San Jacinto College students apply classroom lessons to their communities.
At San Jacinto College, attending college is more than just about what occurs in the classroom. It’s about the holistic approach to education that leaves students with an understanding of how they can contribute positively to their communities through service-learning.
Service-learning gives students the opportunity to turn what they’ve learned in class into a project or assignment that involves community engagement, such as volunteering, creating events, personal interviews, or any other creative way they can help within the community. Students then may write a reflection piece that discusses what they personally learned and gained from their project.
“All disciplines can use service-learning in some way,” said Pandora Freestone, San Jacinto College service-learning coordinator. “Learning is experiential, and we know that when we experience something hands-on, we get more from it. The completion rates increase when service learning is implemented in the curriculum.”
San Jacinto College cosmetology students gave free hair cuts and manicures to residents of Cedar Bayou Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center as part of a service-learning activity.
Photo credit: Jeannie Peng-Armao, San Jacinto College.
Benefits directly reported in result of service-learning include higher grades and persistence rates, higher levels of student engagement, increased critical thinking and writing skills, greater interaction with faculty, deeper understanding of subject matter, gaining new perspective on social issues, and greater commitment to a service-oriented career.
San Jacinto College student Ann Goad is participating in a supply drive this Spring for Bay Area Turning Point, collecting toiletries, cleaning supplies and other necessities for those in need. Goad said this project, and other service learning projects, plays an important role in the overall college experience.
“Service-learning allows you to connect to the student learning outcomes,” she said. “It’s not just about participating in a project, but also going back to the classroom and reporting what you learned and how it applies to what you’re being taught.”
As a service-learning project, a group from San Jacinto College provided volunteer assistance at the Baytown Special Rodeo, a day of fun activities for special needs children held at the Baytown Youth Fair.
Photo credit: Rob Vanya, San Jacinto College.
Examples of the some other service-learning projects throughout the College include helping homeless veterans, food pantries, after-school activities for children, hurricane awareness kits, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.) awareness activities, planting trees across a community, and coordinating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) events for local school children.
For more information about San Jacinto College service-learning, visit sanjac.edu/service-learning.
– Jeannie Peng-Armao