UnderStory team visits UC Davis!

It is so hard to believe it has already been a week since the Up from the UnderStory documentary team traveled to Davis for lunch, a tour, and the Davis presentation.

The morning started early: before the bus left UC Davis to drive out to West Point, I went to meet with the driver to confirm that he had directions and water for the Documentary Team. Once everything was all set, he was off! And boy was he off. He made it to West Point, picked up the team and drove back to UC Davis in 2 hours, which is pretty fast for a bus.

The team, with family and friends, arrived at UC Davis Wyatt Deck right around 12:15. They were joined by myself, the Davis Humanities Team (who helped tremendously throughout the day), the ARCistas, jesikah, Jonathan, and Whitney. Everyone enjoyed a delicious sandwich lunch from the Davis Food Co-op beneath redwood trees and next to Putah Creek (Some youth were able to spot some baby ducks!). It was a little windy outside, but despite the wind everyone had a great time outside eating and talking with the ARCista members: Julie Sze, Julie Wyman, Ryan Galt, and Mike Ziser. We enjoyed some icebreakers and of course chillaxing. Each of the youth were presented with sone information about UC Davis and a framed photo of the group they were able to have others sign. Check out our group photos we took after lunch time:











After lunch I headed with the youth, friends, and family members to South Hall to meet our tour guides for a campus tour. Even though there was a ton of walking for everyone, we were able to see the main central part of campus, go inside the library, learn about lots of resources that Davis has to offer, and even peek in on a HUGE lecture class. A few youth were able to go check out the KDVS campus radio station, and Grant was very excited to see all of the bikes and learn that Davis had a Bike Barn where students can work as bike mechanics. I think the bikes were surprising to most people, because as I was told by Michael Bowsher, it is hard to bike in all the hills of West Point!

The tour ended at the Memorial Union where everyone regrouped before the big presentation. It was a good thing there was a lot of lemonade and water, plus some sweet treats to recoup after all the walking! About 50 – 70 people came to the later afternoon/evening presentation. It was amazing and so positive to see how many people in the audience drove all the way from the Blue Mountain community to support the Up from the UnderStory project and team.

The presentation started off with an introduction by Jonathan London and then Bill Lacey the Vice Provost for the University Outreach and International Programs talked to everybody about the importance of community based projects. Julie Wyman spoke about her role in editing and taking her students to the Blue Mountain Community to do some filming. Julie Wyman’s UC Davis students were also able to offer their experience with the video documentary in the Blue Mountain Community. It was great to see how all of the people at UC Davis were linked to the evolvement of the project.

As I was watching the video and listening to another great discussion with the youth and audience, I really was touched by how successful and tight-knit the Blue Mountain Community is. I was born and raised in Davis. After my undergraduate education I worked for the City in the Community Services Department as a way to stay involved and have a part in my community. But I have not felt a community bond as strong as the Blue Mountain Community. Even though Davis is a larger community than Blue Mountain, I have to say that the Blue Mountain Community can really be seen as an inspiration for many communities, of all sizes, including Davis.

I was happy to have my parents attend the event, both long time residents of Davis, who left the presentation excited and with ideas. My mom, who has her own child development center, loved how Maryann and Blue Mountain Community members created the Art in the Garden community project. Inspired, my mom now hopes to create an Art in the Garden in Davis with her preschoolers. I think it is important to realize how the Up from the UnderStory project is inspiring and will motivate multiple communities and many diverse groups of people not just in the Sierra region but wherever their stories will be heard.

Last Wednesday was an amazing day. I had so much fun spending time with the youth, jesikah, family members, and friends. I felt honored to spend the day with a great group of teenagers who really worked hard these past few months in connecting with their community and working together with community members to present positive ways to grow as a community. It was a positive and incredible experience to share my school and community with members from the Blue Mountain Community that are working hard to share their own stories of community motivation.

The video will be posted on the Davis Humanities Institute Website. So check back soon for the full featured Up from the UnderStory Documentary: http://dhi.ucdavis.edu/

And check back on our blog tomorrow- Photo entries to be posted!