Published: May 22, 2008 12:52 pm      

College holds expo | 17 groups highlight service-learning projects

BY HELEN MARIE BURNS, RSM

MOUNT ALOYSIUS COLLEGE

Libraries, prisons, sign-language camps, transportation services and after-school programs in creative thinking – all were featured in the first Service Learning Exposition sponsored by the service-learning committee at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson.

Seventeen student groups showcased their projects in presentations which highlighted the purpose and the outcome of their service-learning activities.

More than 65 students, faculty, staff and administrators came to hear the students’ experiences.

Ashley Just, Chelsea Lawler and Owen Stanley, enrolled in a Native American literature course, chose the Cresson Public Library as their service-learning site.

Four other teams within the Native American literature course worked with their local libraries to access the Native American literature available for children and to examine its content for stereotypes and/or erroneous information.

In addition, each team reviewed books recommended by the Native American organizations in order to select several titles to present as gifts to the libraries.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie and “Counting Coup” by Joseph Medicine Crow were popular books selected for distribution to various libraries in the area.

Lessette Alvarez, Jennifer Green, Amanda Houghton, Richard Klapper and Darryl Moore, enrolled in a course on death and dying, composed one of several teams that visited residents of Rebekah Manor in order to apply classroom knowledge to a real-world situation.

The purpose of this service-learning endeavor was to get a better understanding of how senior citizens adapt to new environments, to observe their coping skills and their attitudes toward death, and to engage in storytelling with the residents.

In the process of learning, shared activities forged new relationships and enjoyable conversations.