This year, Wayne State College is celebrating 25 years of service learning.
Service learning gives students the opportunity to experience a more hands-on method of learning while helping or learning about the goings-on of the communities they live in.
“I’ve been a part of two service learning projects at WSC,” Reagan Allen, a junior, said. “The first project I was involved in focused on communication patterns, stressors and emotions in my future career field.”
Projects such as the one Allen took part in give students the opportunity to dive deeper into topics surrounding their respective future careers or learn how to plan events in a timely manner.
“It’s always good to give back, but more importantly, service learning helps students apply what they’re learning in class to the real world and see practical results,” said Allyn Lueders, a Communications professor at Wayne State.
Lueders had been teaching at the college for ten years, and has been involved in service learning for eight of them. Lueders teaches public relations, one of the many courses that offers service learning as part of the curriculum.
“We usually partner with a local business and help them gain more publicity or clients through social media and an improved online presence,” Lueders said.
Lueders said implementing service learning into her courses can make planning the course more difficult, but she also said that all the extra work is worth it.
“The reward is priceless. Students have something to be proud of, and something to brag about during future interviews,” Lueders said.
Allen was involved in Lueders’ public relations service learning course, which she said involved the creation and planning of an event at WSC.
“I’m thankful to have been a part of these projects,” Allen said. “They have allowed me to use the knowledge I’ve gained at WSC and apply it to real world situations. Hopefully this will set me up for success.”
Allen, who had good experiences with service learning courses she has taken part in, said she would recommend getting involved in the local communities.
“It enhances our curriculum. I would teach the same classes if we didn’t use service learning, but they would probably be less exciting,” Lueders said. “Hopefully, students look forward to the chance to participate in these projects, use their skills, and see the results of their hard work.”
