by Taylor Ware “The more I got involved with the service-learning office, the more engaged I became in my education and my community,” said Missouri State Physician's Assistant student, Regan Wilson. Regan is currently a full-time master’s student, busy with plenty of studying and attending clinicals. However, not long ago, he was a cornerstone of the Citizenship and Service-Learning program. From service-learning student to Bonner Leader to graduate assistant, Regan has followed an admirable path. In 2017, Regan learned about service-learning from a presentation given in Human Genetics. He instinctively jumped on the opportunity to participate in the program. That semester he worked in tandem with his close friend, Nick Lantz, to facilitate two after-school programs at Robberson Community School: FENLE and Club Med. Read Nick’s story. FENLE is aimed at younger children while Club Med is for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. At FENLE, Regan and Nick taught the students about healthy choices and played related games. At Club Med, they taught about career options in … [Read more...] about Missouri State grad student reflects back on professional development in service-learning
Although she had a full-time job and a 13-credit hour load this semester, Childhood Education and Family Studies student Kristin Lierz still took on the challenge of service-learning. She made an impact at Robberson Community School, where she helped teach Math to 2nd and 3rd graders. While she was only required to complete a minimum of 40 service hours, she spent 60 hours at the school because she enjoyed being in a classroom and loved working with the kids. She recently shared more information about her service-learning experience. 1) Why did you choose to take on service-learning? I decided to do service-learning because I love working with children or students, and this semester I didn’t have a practicum or something for a class to put me in the classroom. Also, the staff who presented about service-learning in my MTH 360 class mentioned it is a great resume builder, as well as getting connections, which I have to say is a plus in doing it. 2) What interested you about being involved with Robberson Community School? I got interested in Roberson Community School … [Read more...] about Service-learning spotlight: Kristin Lierz
Each semester, Missouri State University's service-learning students contribute hundreds of hours of service to a host of local non-profit organizations, schools and government agencies as part of their academic coursework while also addressing various social issues like poverty, homelessness, healthcare and education. Here's what several of the students shared about their experiences: I did service-learning because I wanted to get a better feel of what it was like to do actual scientific research. It was of great benefit to me for three reasons. First, I was able to befriend two wonderful scientists who were willing to answer all of my curious questions and inform me about the overall procedures and purpose of what we were doing. I’m still able contact them if I ever have questions. Second, I gained a plethora of knowledge about advanced lab techniques that are used ubiquitously in modern research. Rather than just reading about these procedures in a textbook, I was able to see them unfold right before my eyes. Lastly, I was able to step back and appreciate all of the … [Read more...] about Service-learning students say…