For it is in giving that we receive. – St. Francis of Assisi
The season of joy; goodwill to men; a time of hope; the spirit of giving. It is during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s that we most notably hear these phrases uttered. However, that leaves 300+ days in the year. Does this mean that for the rest of the year we do not have a civic responsibility to serve others? Should we not look for meaningful ways to help others? Do we only think of others during this season and #ME the rest of the time? For some, perhaps, but not at Albertus Magnus College.
In December Merriam-Webster named “culture” as 2014’s word of the year. The word has several meanings, “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time; the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education; the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution.” At Albertus Magnus we promote a culture of service inside and outside of the classroom. Through structured service learning opportunities students help meet the needs of the community, put their classroom learning into practice and have dedicated time to reflect, connect and share their experiences with their fellow classmates.
Four years ago Corey Brushett, director of academic advising and student success, and I added a service learning project to the HU 101: Introduction to College Life course. Students have carte blanche in selecting the project, but it must fulfill two main requirements: it must be genuine service — that is, students must be able to say who or what (as in the case of the environment) is being helped by the activity — and it must be genuine learning — that is, students must be able to say how the experience will further their educational, personal, or professional goals. The goal is to encourage students to grow and develop as civic-minded individuals, in the same way they grow and develop academically and professionally.
This fall HU 101 service learning projects included volunteerism at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and Jerome Harrison School’s Halloween Activity Night, a group of students spending an afternoon making fleece blankets to be donated to Smillow Cancer Hospital and students acting as teaching assistants during a DNA research lab being held on Albertus’ campus for 7th and 8th grade students at St. Mary’s School. In her final reflection, Stephanie Destefano, Class of 2018, wrote “Amidst the homework and projects, we forget that there are people who are unable to have these opportunities so it’s good to give back. It’s important to be strong as a community, and in order to stay strong, we need to lift each other up in times of need. There is more to attending college than just studying and taking tests; being aware of our surroundings and how we can make a difference also counts in the effort to making ourselves well-rounded people.” Giving back and making a difference in big and small ways is part of the Dominican pillar of service and our students are actively giving back from the moment they walk onto campus until the moment the walk across the stage at graduation and beyond.
Melissa DeLucia,
Director of Experiential Learning and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence