Service-Learning: Volunteer and Earn Course Credit
October 14, 2003
by Tamra Andis
Ohio Dominican University Senior
Ohio Dominican University students are volunteering in the community and earning credit for it.
Michelle Stickel and Catherine Fenderson, seniors at Ohio Dominican, are both taking Introduction to Sociology, one of five Service Learning classes being offered this semester at ODU. In these classes, students are required to volunteer in the community as part of their course work. Sometimes, students can be creative in looking for community service opportunities, finding service opportunities that fit with their interests and career goals.
Michelle, a History major, volunteers in the Archive Department at the Ohio Historical Society, where she works as a genealogist and is responsible for helping patrons research their family trees. The experience has given Michelle the opportunity to acquire an understanding of what goes on within the history field, which will be helpful as she continues her studies after graduation.
Catherine, a cross disciplinary and biology major, is volunteering at the Restoration Christian Center in her local church. Teaching fourth and fifth grade students and helping children with arts and crafts and their homework have given her an important life lesson. "I learned the effects of spirituality teachings on the lives of our youth and how important it is to preserve relationships, and family ties."
Service Learning is a program that provides students with a valuable foundation of learning acquired during unique experiences; it enables students to test the skills and facts learned in the classroom; it reinforces the skills of critical thinking, public discourse, and collective activity; and it sharpens problem-solving abilities while presenting students with the opportunity to work with diverse groups of people for collective action. Students involved in Service Learning courses benefit from an enlightened perspective through their experience of assisting others. This newly acquired perception can aid students as they begin considering what kind of career they will pursue in the future. They are also able to discover what activities they find the most gratifying, allowing them more insight into possible future careers.
Rev. Robert Lampkin, the new Director of Service Learning Program at Ohio Dominican University, says, "Service learning courses offer students unique opportunities for intellectual moral and civil growth. In fact, you learn more as you serve and in your service you help communities and agencies meet their goals."
Students interested in service learning may contact Service-Learning Office. Service learning courses are identified in the Ohio Dominican University Course Catalog.
The Service Learning courses scheduled for this coming spring semester are:
AIS 397 VITA Accounting Internship instructor Robyn Hulsart
CIS 180 Information as a Tool for Productivity instructor Tim Walker
PSY 220 Human Development: Childhood and Adolescence instructor John Marazita
ART 337 Visual Art Method, Grades 4-12 instructor Janette Knowles.
