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UCF Students to Showcase
Service-Learning Efforts on April 1
by Chad Binette
ORLANDO, March 21, 2004 -- Several UCF students spent a recent Sunday interviewing people eating lunch at a soup kitchen and dinner at a homeless shelter.
As part of a service-learning class they're taking with sociology professor Jim Wright, the students wanted to find out if most people getting the free meals were homeless and whether they have a job. The results, which Wright is compiling, could bolster arguments that moving programs that benefit the homeless out of Parramore would impact many people who are not homeless.
"I was real pleased with the turnout and the dedication," Wright said. "Many people would be freaked out by the idea of going out and spending a day interviewing homeless people."
Service-learning projects like the one taken on by Wright's students are becoming more popular at UCF. The university offered about 55 service-learning classes in the 2002-03 academic year, and each class included about 30 students.
Students will present the highlights of about 25 recent projects during a service-learning showcase from 1 to 5 p.m. April 1 in the Key West Ballroom, Room 218 of the UCF Student Union. The showcase, a first at UCF, is free and open to the public.
The presenters of the top three projects - judged based on their integration with classwork, value to the agency, quality of the display and value in fostering students' civic responsibility - will receive scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. The Student Government Association is funding the scholarships.
Some of the student presenters helped nonprofit groups, governments and UCF departments design Web pages and brochures. One looked for bright lights that could bother sea turtles.
Students in Terry Ann Thaxton's creative writing course visited victims of domestic violence, people recovering from drug and alcohol addictions and homeless adults and children to teach them how to write creatively. The students are writing in-depth reflections of the sessions and creating booklets for the participants.
Delores Edelen, a graduate student in the applied sociology program, will discuss two of her recent service-learning projects. For the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, she interviewed boys and wrote short stories that can be used in club publications or grant proposals. She currently is working on a National Alliance for the Mentally Ill effort to train educators to work with mentally ill children.
"It (service-learning) was the best thing that could have ever happened to me, because the thing about service-learning is that you realize you have value," said Edelen, who is pursuing a graduate certificate in English. "I had thought, 'I'm just a student.' Through service-learning, I learned that being 'just a student' means a lot."
Service-learning differs from traditional volunteer work in that students are working on a project directly linked to one of their classes and aren't really "volunteering" since the work is required. However, many participants have volunteered before they sign up for a service-learning class, and others are inspired to volunteer afterwards.
Students cite several benefits to service-learning classes. Kristina Dzara, who spent the Sunday surveying people eating at the soup kitchen and homeless shelter, said she realized that she often takes what she has at home for granted. She said she better understands that people who eat and sleep at the shelter "are real people" who rely on the free meals for different reasons, including temporary unemployment or homelessness.
Dzara, who is pursuing a master's degree in sociology, said students also should consider taking service-learning classes to improve their resumes.
"If you want to go on further in school, you get more connections and more things to put on your resume," Dzara said. "This makes you look better."
For more information, go to www.servicelearning.ucf.edu.
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