Dani Gagnon
Features Editor
The College of Wooster claims that by the end of students’ four years at Wooster they will embody a comprehensive list of graduate qualities and core values. Over a year ago the executive board of Wooster Volunteer Network (WVN) turned their attention specifically to two graduate qualities and core values: Civic and Social Responsibility, and the Core Value of Social and Intellectual Responsibility. Marcus Carano ’16, a member of the board, said their focus was motivated by their mission “to cultivate a better culture of service on campus.” For the last several years WVN has worked to find ways to engage students with their surrounding community through service work and volunteer projects which came to fruition last semester with the Community Connections Program (CCP) integrated into three First Year Seminar classes (FYS).
Meg Heller ’18, a member of the CCP’s committee, explained the significance of collaborating with FYS classes: “We thought FYS would be a great way to get first years involved early on in their college careers, and encourage them to continue participating in service throughout their four years here and beyond.”
Regardless of students’ personal background and prior experiences in service, their responses were overwhelmingly positive and indicated that they planned to continue to seek out service opportunities.
CCP collaborated with three FYS classes: Professor Michele Leiby in political science, Professor Thomas Tierney in sociology and Professor Grit Herzmann in neuroscience. Each class created its own unique service project and requirements to supplement their classroom learning.
Leiby’s class, Crime and Violence in Latin America, was required to participate in two Saturday shifts from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Immigrant Workers Project in Canton, where they assisted in the legal process of granting Latin American refugees asylum. Leiby explained that this assistance could constitute a variety of things, from conducting interviews with families to helping prepare their applications for Immigration Court to offering informal English classes for people while waiting for appointments or, as many families did not have access to childcare, some days the students would help by entertaining children while their parents went through the lengthy process.
All of the FYS classes included a reflection component, and Leiby said that “almost universally [the students] thought the service project worked particularly well because it was so closely tied to the themes discussed in the classroom, and made the academic readings more ‘real’ and relevant.”
The reflection on relevancy resonates particularly strong, as some of the students who volunteered in the class have decided to apply for a WVN program house to continue their engagement with Immigrant Workers Project.
Tierney’s FYS, called Utopian and Dystopian Visions, examined examples of utopia and dystopia in literature and partnered with the Nick Amster Workshop for their service project. The Nick Amster Workshop is an organization that provides employment services and job growth opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities. The Workshop also organizes recreation opportunities to socially support their clients. Every Tuesday night the class went bowling at Scot Lanes for an hour with adults and their families from the Workshop.
Tierney allowed the service component for his class to remain voluntary rather than build it into the students’ grades. When he reflected on that decision, he believed that it came down to setting a precedent for the tone of volunteer and service work. When introducing service work to some students for the first time, it is not productive to present it in a tone of requirement, hassle and obligation. Ultimately, by allowing the service experience to remain optional, Tierney preserved a positive atmosphere for the students, adults and their families.
Bridget Serrurier ’19, who was in Tierney’s FYS and regularly went to the bowling nights, reflected positively on her experiences. “I saw more happiness and love amongst everyone at our bowling hour than I see on a daily basis on campus,” she said, “I have definitely created many friendships with the people we bowl with, and always look forward to seeing everyone!”
Serrurier and other students had the opportunity to meet a group of people who they otherwise wouldn’t have met and realized that they also were getting something out of the interactions.
“I didn’t realize how much there was to learn from people with disabilities before doing this service project either … but I think that before doing this project I hadn’t been exposed to people with disabilities in such a meaningful way like this. Everyone at Nick Amster workshop has taught me a lot about life and how our differences don’t confine us to a lower standard of life,” said Serrurier.
Lastly, Herzmann’s FYS, Human Memory, aimed to help students better understand memory and how it changes over time with the help of their volunteer experiences at Cornerstone Elementary School or Brookdale Senior Living Solutions. Herzmann’s students were required to participate in at least one of the programs for two hour shifts where they would either encounter people suffering from memory loss or other impairments of memory, or help with six-to nine-year-old children still without full learning development and attentional skills.
“I was surprised myself that two hours of work could impact their future goals or their views of the world. These are some things that I believe classroom teaching might be able to achieve but not with this efficiency” said Herzmann.
Students immersed themselves in a culture of service through these FYS classes, whether it was over the course of the semester or in two hours.
Reflections and responses from students and faculty were overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. WVN plans on expanding the CCP from three FYS classes to five this coming fall. Additionally, many of these service projects are ongoing throughout the year and encourage all students to participate. Questions and interest can be directed to all the involved professors as well as the Heller and Carano on the CCP committee.