World We Dare to Imagine Pitch - Kaitlyn Francel

The YOUtrition Project

Hi my name is Katie and I am the founder of the YOUtrition Project. The YOUtrition project aims to solve the problem of obesity by teaching people healthy food habits, while providing them access to healthy produce.

I came up with this idea because I am passionate about studying health and I am minoring in healthcare studies. I have read that obesity is currently the number one cause of heart disease. Heart disease is a devastating disease that kills 1 in 4 people! My mission is to decrease this number by teaching people how to lead a healthier lifestyle. 

With the YOUtrition project, we want to create an atmosphere in which people go through an education program that teaches them how to read nutrition labels, how to create a meal plan, and how to balance a healthy diet. Thus, teaching them the skills to take care of their bodies. After that, we provide these individuals access to the YOUtrition garden, where we grow healthy, organic produce. The garden working in a where where if you give, you receive. The participants are asked to contribute 30 minutes of work per piece of produce they want to take out. They contribute by planting seeds, watering, or harvesting. Essentially, the idea is to teach people healthy eating habits while showing them how to grow their own healthy food, and providing them access to otherwise expensive produce items. 

Anima Mundi Development Partners should support my organization so that we can work to help people lead healthier lives by educating them on nutrition and providing them access to healthy produce. We need to work together to help people live longer, happier lives. By creating healthy habits we can reduce the problem of worldwide obesity, and support YOUtrition!

World We Dare To Imagine 1 - Kaitlyn Francel

Obesity Conquered by Education and Nutrition - The YOUtrition Project

The first thing that comes to my mind when making the world a better place, is solving the problem of obesity. Obesity is one of the leading causes of heart disease, and heart disease is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths. Since I am taking two health care classes, this topic is constantly brought up. It is devastating not only to the individuals, but also to the healthcare systems, to friends, and to families. I have read that preventative care and education is a key in changing this obesity trend. So I want to try and come up with a solution to this major problem!

I would like to propose a nutrition education program for people that are at-risk for obesity or are diagnosed as obese. This program would have multiple components. It would have workshops that talk about eating healthy. These workshops would teach people how to create meal plans and stick to them. It would also educate them on reading nutrition labels, understanding good and bad fats, and how eating certain things can affect the body. It would also have an exercise program that builds a tailored exercise plan for the people attending.

A key problem I have noticed is that a lot of people don’t eat healthy because they don’t have access to healthy food, as unhealthy food is often far cheaper. As a solution to this, I would like to create a healthy food shelter, where people could come to get healthy food resources. I would keep this shelter exclusive to the people that have already taken the workshops, to keep people on track with their healthy program. Essentially, my idea is that people would work a shift a week and when they come in to “work,” they would plant some seeds/water a plant/pick the produce from a shared greenhouse. Then, once they put in their “work” for the week, they would have access to the resources being grown in the greenhouse for that week. With their help, we would be able to maintain the healthy food surplus for people to use, while allowing them access to healthy food.

Education + provided resources = better nutrition and lowered obesity rates!

Random Blog Post #2 - Katie Francel

APRIL FOOLS!

The history and traditions behind this comical holiday!

In 1582 France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. However, it took time for the news to reach everyone, and some people didn’t observe the new year in January. Instead, they observed the new year on the first of April, and they were made fun of on that date. Typically, people taped a fish on their backs because it was a symbol that they were “an easy fish to catch” meaning that they were gullible.

In Rome, there were festivals where people dressed up in funny costumes at the end of March. Also, it was said that the vernal equinox, or the first day of spring, typically observed around the end of March, brought unpredictable weather. Thus, they said that Mother Nature was fooling them on the first days of spring.

In Britain during the 18th century, a two-day tradition started. The first day consisted of “hunting the gowk,” where people ran random funny errands. A gowk is another word for a cuckoo bird. The second day was Tailie day, where people played pranks on each other involving their butts. Essentially, they pinned fake tails or “kick me” signs on their butts.

As of current, many people still participate in these fun events, which are now held on April 1, April Fools Day. These people often go to all lengths to play a good prank. Here are some examples of excellent pranks that various people perform on April Fools Day:

-News Stations: A BBC station reported that Swiss farmers had had a record spaghetti crop. They explained that the farmers grew spaghetti on trees. Millions of viewers believed what they heard!

-World War Pilot: In 1915 a French World War pilot flew over Germany and dropped what looked like a bomb. But, the bomb never exploded and everyone was very confused. Upon inspection, people realized that the pilot dropped a football with a note on it that said “April Fools!”

-Adolescents: Ah, the fake pregnancy gag. There are many videos on YouTube and Instagram of girls telling their boyfriends that they are “pregnant.” And the results are priceless! This prank is almost predictable at this point because it is used so often.

-Children: My little brother is a prime example of this. Today, he decided to fill the entire pantry with all the balls he could find in the house. Then, when my dad opened it, they all fell open on him. He also tuned all the picture frames in the house upside down! Ah, to be a ten-year-old again!

-Food Chains: Taco Bell announced that it was buying Pennsylvania’s Liberty burger in 1996, and said they would be renaming themselves Taco Liberty Bell. People were not so happy about this one!

References:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day

https://www.funny-jokes-quotes-sayings.com/april-fool-pranks.html

Predatory Sexual Harrassment by Debbie Dougherty - Extra Credit Kaitlyn Francel

I attended the seminar "Predatory Sexual Harassment, The Anaerobic Bacteria of Organizational Life" by Debbie Dougherty. She was a lovely speaker who was full of charm. First, she explained what makes predatory behavior in the workplace. These were her definitions:
-Persistent behavior
-Multiple Targets
-Organizationally supported
-Operates in a field of crafted Science
Then she moved on to outline the legal definition and how that can seem rather ambiguous and thus, the traditional approach lacks specificity. This is how Dougherty was led to create the Cultural Approach to Sexual Harassment.

The Cultural Approach to Sexual Harassment recognizes that sexual harassment is woven into the culture of an organization, and thus it occurs every day and it is normalized. This is highly destructive to organizational culture because it results in a loss of money and employees, but most importantly, it damages their brand and reputation. With all of this in mind, the speaker moved on to ask how we could change what was happening in organizations. We brainstormed using a bubble circle chart and proposed our various solutions. Some of these included increasing awareness of what predatory behavior really is, along with better administrative or executive action.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the interesting points that Dougherty made. She shared a lot of ideas that I had never thought about before. Such as, what really is predatory behavior? How do we react to it? Etc. I think that this seminar was highly beneficial to me because I can now recognize what predatory behavior is and if it is occurring in a situation. I think that awareness is a crucial part of stopping the problem, and I believe that more people need to see seminars like this one so that they are educated on the topic.

Best,
KT

Born on Third Base Ch. 14 - Kaitlyn Francel

Summary of Born on Third Base part V - Ch 14 - Kaitlyn Francel

The author, Chuck Collins, opens this chapter talking about his friend, Edith, that is in her late 40s. He describes an interaction that they have in which Edith is crying because she is living paycheck to paycheck, and there are layoffs occurring in her company. He feels extreme pain for her and delves into the story of how the stock market crash of 2008 affected her and many others. Following this experience, the author goes to church and his eyes are opened to how people are struggling. Many people that he thought were fine, were really missing the cash to do small important tasks, such as transportation to the doctor, or fixing a window. Thus, the church built community groups called Resilience Circles, which are essentially mutual aid support groups. In these groups, people supported each other by aiding in tasks, learning more about the economy together, and creating a social movement. The groups met twice monthly and people came in with their "gifts" and "needs," essentially a list of things that a person could offer to another, and things that the same person needed to ask for. This turned into a beautiful internal social exchange where people exchanged goods or services without the use of money or reliance on larger businesses and companies.

Collins comes to realize that large influencers tell us that we should not rely on one another and that instead, we need to be independent individuals. This encourages and benefits the large economic businesses, but poisons social interaction and networks. The author discovers that by sharing and coexisting with one another, more resources can be utilized at a lower price, which can help many struggling groups of people out tremendously. The author discusses that people often lack the ability to ask others for help when they need it, even though everyone does need help at some point in their life. And these Resilience circles gave people the ability to get used to asking and giving, not as charity, but as a group of interconnected people.

At the end of the chapter, Collins explains that a wealthy couple wanted to donate money to the Resilience Circle, but that the Circle humbly declined. They did so because it just wasn't what they stood for as a group. This again proves that money is not the key to life, it is human interaction and the ability to help one another out in times of need. And that is how Collins wraps up this beautiful chapter, by calling for a strengthening of human interaction and interdependence.

A Newbie’s Guide to USC Culture by Katie Francel

We all know how it feels to walk into a brand new school for the first time. The nervous butterflies in your tummy that flutter as your kneecaps jitter. Well, take that and multiply it to 100, because you just got into ‘SC baby, and you’re a Trojan now!

To help you escape those jitters, and impress your peers, here’s a how-to guide to the culture you will see at USC:

• Bird/Lime/Spin

If you see any of these lying around, know that an SC student won't be far away. We can bet that they're flocking to these things to make it to their 10am on time.

• "The Row”

This is an important one. You will be spending many nights with your pals discussing which frat party on "the row" you're going to attend. Because whats USC without a party scene anyways? Get familiar with which fraternity and sorority is located where, so you are prepared to reference it at any given moment. 

• Beer Die

Are you even a frat bro if you don't die up? Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and even sometimes Thursdays) you are going to see fraternity brothers playing this notorious game on their front lawn while blaring extremely loud music (if it's ZBT, it will likely be Wonderwall on repeat). If you plan on being a fraternal brother, you'd better get good at this game, and fast!

• "The 90"/"Ditos"

If you hear any kid say one of these words, you're in for one heck of a night. The 901 Bar and Banditos are both hotspots for USC kids when they have no frat parties to go to, but they still want to rage. Bonus: order an AMF to impress the experienced veterans. Just be careful, you probably won't remember this night!

• Juul

Ahhh, whats being a college student if it isn't for an extremely overpriced nicotine addiction? Here at USC, students don't waste their money on gross cigarettes. Instead, they opt for the more expensive, candy/fruit flavored Juul's to get their fix. If a kid asks you if you have a Juul pod, and you say no, you'd better be ready to watch them run to CalMart at 12am to grab a pack faster than the top athlete can run a mile.

• Gucci Belts

You can't walk down the row without seeing at least one girl wearing a Gucci belt. That's self explanatory, duh! 

• Mr. Brightside by The Killers

Know it, learn it, love it. You're going to be singing along with it at every fraternity party you go to for the next 4 years. You'll probably hear 12 different remixes of it tool. Don't even bother trying to resist.

• Bonus Lingo:

- "Just Venmo me bro”: you owe some dude cash. Download the Venmo app, and prepare to

empty your bank account, usually on nights you can't remember. You'll be waking up in the morning to an unpleasant call from mom and dad.

- “Yo meet me in campus center”: you're probably about to dish on this week's hottest gossip, head over to the tutor campus center, accompanied by Seeds, The Habit, Panda, and more!

- "Dude, I was so browned out last night": essentially, browned is the lesser version of blacked. So, your pal definitely doesn't remember most of his night, but he still has some recollection. Hey, it's better than nothing!

Now you’ll never be caught un-educated about anything USC related. So go for it, take a step on campus. You are ready to impress!

Public Speaking for the Introvert - Final - Kaitlyn Francel

Public Speaking for the Introvert 

How to channel NERVES into ENERGY for an amazing performance, with no previous experience!

Shallow breaths, nervous sweats, jitters. Your coffee threatens to slip above the brim of your cup as your nerves spill over. Deep breaths, your presentation is starting, and all eyes are on you.

We all know the nervous feeling you get before you step up in front of a large crowd of people to present or perform. Public speaking, performance, or presentation is a critical skill to learn whether you’re entering the business world or trying to breakout on
Broadway. Whether you like it or not, you’ll likely have to do it at some point in your lifetime.
For me, it was on the theatrical stage, for you it may be in a class, in a career setting, etc. I would
like to help you prepare for this situation!

Why listen to me?

Let me give you my background. I’ve been standing in front of critical eyes since I was the age of 5. I have been in over 50 performances in my lifetime, whether it has been in the theatre, in choir, in a solo vocal concert, in class, or in a dance showcase. I have gradually trained my body to react positively in public speaking/performing situations by using techniques, and practicing over time. I have used the techniques below to teach myself to be energetic instead of nervous in all of these performance experiences. And now, I am here to help you do the same!

Trick Your Brain - Weeks Before the Presentation/Performance

Practice, Practice, Practice – your brain is classically conditioned to react to situations in a specific way. However, scientific evidence has proven that the best way to get over an undesired reaction to a situation is to counter-condition it into a positive experience. Let me explain what this means:

Classical Conditioning is a way that the body unconsciously learns that specific stimuli will trigger a response. Counter-Conditioning is taking the conditioned response and altering it by re-teaching the body through numerous exposures, and thus creating a more pleasant, or desired, response..

In this case, public speaking is the stimulus, and the conditioned response is fear, anxiety, and all the other general symptoms of nervousness. But what we want to do, is train your body with a new conditioned response to public speaking. As a result, instead of being afraid, you channel that fear into energy and an exciting performance.

Here’s where the energy comes in. Every time you start to present, rather than defaulting to the conditioned response of fear, tell yourself to instead be energetic! That way, you’re re-training your brain and setting up a new conditioned response. By doing this,  in future presentations you won’t have to work as hard to get rid of nerves, because your body will be conditioned to react instead with an energetic performance!

If you practice – both alone, in front of people, in front of a mirror, or even to your dog – with your desired conditioned response (energy replacing nervousness) your teaching your body that it is okay to do public speaking, and that it’s a normal thing that people do and that you don’t have to be afraid! It may be hard at first, but don't give up because it takes time! Exposure is key!

Here Goes Nothing - Right Before the Presentation/Performance

There are some great relaxation techniques to do before performances. Doing these will slow your heart rate, steady your breathing, and decrease your muscle jitters!

Deep Breathing

By counting, use numbers to represent each in and out breath you take. For example, breathe in “one” breathe out “two.” Do this until you reach about 15 or so. Repeat as necessary.

An elevated heart rate is a result of the body’s autonomic (or automatic) nervous system reacting to a scary situation. In science, this is an adaptive trait that evolved due to a survival tactic, called survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest is the likelihood that an animal will survive based off of their skills and adaptations. This autonomic system response has been keeping humans alive for centuries. Here’s an example of it’s correct response:

You are hiking in the woods and stumble upon a bear. What happens?

-pupils dilate

-blood flow goes to crucial organs such as heart, lungs, and muscles

-you take off in a sprint, able to save yourself from the bear

This is the ideal situation, because your body’s automatic response kept you alive. However, sometimes this system is hyperactive, specifically in the case of public speaking. In order to attempt to decrease this overactive automatic response during an unthreatening event, doing deep breathing exercises decreases your heart rate, which in turn decreases anxiety as a whole.

Muscle Tension Release

There are multiple techniques to release tension and the body and lead to relaxation. This is one I like the best:

Tense the muscles in your entire body, and then slowly release that tension from each muscle, starting from your toes and working your way up to your arms and neck and back. Then shake out your whole body. Repeat as desired.

By doing this, you are becoming actively aware of the tenseness in your muscles. Once you can be aware of this tenseness, you can work on getting rid of it. By seeing the two extremes in your super tense and super lax muscles, you can begin to recognize it. Thus, every time you are in a public speaking situation, you can remember to let go of this tenseness, and focus on a better presentation.

Now, Step Onstage

You’ve got this. You’re prepared, and calm and relaxed, and you’re conditioned for success. You can do this! Also, cut yourself some slack. It's a skill that takes time to learn, and even longer to master. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

References
BarCharts, I., & Jacobs, R. (2014). Public speaking. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

Kirchner, J. (2004). Managing Musical Performance Anxiety. The American Music Teacher, 53(3), 31-33.Retrieved February 2, 2019.

Mladenka, J. D., Sawyer, C. R., & Behnke, R. R. (1998). Anxiety sensitivity and speech trait anxiety as predictors of state anxiety during public speaking. Communication Quarterly, 46(4), 417-429. 

Werner, N. S., Duschek, S., Mattern, M., & Schaundry, R. (2009). Interoceptive sensitivity modulates anxiety during public speaking. Journal of Psychophysiology, 23(2), 85-94. Retrieved February 2,  2019.