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 healthcare.  

Being placed with Robberson was an especially rewarding experience for Regan because he went there growing up. To his surprise, the same principal and preschool teacher he had were still there. They both remembered him, and their reunion was cathartic. This encounter was a lesson on the importance of role models for Regan.

Robberson is a school for underprivileged children that is focused on setting students up for success. Regan explained, “It was incredible to see the kids get excited about the information we had to share. For many of them, it was their first time thinking about the medical field as a possibility for their future.” 

Service-learning proved such a worthwhile venture that Regan proceeded to participate in it all throughout college. After spending a couple semesters at Robberson, Regan shifted to a new placement. In 2019, he took on a solo project through the Springfield Health Department. 

His role was to research the smoke-free homes ordinance by calling every landlord of a multioccupancy structure in the area to conduct a survey on whether they allow smoking in their leases. Regan developed fantastic interpersonal communication and organizational skills during his time at this placement. Another impactful benefit of this work was that it broadened his horizons. “This project is what initially got me thinking about getting a master’s in public health,” explained Regan.  

Each semester Regan did service-learning, he became more engrained in the office’s operations. He quickly took on an increasing variety of responsibilities including advising students and facilitating the vision screening program.  

Once Regan was accepted into graduate school, it was a natural progression for him to become a graduate assistant. “The main thing I learned as a graduate assistant was management skills. For vision screening, I was on-site directing students and solving problems on a regular basis.” 

In 2022, Regan began PA school at Missouri State. When asked how his time with the service-learning office impacts him today, he said, “In the CASL office, I was surrounded by people who were deeply engaged in the community. It opened my eyes to the countless programs and causes that go unnoticed by most college students.” 

Regan elaborated by providing Springfield Community Gardens (SCG) as an example. SCG is a very large and influential organization in the area, but still many students aren’t aware of it. This is just the tip of the iceberg as there are many not-for-profits much less known than SCG that still make waves in the community. 

Most students find that service-learning provides great benefits, but for Regan it was transformative. He described the program as something that takes you in as a kid and turns you into an adult. “You can’t understand how special it is until you’ve done it yourself. You are going to be much more marketable than your peers and will have a much better sense of your own capabilities.” 

Service-learning is well-known for providing career skills, but people like Regan prove that it’s so much more. It’s a chance to learn about yourself and give back to the community that serves you every day. 

If you have an interest in what service-learning can do for you, reach out to ServiceLearning@MissouriState.edu to get started.