|Home| |
April 2, 2007 Program Summary |
||||||||
The
2006 PolyHouse Project: Our April 2nd event was another joint meeting with the San Luis Obispo region of the Project Management Institute (PMI) at which we saw and heard a second thrilling chapter of the inspiring annual PolyHouse story.
Yet they're the protagonists in an extraordinarily heartwarming annual undertaking that makes most "extreme home make-over" television shows look amateurish.
The mother was struggling with both physical disabilities and chronic depression that stemmed from a work-related accident some years ago. She has had back surgeries and severe nerve damage in her legs, which left her in constant pain. The mother is the primary caregiver of her frail and blind 75-year-old mother, as well as her mentally and physically handicapped daughter who lives in the home with them. The 2006 PolyHouse Project goal was to improve the safety and comfort of their home and complete other household projects that would otherwise go undone, bringing hope for a more comfortable life to the family. Similar to the 2005 PolyHouse event, Roya's presentation riveted the attendees. This was another heartwarming tale of how the class presented a completely renovated home back to a family that otherwise would not have had the means to manage the necessary improvements. The lessons in project management planning, preparation, and execution could apply to many technical and creative disciplines. Learn the details and see the photo gallery, below! When Dr. Javadpour redesigned her graduate project management course in 2004 to serve disadvantaged county residents, she and her students soon began "a journey filled with trials and triumphs far grander than they could imagine." Each year since then, students in this course have gained project management skills by planning and completing a home renovation. They raise funds and solicit in-kind donations of tools, building supplies, materials, furnishings, and advice from the community, which allows many others to contribute to the undertaking. "Before and After" Views from the 2006 PolyHouse Project - Exterior
How Does the Program Work? Since its inception, the PolyHouse program has sought a very rare kind of client for each spring quarter project. It must be a person, family, or group that owns a home but is not financially or physically able to maintain it, due to illness, disabilities, or some other circumstances. Projects that cannot be considered, for example, include homes rented out by absentee landlords, or any structure beset by problems such as mold that cannot be resolved easily and would pose health risks to students.
Too difficult of a project cannot be completed in the allocated timeframe. Too simple of a project will not challenge the students' planning skills.
When the quarter begins, Roya has the students make the final decision (if there is more than one option) using the fact-finding information she has collected. This 2006 project involved the following challenges:
A Look at the Expectations To successfully plan the project, students must:
Further, the home renovation project is only part of the course -- students also must master project management theory, practice, and techniques; take regular exams; evaluate each other at the end; and provide a personal reflection essay. "Before and After" Views from the 2006 PolyHouse Project - Kitchen
How Do the Students Carry Out the Project? At the end of six-week planning phase, the students make a final assessment of whether they can proceed with everything they had hoped to accomplish, and adjust accordingly.
Since the students are largely untrained in many of the skills required, they must find someone to tutor and guide them on-site, or train themselves. For example, they might use "how-to" videos to teach themselves how to tile a bathroom, Roya explained. With the 2006 project, the students completed the following changes:
Although Roya herself does not perform physical work on the project, she is usually on-site every hour that the students are there, providing moral support, guidance, and supervision. And although very few of her students are previously trained for the specializations required for these projects — including demolition, electrical, roofing, flooring, and landscaping — they seem to outdo themselves with every new project, and several veterans from past projects typically request to volunteer again. In conclusion, the PolyHouse program provides an unparalleled learn-by-doing experience that gives students enormous confidence and skill. I had the privilege of visiting the 2006 project during a pouring rainstorm as it was nearing completion, and was utterly inspired watching the dedicated crew put the final touches on yet another miraculous transformation. To Learn More About the PolyHouse Project...
|
|||||||||
The
2006 PolyHouse Project: Restoring Hope to a Three-Generation Family |
|
Date: | Monday evening, April 2, 2007 |
Speaker: |
Dr. Roya Javadpour, professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Cal Poly. Originally from Iran, Dr. Javadpour traveled to the U.S. in 1994 to earn two master's degrees and a doctorate in industrial engineering at Louisiana State University. Before coming to Cal Poly in 2003, she was a supply chain management consultant at i2 Technologies. She also mentors students in community service projects as an advisor for honor societies Alpha Pi Mu and Mortar Board. Roya was also one of twenty people recently honored for their community service in the 2006 Top 20 Under 40 contest sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Tribune. |
Description: |
The 2006 PolyHouse Project: Restoring Hope to a Three-Generation Family continued the story that began a few years ago when Professor Roya Javadpour redesigned a Cal Poly graduate project management course to serve disadvantaged individuals. In this course, students gain project management skills by planning and completing a home renovation for someone in need, enlisting funds and in-kind donations from the community. The course content follows the project life cycle from start to finish. The service project the students chose to complete in the spring quarter of 2006 gave a new start to three generations of disabled residents. |
|
|