Elon students turned out in record numbers in 2002-2003 for service and service learning related efforts, dismissing the notion that college students are disengaged and uninvolved in campus and community life.
A record 2,601 students gave 71,000 hours of their time to service efforts during the academic year, a remarkable jump of nearly 12,000 hours from the previous year. Thirty-five service learning courses across the curriculum integrated service projects into course studies and requirements.
These numbers are in line with national trends showing today’s Generation Y is more altruistic than their Generation X counterparts, says Jeff Stein, Elon’s assistant dean of students and English department faculty member. “Researchers have described Generation Y students as doers more than talkers, pushed at frenetic pace to achieve. Part of that achievement includes a commitment to service and a desire for teamwork and quality experiences. Surveys and polls are showing high school students’ involvement in community service and service learning has increased 10 to 15 percent over the last 5 years.”
The Kernodle Center for Service Learning coordinates Elon Volunteers!, Elon’s dynamic volunteer program, and the Academic Service Learning program. The center also coordinates domestic and international service trips, special events, the Service Learning Community, Federal work study in the community, America Reads and more. One particularly unique aspect of the Kernodle Center is the team of more than 50 unpaid student directors, who work with students, staff, faculty and local agencies to make service happen at Elon. Erin Lawless, former student director of Academic Service Learning and a 2003 graduate, says her participation in service taught her about her role in the larger community.
“I have found that for me the answer to many problems in the world is to act, to actually be inside the problem and maybe live in it for a little while, or at least go out of your way to learn about it in depth and not to sit around and complain about it. Through service I have been able to do that.”
Kathy Manning, director of the Kernodle Center, says students learn a great deal by participating in the many service projects offered by Elon Volunteers! Academic Service Learning connects those lessons about values and investment in the community to coursework.
“To fully understand, or even be able to question, the theories and material learned in class, it helps to have personal knowledge from direct experience,” says Manning. “Academic Service Learning is a powerful teaching method, allowing students to make a difference in the community while they practice what they’re learning. They’re not just memorizing facts for a test; they’re living it. The community becomes their classroom, and they become their own teachers. Then, students are able to put a name and a face with the issues they’ve been learning about and can begin to address complex societal problems.”
It seems Elon students are getting that message. Megan Turlington, a rising sophomore, completed her service learning project with Family Abuse Services in Alamance County. Turlington says the experience opened her eyes to the realities of poverty and abusive relationships.
“I think it has helped me understand, on a more personal level, the hardships many families face. I think it has helped me have a deeper understanding of the severity of social issues such as poverty, and it’s reduced some of the stereotypes that are often associated with people in poverty.”
In his first year at Elon, Jonathan Aleshire has taken steps to define his role as a leader at Elon through his involvement in service. Aleshire participated in the fall break service trip, led the spring break service trip to build homes in South Carolina, served as organizations liaison for Elon Volunteers! and was a service events team coordinator.
“I really think that doing service teaches many life lessons,” says Aleshire. “It helps you examine and strengthen your morals, values, beliefs, and identity. It also makes you realize who you want to become and how you want to interact with others. Service at Elon is not just a thing for you to do when you have time. Doing service isn’t simply a way to satisfy a requirement for a class. It is a way of learning that is not teachable, but rather, gained through experience.”
-30-