By Taylor Ware  

Last week, we followed Anneliese Kerr on her journey from service-learning to Springfield Community Gardens (SCG). Anneliese’s story is not an outlier. Other service-learners have had similar journeys. So, this week, we speak with Missouri State alum, Amanda Drewel about her experience. 

Amanda Drewel opted into a 1-credit service-learning course in the spring of 2018. She was placed with Robberson Community School— an elementary school that supports children in finding their purpose and developing long-term skills – while also providing resources to their family. As a Math and Science Education major, Amanda fit in well at Robberson.

“I was excited to have my first self-directed project. It was empowering to see a need and be able to implement a solution”

She ran a club called Math LegoLand, where students replicated the Springfield community built out of Legos. Their activities involved learning about the community, identifying civil issues, workshopping solutions, and developing their math skills. The following year, Amanda created the school’s robotics club.

“I was excited to have my first self-directed project. It was empowering to see a need and be able to implement a solution,” said Amanda.

In the fall, Amanda joined the Bonner program at Missouri State and became a “Bonner Leader” which is also referred to as an “empowered student worker.” Her role at Robberson expanded to include the facilitation of all after-school clubs. This involved placing students, building curriculum, serving as a liaison between multiple entities and helping service-learning students lead educational clubs on their own.

“I served as a Bonner Leader all the way through my graduation in 2020. It was a great experience where I learned many job skills. They were also very flexible with me when I was student-teaching,” said Amanda. 

As her graduation approached, Dr. Kathy Nordyke offered Amanda a graduate assistantship with the service-learning office. But Amanda had other plans. She had been accepted into the Peace Corps and was set to move to Sierra Leone for the next two years. Unfortunately, at the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading, and quarantines began. Her plan to work in the Peace Corps was shelved. 

Amanda had to go back to the drawing board. While student teaching, she observed international students falling behind in academics due to the language barrier. This re-ignited Amanda’s passion for language and her preference for working one-on-one with students. So, returning to Missouri State for a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) Certification seemed the best next step. 

Coming back to college also meant her return to the service-learning office. Having accepted the previously offered service-learning graduate assistantship, Amanda was all set. An early assignment was creating an agriculture-based curriculum for the Future Farmers of America organization at Hillcrest High School. This project marked the start of Amanda and Anneliese’s working relationship. 

“Immediately, we clicked. We are opposites in so many ways, and it makes us great partners because where I have weaknesses, she has strengths and vice-versa,” Amanda explained. 

Joining the Springfield Community Garden team was a natural continuation of Amanda’s newfound interest in agriculture and her long-time dedication to environmentalism. She began working with SCG in summer of 2020 in addition to advising and overseeing all international service-learning students for the CASL office. 

Amanda continues, “The office encourages graduate assistants to wear many hats, which can be overwhelming, but the career and life skills I gained have made it so worthwhile.”

On top of her other responsibilities, Amanda also worked with the Springfield Community Tobacco and Vape Prevention Coalition on developing their vape education program. Amanda developed much of the curriculum that is currently administered in Springfield Public School health classes regarding tobacco and vape usage. She also worked as a coordinator for the coalition, performing tasks like initiating a database system, making connections with coalitions nationally, and creating marketing materials.

“The biggest thing I learned from my GA-ship was conflict management. It’s not my nature to be assertive and direct, but that’s very important in the workplace. Through the service-learning office, I gained many communication skills especially having worked with everyone from undergraduate students to adult community members,” said Amanda.

After completing her TESOL Certification, Amanda wasn’t certain about her next steps. She decided to take a gap year to delve into her hobbies and seek balance. Six months later, she emerged feeling fulfilled and refreshed. She was ready to go back to work. Not long into her job search, she received a promising call from her past-colleague and friend, Anneliese Kerr.  

Anneliese was making a shift from Garden Coordinator to Farm Team Coordinator which meant leaving her current position vacant. As a result of Amanda’s work with SCG during her graduate assistantship, Anneliese felt she was the ideal candidate. After a few conversations with the staff at SCG, Amanda accepted an offer to work part-time as a Garden Coordinator. 

“The gardens have been an incredible place to work. Agriculture isn’t my background, but the staff there has striven to integrate my abilities and degree. On occasion, SCG has gotten me back into the classroom teaching second graders which was a great reminder of how much I love the learning environment,” said Amanda. 

The community gardens provide a wonderfully rich and educational atmosphere. A prominent program of theirs involves working with immigrants. Some of the immigrants come from historically agrarian cultures and have vast knowledge to share with the gardens here. Amanda was thrilled to apply her experience learning about other cultures and languages to better collaborate with these communities. This partnership has been a beautiful example of the trading of information and blending of cultures. 

Through service-learning, Amanda has gained a diverse professional background. She’s worked with students of all ages, university faculty and staff, community members and leaders, international communities, people without homes and a multitude of other underserved persons. These experiences have prepared her to communicate effectively in almost any scenario and have refined her self-advocacy skills. “When they say, ‘get a graduate assistantship for the experience,’ this is what they’re talking about,” said Amanda.

When they say, ‘get a graduate assistantship for the experience,’ this is what they’re talking about.

Amanda and Anneliese’s stories mirror each other in many ways as well as diverge in many others. Every service-learning story is unique, and they are fantastic representations of this. Recently, Amanda was promoted to full-time at the gardens. Her and Anneliese will continue to work and learn alongside one another just as they did several years ago.

If you have an interest in exploring the benefits of service-learning or volunteering at the Springfield Community Gardens, reach out to ServiceLearning@MissouriState.edu.