CEO HOSTS SITE VISIT FOR NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Last week the Civic Engagement Office had the opportunity to share some of its successful new programs with a nationwide network of community organizers, educators, youth leaders and policymakers. Participants in the National Youth Leadership Council's 17th Annual National Service Learning Conference, which took place in Philadelphia last weekend, made a site visit to Bryn Mawr to learn about the work that the office has been doing. Among the visitors was Elizabeth Hollander '61, executive director of Campus Compact, a coalition of more than 950 colleges devoted to supporting community service-learning.

The site visit began with a presentation about the "web of civic engagement" by Praxis Field Placement Coordinator Kelly Strunk and CEO Training and Programming Coordinator Ellie Esmond. They outlined how students, faculty, community members, offices and organizations are all linked through the ongoing and growing programs. The web of programs expands as the students and community partners become more involved, and "ultimately those connections become kind of fluid in and out of the (community) programs" offered at Bryn Mawr, noted Esmond.

The network of community partners and variety of programs also helps students integrate service into many areas of their lives; as Strunk commented, "students are coming into community service in a volunteer capacity, and then continuing it into their coursework." A student may begin working with the CEO by volunteering on weekends, or through the Summer of Service Program, and end up developing a Praxis III course that combines fieldwork with independent study. Benefits also grow over time for community partners who become a part of the network. The larger the web, the more beneficial for all involved, as Nell Anderson, director of Praxis and Community Partnership Programs, said; "We are a small college — we need to make these linkages."

A panel presentation by faculty, community partners and students highlighted the CEO's partnerships with two community organizations, the Belmont Charter School in West Philadelphia and the Community Action Development Commission (CADCOM) in Norristown.

The panel's question-and-answer session, facilitated by Anderson, began with conversation about the expectations and realities of college students working in organizations and communities. Patricia A. Healy, a senior tax specialist at the IRS who trained the Bryn Mawr students working in CADCOM's Earned Income Tax Credit Program, said that "the partnership with Bryn Mawr was way beyond the expectations I could have hoped for." Students and the community are usually thought of as the beneficiaries in service-learning situations, but the program provides learning for all involved. Senior Lecturer in Education Alice Lesnick remarked that "above all, what I expect from the program is to learn from it. We are all co-creators of knowledge," and this give-and-take of experience is what makes a service learning program successful.

The discussion moved to challenges that people face in these programs: everything from preparation for a given job to transportation. The dialogue deepened toward the end of the panel's time, as the participants dug into issues of attitudes, motivation and diversity in conjunction with service. Director of Intercultural Affairs Christopher MacDonald-Dennis remarked that for him, service learning "is the most powerful way to learn about diversity," leading the discussion toward considerations about who participates in community service and what motivations there are for service learning. The discussion wrapped up with expectation and hopes for the future of civic engagement at Bryn Mawr, followed by a tour of the office.

After the panel and discussion, Hollander noted that "things have evolved a lot" in terms of community-service programs at Bryn Mawr since her time as a student. Years ago, she said, "no one had heard of service learning, but the values were there … the community-service ethic has been at Bryn Mawr for a long time." The CEO was formed just two years ago, when the Praxis and Community Service offices combined to work more effectively as a single integrated office.

— Whitney Graham '08

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