One of the ideas we will follow in this blog is to post with student co-authors. These posts will be collected under the category “student views.” In a Web 2.0 world all voices are welcome and the insights from students not only help define and refine programs of experiential education, they also can help us better understand the principles.
-Jim and Shwen
A Service Experience and an Expectation
by Adrienne Dooley ’12 and James Stellar
This piece is a combined view on a newly implemented service program from a freshman student who is a Communications Studies major at Northeastern University and a professor of Psychology from the same institution who until recently was Dean of the College. We start out below writing from the perspective of what the student experienced and what the administrator wanted.
I was one of five Northeastern students wandering to Newbury Street in Boston to shop on our night off from community service. We finally had a break from the grueling schedule and everyone was excited to socialize over things other than huge pots of cabbage or bundles of used clothes. Despite our exhausted bodies the excitement of the latest fashions were enticing us up the block. On the way we were stopped by two men sitting on a stoop whom asked us for money. Instead some of us stepped forward and began talking to the men about nothing in particular. I could see some of the more timid students in our volunteer group begin to become more comfortable as I grabbed my frisbee and tossed it to one of the men, starting a game on the sidewalk. Our volunteer group never quite made it to Newbury Street that night. We spent all our free time putting into action what we had learned serving people just like these two homeless men throughout the service trips during nuSERVES. When it finally came time to end our game and retire for the night the to men seemed more jovial than I could have expected. They sincerely expressed how much fun they had hanging out with us and seemed sad to let us go. We never gave the men any money but they didn’t mention it to us again.
When we designed the NuSERVES program, a 3 day program of physical service for incoming freshman just before the start of classes, we had in mind creating an impact on 50 students (freshman) who would carry that service mentality into the freshman year and infect the rest of the freshman class. Service was seen by us as a natural addition to a portfolio of experiential education efforts for College of Arts and Sciences students that had already embraced the universities cooperative education model where students had the opportunity to work in their field for periods of 6 months alternating with 6 months of study. We had the idea that academic excellence married to deep experiences could produce personal transformation. It seemed to be working as students had flocked to the College (over the last 10 years applications rose from about 5,000 to about 17,000). But this generation of students was different. They also wanted to be of service. We decided to respond early and worked with the University’s Center for Community Service to design this program for the College for freshman.
As a freshman amidst my second semester of college I look back on my first week at Northeastern University and believe it was a plethora of emotions and experiences. Yet, what does not seem to be a blur of the past is the immeasurable benefits of nuSERVES. I may not consciously acknowledge the program’s influence on my life in Boston but it is steadfast. If someone where to tell me in a classroom how to feel about and react to homeless people these encounters would have been much different. I would not feel fortunate to have such numerous neighbors, but as if there were trespassers in my home. I only learned by emotionally experiencing such events and seeing the other side of a homeless lifestyle. I no longer flinch on the street when a seemingly desperate homeless person approaches. I know how to handle myself with dignity in such a situation while not revoking that of the other person in need.
The job of College is not only to teach content (facts and theory on a specific topic), but also to teach students how to think. Some of this occurs in the classroom, but some of it can occur in the real-world where the student is really much more of an active participant and really produces the knowledge that they learn. I think that this is what one sees happening here. The trick is how to leverage it in natural programs of experiences and academics that integrate seamlessly. Presumably, the integration happens in some courses (e.g. service-learning, education practicum), but the question is how to make it happen in an institution.
We just could not end without saying one more thing. If colleges and universities want a truly transformational educational systems combining experiential and classical academic education, then design and execute them together with students and faculty/administration as full partners. An even better idea is for the students and faculty also to engage in research on how this integration works at a theoretical as well as a practical level. We hope to be back with more blogs that demonstrate that point.
2 Responses to “A Service Experience and an Expectation”
Mercedes says:
Hi Adrienne,
I enjoyed reading your piece and think that you are the “product” of what school should teach these days. Yes, as students we are responsible for knowing facts and processes, but learning should extend beyond just memorization. Co-op in fact does that for Northeastern students. But, surprisingly (to me), I think you stumbled on another way to learn, another part of the “experiential education”. The more and more I think about experiential education, the more I think you hit the nail on the head Adrienne. Learning is about translating our daily experiences into something useful–into something that encourages us and aids us in growth and development. It is the non tangible aspect of learning that solidifies education.
I am impressed with you powerful reflection even months after the event. In my opinion, true reflection on experiences creates an almost tangible knowledge. You have absolutely successful participated in NUSERVES (from the administrator’s perspective), but that was not the point anyway!
Erika Joy Erb says:
Adrienne:
Great post! Your experience with NUSERVES is a great example of the power and growth behind this meaningful program. I agree with your observations that we must go beyond the classroom and focus our efforts on becoming active participants in the real-world. Your participation and strong voice will continue to engage Northeastern students and promote the overall growth of service-learning on campus. The benefits of these types of relationships are endless – not only will it positively impact the student-body but it will create a lasting, strong relationship with the outside community.