By Shayla Vance The 2017-2018 academic year has been successful for the office of Citizenship and Service-Learning. Over 5,000 students have registered for service-learning courses in the fall, summer and spring, which is more than twice the enrollment rate of 2012-2013’s same semesters. More students are recognizing service-learning as a valuable career experience, and they are making a significant impact on the community. In a component course, each student completes 40 hours of service with a community partner for their service-learning project. Combining courses with integrated service-learning brings the total so far to 82,580 hours of service. The impact is already starting to show. CASL students have brought an estimated total dollar value of 1,781,250 to the Springfield area and outside communities through service-learning. So while students are gaining hands-on career experience, they are also making a measurable impact on the community. The higher enrollment is not only making a difference within Springfield, but also for CASL community partners. With a greater … [Read more...]
By Shayla Vance The office of Citizenship and Service-Learning welcomed Bear POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Work, Education and Resilience) as a new signature project this semester. Bear POWER is a new, two-year inclusive program at Missouri State University designed to provide higher education to students age 18-26 with intellectual disabilities. Bear POWER will provide these students with an integrated college experience, including course work, internship-based activities and attending classes with peers. Some of the academic areas students will be able to pursue include: Early childhood education Hospitality leadership Kinesiology Recreation, sport and park administration After completing an application process, Bear POWER students will partner with a group of Missouri State student volunteers known as Bear Blazers. These student volunteers will provide support as Bear POWER students adjust to academic and social settings at Missouri State University. Bear POWER is already receiving a warm welcome from the community. Several local organizations are … [Read more...]
By Shayla Vance The Missouri State Vision Screening Program returned to Port-de-Paix, Haiti this year for the second annual spring break trip. Originally inspired by the Provost Office’s idea to address vision problems on a global level, the program traveled overseas with students trained to use specialized vision care equipment. During the trip to Haiti, Missouri State University students performed vision screenings for schoolchildren and staff while also immersing themselves in the culture. The experiences that they had were eye-opening. Most of the Haitian students that were screened had never had the opportunity to have their eyes examined before. “There is no trained eye professional in Port-de-Paix, and there is no source for accurate prescription eyewear in Port-de-Paix,” said Lora Hobbs. Hobbs is Missouri State University’s senior instructor in Religious Studies who led the trip to Haiti. “Most families cannot afford the day-long bus ride to Port-au-Prince, the eye exam, the glasses and having to stay in Port-au-Prince for several days waiting for the glasses to … [Read more...]
By Shayla K. Vance | Service-Learning Public Relations Intern, Senior Meet Cassidy Coiner, a Missouri State University student who found her career path through service-learning. After her first year at Missouri State, she discovered her passion for event planning and began focusing her educational experience on management. As an Entertainment Management major, Cassidy enrolled in a service-learning course and volunteered with the Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Ozarks for her class project. During the 40 hours of service she completed for the course, Cassidy helped with a variety of projects such as: Coordinating fundraisers that benefit people who struggle with vision problems Meeting with VRCO staff and community partners Securing event sponsors She fell in love with the VRCO’s mission and developed a great connection with the staff. Shortly after completing her service project, Cassidy was offered an interview for a paid position with the VRCO. She accepted the offer and began the interview process alongside other candidates, many of whom had already … [Read more...]
Missouri State service-learning students conducted 250 vision screenings for Springfield’s homeless population as part of this year’s HOPE Connection event. A total of 182 were referred for follow up care to the Jordan Valley Community Health Center, MSU Care Clinic or Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Ozarks, where they were scheduled for a further examination by an optometrist or fitted for corrective lenses. HOPE Connection is an annual day-long service event coordinated by Community Partnership of the Ozarks, hosting a consortium of agencies and volunteers from the region that provide essential services to the impoverished, including “enhanced direct services” for veterans as part of Veterans Stand Down. This is CASL’s third year at the event, but the first in which service-learning students were able to screen clients before visiting the health clinic. This provided subsequent vision professionals more precise information about a client’s vision health than in years prior. Service-learning students used Welch/Allyn’s SPOT Screener, digital imaging cameras that quickly … [Read more...]