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Deanna Perkins

Tillery

3rd

Period

Senior Project Speech: Spanish Healthcare Coloring Book

According to a study conducted by Bupa, 30% of cardiovascular disease and 27%

of diabetes in Hispanic adults can be avoided if they incorporated healthy diet and

exercise into their daily routine. Additionally, Narconon found that nearly half a million

Mexicans between the ages of 12 and 25 are addicted to illegal drugs due to exposure. Hi,

I am Deanna Perkins, and for my senior project I designed and published a Spanish

healthcare coloring book for kids in Mexico.

Through my research, I found that the biggest problem the Mexican people face is

not crime, drug abuse, disease, nor poverty, but poor lifestyle choice. Hispanic children

receive most of their information from the example their parents set. Children learn to

mimic their parents’ poor choices, and continue to pass them on to their own children.

This generation cycle is reinforced by a lack of reliable resources outside of the family,

such as healthy quality food, trustworthy experts, and books.

My book is designed to help break the cycle. It is a combination of illustrations

and Spanish sentences that serve as a tool for children to learn to take care of themselves

at an early age. A child learns a basic health concept through a picture, and the Spanish

sentence below reinforces what the picture is attempting to convey to the child. I chose

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this project because I saw firsthand how the children in Mexico lived. Last summer, I

embarked on a medical mission trip through Hands and Feet Ministries down to a school

in Nava, Mexico, one of the poorest districts of the country. For a week, I worked with,

played with, and developed compassion for the children in and around the school on a

daily basis. I was shocked by how deprived they were of the common health precautions

that Americans take for granted. The cardboard houses they lived in had trash piled

outside, and rusty barbed wire fence surrounded the houses to protect from intruders. I

even spotted an emaciated horse tied up in a dirt yard. Because of my experience, I

wanted to contribute by helping the kids in Mexico to grow up with more awareness

about their lifestyle choices through employing the best of my skills, which includes my

natural talent for art. Not many children may escape the poverty they live in, but they can

change how they live in spite of their environment.

Creating the coloring book itself took several key, time-consuming steps:

drawing, translating, and printing. In step one, I compiled a list of health problems I

learned in Mexico, then used the help of a friend, a physician's assistant, to convert these

problems into English statements based on subjects such as hygiene, nutrition, and

dangerous habits. From these sentences I created a storyboard out of simple lined notepad

paper. These are simply rough sketches scribbled down in order to flesh out the health

concepts. I then carefully planned out the drawing on white paper, and transferred the

image onto my computer. Using a piece of software specifically designed for creating

comics and illustrations, I inked out the drawing and corrected any errors I made. After

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completing every drawing, I checked the illustrations again to ensure I had not missed

any mistakes.

Once the main part of the book was completed, I had to translate the sentences

from English into Spanish. This involves a three part process: translation, correction, and

conversion. Each of these steps involved a different person. In the first step, a friend of

mine from school who is a native Spanish speaker took the sentences and provided a

basic translation, converting almost word for word. Next, an AP Spanish teacher

corrected the sentences to make the words flow smoothly. Then the sentences were given

to another native Spanish speaker to convert the words into an informal format. This step

is crucial. Informal Spanish is the language used between close friends. I wanted children

who read it to feel the friendly format and know it was especially designed for them in

mind.

The last step in creating the coloring book involved finding a reliable and

inexpensive printing publisher. My parents and I contacted several different printers, and

finally settled on a company called Printedge based in Tennessee. Next, we configured a

printing layout for the company to use. This involved scaling the words and the

illustrations on their appropriate pages. Before e-mailing the layout to the printers, I

scanned back over the pages and fixed any additional mistakes I had missed. When the

printer approved the layout, he sent us several different samples of coloring paper. The

paper we decided upon for the book not only has great tooth texture, but it is relatively

inexpensive for its quality. Soon after I chose my paper for the book, the printer sent me a

prototype so I could check it over and decide if I wanted to change any extra details. I

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gave my consent for the format, and within two weeks, I received 130 copies of the

finished product.

I used my project facilitator at only a few points during the creation of my

product. However, Mr. Larry Peacock, the healthcare teacher here at Creekview, proved

an invaluable resource when needed. He gave me advice on the content of the book, acted

as a test subject to ensure that the English sentences and pictures made sense together,

and kept me on track on a daily basis. More importantly, he provided encouragement and

expressed his honest opinion whenever I became stuck.

Honestly, I faced hurdles on almost every single step of this project. I had to

change my project facilitator because she did not meet all the requirements. Thankfully,

Mr. Peacock was a great solution. Conveying healthcare concepts through drawings

proved difficult, and some subjects had to be cut from the project, but I know I managed

to convey the pictures clearly in every area needed in the end. Two potential translators

dropped the project due to communication problems. I managed to find three more

extremely able translators. During the printing process, my parents and I had trouble

finding coloring paper within our budget. Printedge was kind enough to reduce its price

for the book because the owner was moved by what I was doing. At the last minute, my

trip to Mexico during spring break in order to deliver the books was canceled, due to drug

busts being conducted in the community. The trip has been moved to summer, and I only

need to concentrate on the children while I am there, instead of worrying over the

remainder of my school year. I believe that these problems were worth their trouble, not

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only because they provided room for blessings, but also without them the project may not

have felt worthwhile.

What I learned about myself from this project actually started during my mission

trip. The investment I made in these kids' lives awakened compassion inside of me. This

helped me better choose the career I want when I am out of college.

Quite frankly, I do not want to pursue a career in medical illustration, which was

an interest of mine at the beginning of this project. I love art, and I love medicine, but I

do not want the two together. I rediscovered my love for nursing, another path I have

often considered in the past. Nursing fits my new found passion for directly caring for

others and still deals with the medical field.

Overall, my senior project not only developed the skills I already have, but helped

me discover new insights into who I am as a person. Creating a healthcare coloring book

stretched my drawing abilities and showed me compassion within myself I did not know

existed. The topic I chose definitely helped me appreciate the senior project process.

I want to close my presentation with a challenge. Ask yourselves what drives you

in your career and how it affects others. I found that the more you enjoy your job, the

more you and others will benefit from what you accomplish. Thank you for your time,

and if you have any questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability.