FACULTY QUOTES

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“Student participation in the Service Learning program has proven to be a valuable adjunct to classroom education, in addition to providing students with direct service experience which can benefit future career options. Having students describe their experiences for classmates enhances everyone’s learning.”
Professor Margo C. Watt, Psychology

“Service Learning provides me with the opportunity to apply the textbook material I want to cover to real-life examples.”

“Involving my students in Service Learning gives me more opportunity to be aware of what is going on in the community, what the communities’ needs are, and what possibilities exist for tying course content to the real world.”

“Providing opportunities for Service Learning in my classes benefits the students in terms of real-life knowledge gained. It also provides an opportunity for students to get to know more about themselves, which is something that you simply can’t learn from a book.”
Professor Angie Thompson, Human Kinetics

“Service Learning provides our business student with an opportunity to learn the importance and impact of accounting information on people’s lives and behavior. Students sincerely appreciate the opportunity service learning provides to assist and learn in their community, to learn that they have learned and to feel that their work does make a difference.”
Professor Mary Oxner, Business

“Service Learning not only provides varied opportunities for students to see the relevance of their academic study by applying their knowledge and skills in community service, it also challenges professors to relate concepts and principles to current community and societal issues. This is of particular importance in a professional program such as human nutrition.”
Professor Doris Gillis, Human Nutrition

“Students in my anthropological methods class interviewed seniors about their live and then wrote life stories based on these interview. The students thought they were only going to learn research ethics and interview techniques. They did learn these, but they also learned about fishing for swordfish off the Nova Scotia coast in the1960’s, working in Boston as a maid in the 1950’s and living as a Jewish schoolgirl in Nazi Germany during the 1930’s. “
Professor Clare Fawcett, Anthropology

“In my view the (Immersion) experience both for myself and everyone else was delightfully memorable. Students learned as they had never learned before --- about issues of social justice and historical injustices, about another culture, about their own world and about themselves.” Professor Jim Taylor, English

“The Immersion program provides a unique opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the factors contributing to inequality. The staff at the partner agency do an excellent job of enabling our students to learn about what life is like in Mexico and to reconsider their own socio-economic environment, in light of the experience.”
Professor Monica Diochon, Business

“Even the things that don’t work make for good learning.”
Christine Johnson, Human Nutrition

“I'm looking for ways to help my students see how the everyday experiences of individuals are connected to society. In doing this they learn to see how life consists of patterns, how power is experienced and how inequalities are created and maintained. The first question they ask is why the particular service exists? Service learning can be an eye-opening experience for some students as they start to confront their own prejudices and see how they have contributed to ideas and beliefs that maintain inequalities. They are both troubled and excited when this happens. When they see how they contribute to inequalities, they change their behaviour!”
Donna MacDonald, Sociology

STUDENT QUOTES

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“This experience helped me to apply my academic learning to a real situation in a natural setting. By being able o apply theory to an actual setting, I feel that my understanding of theory is improved and more defined.”

“The combination of course-work and hands-on service forced me to examine certain preconceptions I held and reevaluate the way I look at certain issues.”

“The service learning experience provided a connection between text and reality”

“It was a great hands-on learning experience. I was able to take my knowledge from my course and apply it to my task.”

“I believe that I can take my experiences and apply them to many different situations in the future.”

“The hands on experience was excellent. It was definitely one of the best learning experiences I’ve had while at X.”

"My Immersion Service Learning experience was incredible. It opened my eyes to aspects of life I didn't even know existed. I wouldn't consider my education complete without including my time in Immersion."

"This Immersion Service Learning trip was an amazing time and I now realize that there is so much more to life than what my immediate surroundings and social life can offer. By learning about other cultures and other ways of life, the possibility of a positive global community becomes more of a reality. You have to experience other cultures; it is not enough to read about them in a text book."

COMMUNITY QUOTES

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“Students researched projects, analyzed and presented information that needed to be done, but which were beyond the abilities and time of our volunteers…The students offered us valuable information to assist our decision-making about the future.”

“Many of the programs that the students assisted with during their placement would not have been possible without their assistance.”

“Service learning students come to us with a wide range of skills and abilities that enriches their interaction with the members of our community. The students bring a new energy to the community. They find L’Arche is a great place to reflect on their understanding of relationships and persona values.”

“Service Learning students allow us to embark on enterprises that we would not have the time or staff to do otherwise. I see the program as a real win-win situation for everyone involved.”

“Students bring new ideas and enthusiasm to our daycare. At the same time, they have positive experiences interacting with and learning about young children. Everyone benefits.”

It has been a privilege and inspiration for me to work with students and faculty members. For some students, the experience has been life-changing. Because of the preparation that students must do before departing for Guatemala, students realize that they are committing themselves to a serious endeavor. They arrive with a remarkable willingness to learning from physically, emotionally and intellectually demanding experiences, whether the focus is on human rights, reconstruction from natural disaster or the economics of coffee."