UW Wallop Civic Engagement Program Seeks Teacher Partners to Gather Youth Perspectives on Community Resilience

The University of Wyoming's Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program has launched a statewide project seeking to gather and map youth voices about opportunities and barriers they see to education, employment and community resilience in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Youth Resilience Project (WYRP) seeks to recruit a geographically diverse cohort of 30 seventh-12th grade teachers and their students from across Wyoming for the 2025-26 school year. Participating educators will be eligible for an $800 stipend upon completion of the project.

By leveraging relationships developed with teachers through its K-12 Curriculum Project -- which provides free multimedia civics and social studies materials for Wyoming teachers -- the Wallop program asks students to share perspectives about barriers and opportunities they see to educational attainment, employment and community resilience. Resulting photos and narratives will be showcased locally and on a public interactive map.

The project employs Photovoice -- a research methodology designed to capture people's perspectives of their lives through photography and narrative. By capturing students' experiences, the project will provide the public, community and state leaders with a deeper understanding of what resilience means to youth in different Wyoming communities.

"A successful effort to diversify and grow Wyoming's economy, address workforce development and retention, and leverage educational/training programs to retain our talent and promote community resilience starts by gathering the right data," says Jean Garrison, director of the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program. "By partnering with Wyoming teachers, we can gather youth perspectives that are seldom surveyed, but yet are essential to Wyoming's future. As we gather youth voices on these important challenges in Wyoming, we also work with them to gain important project management and presentations skills and, as they share their work, they can see the rewards of being engaged citizens."

Teachers interested in participating are asked to email the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program at [email protected] or call (307) 766-6119. Additional information about the project is available at www.uwyo.edu/wallop/.

The Wallop program provides materials that include sample lesson plans and "how to" guidance for teachers through its WyoLearn catalog; monthly informational WYRP webinars and Q&A sessions; and through individual consultations. Email the program for information about the next zoom webinar session scheduled for Monday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m.

Partners include The Tucker Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, the John P. Ellbogen Foundation, the Nickerson Family Foundation, and the Homer and Mildred Scott Foundation. UW partners include the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies; the School of Computing; the College of Education; the Honors College; and the Research and Economic Development Division.

About the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program

The Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program in the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies at the University of Wyoming works in conjunction with university, community college and K-12 partners to support civics education across Wyoming. It supports projects and hosts meaningful dialogue on local, state, national and international issues of significant interest to Wyoming students and communities.

The program supports UW's land-grant mission by committing to a partnership with Wyoming communities and educators around the state, working together as an intellectual community to foster excellence in teaching, scholarship, innovation and creative endeavor to engage in matters of public concern -- and to provide students with experiences that prepare them to be engaged citizens and to meet tomorrow's challenges with sustainable solutions.