By Charles Whitaker and Ethan Gambriel
There are many things in life that make wildly successful, yet unlikely combinations: dessert and breakfast, chocolate and peanut butter, Romeo and Juliet. Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy? Yeah, we’ll stand by that. In other words, life often reminds us that, despite our differences, our uniqueness can bring new opportunities that encourage us to grow as humans together.
This was exactly what two roommates discovered when they took an Honors College service-learning course taught by CASL’s very own, Dr. Kathy Nordyke, in Spring 2023. Abby Bennett and Vaeya Nichols have fundamentally different academic interests. “I’ve always wanted to do [something] with biology,” says Abby, a microbiology student who grew up on a farm about an hour north of Springfield. On the other hand, Vaeya, who has a background in art and design and majors in Illustration, is interested in working on children’s books. One could argue that there are typically not a lot of easy to identify pathways for combining these academic interests. But one of service-learning’s goals is to provide opportunities for cross-disciplinary projects – and always with a focus on experiential learning with real-world issues.
Abby and Vaeya got a chance to work with the staff at Springfield Community Gardens through a 1-credit add-on course with Dr. Nordyke. The 1-credit component course 40-hour, internship-like experience. So, as the semester started, Abby and Vaeya spent quite a bit of time at the gardens, learning about the organization, the work, how it serves the community, while still trying to figure out what their individual final projects should be. One day, while leaving a garden site, Abby had an idea related to her interest in composting.
Abby noticed, “At the main headquarters of Springfield Community Gardens, they have this table where they lay out all kinds of brochures. I wanted a way to share what I know [about composting] from the classes I’ve had at Missouri State, and I think that composting is something everyone should be doing.” She began working on a brochure to advertise and educate about how composting could work for the general public while visiting the gardens.
“I think that composting is something everyone should be doing.”
But there was a catch. “I started on my brochure, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how to lay this out and make it look nice,” Abby remarks. “So, I asked Vaeya for help.”
Vaeya, who already planned on developing some kind of infographic for the project when she learned about the final assignment, did not have a strong idea of what to design. She knew that her expertise in illustration was something she wanted to use on the project, but where would the content come from? The two roommates asked Dr. Nordyke to do their project together to see if they could combine their skills. Vaeya was excited to team up with Abby because their contrasting interests had the potential to produce something meaningful. “[Abby] was already doing research and I had a skill I could offer to the project too! It turned out better in the end because we both did something different,” Vaeya reflects. “There is always a place where something that you’re good at is going to help someone else accomplish their goals.”
Unlikely at first, perhaps, the duo teamed up together to create an infographic brochure that combined Bennett’s deep understanding of microbes and composting with Vaeya’s design skills. Now, the brochure is on display at the gardens and can be used as an educational resource for anyone looking to learn more about the benefits of composting.
Take a look at Abby and Vaeya’s brochure.
Abby and Vaeya connected with each other, but also networked with staff members, excitedly describing the personnel at Springfield Community Gardens as “awesome and passionate about helping the community.” And the hands-on work that they did during their project had a profound impact on how they viewed the harvest, giving them “something to look forward to,” according to Vaeya. “We were able to plant the seeds that will be used in the fall harvest. Those seeds will grow and produce the food that is going to feed people, and that feels really good,” she remembers.
Abby admits, “it helped being surrounded by people who were always encouraging, very knowledgeable, and very nice people.” Vaeya chimes in, “The more people involved the better. Every time we left, we would always talk afterward about how we felt so much better after the work.”
Abby and Vaeya completed their project in the spring. Abby will graduate this December, while Vaeya just finished her sophomore year. Both students are happy to mention that they would continue to help in the gardens during their time in the area.
Navigating cross-disciplinary projects can be new territory for a lot of students. Service-learning is here to help the campus community think outside of traditional academic roles and facilitate personal development with professional experiences. As far as powerful combinations are concerned, we won’t promise service-learning will find the next peanut butter and chocolate. But hey, delicious snacks are not our area of expertise. Helping a duo of students discover how to combine different skillsets in a professional way that also supports the community? That’s something we get excited about.
Good luck out there, Abby and Vaeya.
If you are interested in learning more about service-learning, please visit our website: https://www.missouristate.edu/casl/. To get in contact with a staff member from our office, drop us a line: ServiceLearning@MissouriState.edu.