
physical strength for the program. Its also possible that if I contacted the general volunteer coordinator of Sunshine, I
could add my story to the others on the official web page, which potential helpers look at and could decide to join.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Required Revisions:
Effective:
At least one method to actively share takeaways/learning from the experience
A specific audience and why the audience
was selected
7. Budget (if applicable)
Provide an itemized budget and indicate your source for cost information.
*If you are engaged in an unpaid internship or research, please indicate the number of weeks and hours per week you
plan to participate.
Budget is not applicable.
Advisor Feedback
Notes:
Detailed budget of expenditures with
sources to justify budget estimates
*Indicates the number of hours per week
and number of weeks of participation
Required Revisions:
Effective:
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THEMATIC AREA LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcomes for the Community Engagement Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to
Identify and differentiate multiple ways to contribute towards the development or
achievement of the communitys goals.
Develop a thorough understanding of the world view, beliefs, experiences, selfconsciousness, or history of community members through collaboration.
Articulate the purpose of service on a social issue or public policy and how service
mutually enhances individual growth and the common good.
Explain how education, advocacy, mobilization, or public policy can influence social
issues and transform communities.
Learning Outcomes for the Creativity Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to
Discover new techniques to gain knowledge, consider options, make new connections,
and ask questions.
Explore a new creative competency/medium or seek new ways to engage an existing
competency/medium.
Understand and optimize the use of people, technology, physical resources or community
in a creative process.
Articulate the broader significance of a creative project and the value of its contributions.
Learning Outcomes for the Global Studies Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to
Develop practical travel skills that promote safe, stimulating, and productive travel
throughout your life.
Summarize the interconnectedness of geography, history, cultural traits and world issues.
Articulate the interdependence of professional fields to address current and impending
global issues such as technology, the environment, human rights, or politics.
Demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity by acknowledging the impact of their
own identity and the experience of social norms, customs, or beliefs that are different
from their own.
Demonstrate a sense of empathy, respect, and appreciation for others to build meaningful
cross-cultural collaborations toward mutual growth and prosperity.
Learning Outcomes for the Leadership Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to
Formulate and manage a shared vision and develop goals towards its achievement.
Motivate and collaborate effectively with others towards completion of shared projects or
goals.
Develop strategies to identify and respond to challenges and obstacles.
Identify personal strengths and areas of growth and evaluate opportunities to maximize
skills and abilities.
Synthesize the current trends related to a specific issue or field and evaluate how
thought-leaders are currently addressing them.
Learning Outcomes for the Research Thematic Area:
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By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to
Demonstrate the ability to locate, interpret, and critically evaluate primary sources
appropriate to field.
Identify and apply appropriate methods to collect and organize data for analysis.
Analyze and interpret the meaning of results.
Produce dissemination appropriate to the field in order to share the results or impact
of the research.
Articulate the broader significance of the research project and its relationship to other
fields, research and ideas.
