Throughout the research and production of this product, our project, my knowledge and understanding of family violence has been enhanced, specifically on the topic of sexual abuse of adolescents in the United States’ foster care system. Before beginning this project, I knew that sexual assault and sexual abuse occurred; however, to what extent and to whom, I did not know. I learned that one of the reasons why this happens to youth in the foster care system is because of the lack of emotional and physical developmental aid they receive while they are in critical periods of development (Hessing, 2022). Also, minors especially are vulnerable to sexual abuse within the system if they have experienced prior traumatic life events, and these are not always documented or reported.
Our project went smoothly; we worked well as a team, and I see that as a strength regarding our project. We were able to critically think and creatively and constructively put together a podcast. However, a weakness or barrier we reached was scheduling. All three of us are active students within the school, and noting all the meetings, classes, and homework we had to schedule around, finding times to meet and discuss or work on our project was extremely difficult and definitely a weakness we faced. I also believe our project felt very separated from the class. Although we were discussing similar material, Dr. Bidwell rarely mentioned our projects, and we did not get time to incorporate the two, our projects and our class, together.
Professional skills I used while producing this product include but are not limited to, effective communication, offering and accepting constructive criticism, organization, adaptability and problem solving, and time management. As part of a team, I would not claim that I ran the operation; however, I did feel like a leader many times. I initiated the group discussions regarding the project, organized the project layout and script of the podcast, outlined our papers leading up to the project, and compiled the podcast audio together to create a cohesive podcast episode. I believe that leadership is one of my greatest skills and I thrive in group settings; however, I can improve on not micromanaging so much. I have a certain way of doing things, and can let that get the best of me at times.