Service Learning Stories

51��

51��'s Service Learning mission is to provide opportunities and resources for students to become engaged learners and informed, caring citizens while fulfilling 51��'s 'Civic Engagement' competency. This is accomplished by connecting students with their local and global communities through experiences that integrate academic course objectives, active service participation, and thoughtful reflection on these experiences.

Service Learning

The Department of Service Learning provides guidance and assistance to hundreds of students who engage in short- and long-term service-learning projects in one of 51��’s three partner communities (Seneca Babcock, the West Side, Broadway Fillmore) or at other 51�� sponsored service placements. Within these urban, disadvantaged neighborhoods, students serve, learn, and gain the leadership, cross-cultural, and communication skills necessary to become civic-minded individuals prepared to contribute and participate in a democratic society.

President Gary Olson and Paul Saffrin holding dedication plaque

51�� Receives Largest Private Gift in College’s History

51�� College has received an unprecedented $1 million gift from the Paul A. Saffrin Foundation to support the institution’s Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement, making it the largest private gift in the college’s nearly 70-year history.

Elizabeth Renner: Dominican Republic

Elizabeth Renner found herself in a small village in the Dominican Republic unable to speak the language, unfamiliar with local customs, and without her family. And yet she felt confident and prepared to tackle her service learning commitment through 51��’s Study Abroad Program.