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Frederick Vitale
- Major
- Psychology
- Fellowship
- Center for Urban Research and Learning Undergraduate Fellow
I found CURL to be interesting due to its community outreach research. I am a psychology student and have always been really intrigued by social issues and their impact on the human experience. Large political decisions have a medley of effects on small communities. This often opens pathways for negligence and abuse as some struggle with change and those are the issues that I would like impact. I feel that CURL effectively does this in their work and it provides a very insightful and encouraging atmosphere to work within.
The research work at CURL is very comprehensive as it casts a broad net. Their community based research expands well beyond the boundaries of the Rogers Park area. The organization takes lessons from varying communities to see what works and what doesn’t so that they can be applied appropriately. The result of this work is linking leaders together to shrink the information gap and build upon the strengths of an area.
One of my most important learning goals with CURL is understanding the intricate relationships that exist between communities and how they are bridged. Some of this work is policy based and has a heavy influence on legislation. This creates a delicate environment for conflicting perspectives that is not always easy to handle. I want to learn more about that culture in various areas and broaden my own scope on social justice.
I hope to further solidify a foundation for research as I continue to delve into my career field after completing my degree. I inherited a strong interest in politics and caring for others that I have always carried with me. CURL puts those two things together and is doing exactly what I want to do with my degree.
