What an incredible spring 2014 semester it has been for Missouri State University and the Citizenship and Service-Learning Office! Students contributed at least 19,000 hours of service to the Springfield community, impacting multiple facets of our community, including children, environment, health care, homelessness, and many more.
Here’s what some service-learning students had to say about their experiences:
I would have to say that service learning was one of my favorite things I have done this entire school year. On top of helping others, I met so many amazing individuals. The director and I were extremely close and I found out how she started at Crosslines. Bambie called herself a trouble maker but is now a recovering meth addict who has been clean for many years now. I plan on volunteering there even though I am finished with my Service Learning hours.
Taylor Prenger- Crosslines, Spring 2014I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with Cox South Food and Nutrition Services and I am also very glad that I took advantage of the opportunity. I have been able to network with a lot of great people and also learn the way a hospital functions not only with food service, but all around. During my service I worked to enter menus into the computer for patients, call patients to help them complete menus which are specific to their health, complete tray tickets for the kitchen noting allergies and anything special the patient might need as well as making sure all is correct for the patient. I have also worked to pass out menus to patients on the floor and help them with anything they might need from carb-counting to food group help or even just reading it and filling it out for those who could not. The floors I have worked on include maternity, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuro-trauma/stroke . Like I said, I am so glad I took the chance to get involved in service learning and I would highly recommend it to others. I will also be looking into doing it again in future classes.
Shelby Olson- Cox South Food and Nutrition Services, Spring 2014I did service learning with the Blackman Water Treatment Plant through analytical chemistry. Service learning helped me to make connections between topics discussed in class. I was able to take some of the analytical methods I learned in class, and then apply them at the water treatment plant by analyzing water samples. Service learning helped to expand my knowledge of chemistry more than a typical classroom would have because I was working with people who understood chemistry. I was able to ask questions about machines or methods while I was working with the machine or method, which made it very easy to understand the answer.
Jordan Isakson, Blackman Water Treatment Plant, Spring 2014I enjoyed my Service Learning experience because I was able to make contacts and add something to my resume. Because of this experience, I gained more experience in the work environment and will hopefully advance on to do more work in the future.
Audrey Gaines- Wonders of Wildlife, Spring 2014
Stay tuned on @MOStateCASL for more student blurbs and updates!