Saint Michael’s student, Giselle Regalado of New York, worked with at-risk teens and others at Winooski (Vt.) Underground Teen Center

2010 May 10

Giselle Regalado, daughter of Ms. Eunice A. Regalado of New York, was one of 15 Saint Michael's College students who did extensive research this past semester on the Underground Teen Center in Winooski Vermont’s Obrien Community Center. Regalado, and classmates, provided a range of commentary and insights to Winooski’s City Council. Doing the research also enabled the participants to develop strong mentoring relationships with many of the 80+ teens who attend the center on a regular basis. Regalado, a sophomore gender studies major, graduated from Health Professional & Human Services High School before coming to Saint Michael’s, located in Burlington, Vt., one of America’s best college towns.

Regalado was in the Community Based Research Seminar taught by Dr. Patricia Delaney of Huntington, Vt., Saint Michael’s associate professor of anthropology. Collectively, the students completed over 300 hours of service at the center, where they worked closely with the diverse group of teens there. They completed surveys, focus groups, and life history interviews with many teens, and assessed needs of the center.

“The SMC students established incredible mentoring relationships.”

On May 3, five of the Saint Michael’s students presented the results of their semester-long study to the Winooski City Council, where they earned wide praise for their involvement with the center and for their recommendations for improvements to the center. All their recommendations were based on data collected from the teens themselves.

“During the process, the SMC students established incredible mentoring relationships with the teens,” Professor Delaney said. “The teens included native Vermonters and a host of New American refugee youngsters from places like Sudan, Bhutan, and Somalia, who bonded closely with the SMC students,” she said. Among the many activities they did together was soccer, which the SMC students coached. The SMC students also guided the teens in the process of applying for college, drafting a resume, and so forth.

Looking to take action on the recommendations

After their presentation, the Winooski City Council complimented the students on their work and asked both the City Manager and the Director of the Underground Teen Center what they needed in order to implement the students’ recommendations.

“The students did an amazing job and the City Council was very impressed,” said Professor Delaney. “I think it is a great example of engaged research, community based research, and some excellent outcomes,” she said.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael’s College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael’s provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael’s College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America’s top college towns. It is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation’s Best 371 Colleges, and will be included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael’s is one of only 270 colleges and universities nationwide, one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael’s has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael’s students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

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