-= NMSU PANORAMA - Winter 2006 =- Teaching Tools

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Learning Outside the Classroom

By Julie M. Hughes '95

NMSU embraces service learning.

Photo by Christ Chavez

For Yvonne Bordon '05, one of the most educational experiences of her college career did not take place in the classroom.

Bordon, who graduated in May 2005 with a bachelor's degree in sociology, wanted to work with homeless women who are veterans, so for her volunteerism class in the spring, she began shadowing Julio Gutierrez, the veterans' outreach coordinator and a social worker at the El Paso Opportunity Center for the Homeless.

"Volunteering at the center taught me a lot about life management," Bordon says. "As much as I wanted to affect the lives of the people I worked with, they affected me more."

Bordon says this was her first experience with community service work, but it won't be her last. She says she gained many insights into how she might want to use her education.

"This was really an eye-opener for me about what is going on in my community," Bordon says. "I learned how social workers live under constant stress, but also how they manage it and are able to get the job done. It really wakes you up to how social workers change people's lives."

Gutierrez says first-hand experience is the only way to help students realize some people's "real world."

"I believe anyone in the school of human behavior should experience everyone's potential reality - homelessness," Gutierrez says. "People do not plan to become homeless, so students benefit by learning about the situation and about the resources the community has to combat the problem."

Bordon was able to directly assist some of the homeless veterans by doing intake interviews and transporting them to various agencies to apply for benefits. She also participated in outreach efforts that included interacting with homeless veterans who did not want to come to the shelter.

"My experience working with this population has been sad, but rewarding. The lessons I have learned from working at the opportunity center will stay with me the rest of my life," Bordon says.

That is why creating a culture of service learning at New Mexico State University is important, says Jeffrey Brandon, dean of the College of Health and Social Services. Bordon's volunteerism class was offered by the college's Department of Health Science.

"It allows faculty members and students to tackle difficult issues in partnership with community agencies. We have to work as teams and partners to meet our community's challenges," Brandon says. "Service learning has been available in many disciplines across campus, but we really want to bring everyone at NMSU together so there is a single interdisciplinary point of contact for the community to access potential university partnerships and student volunteers."

Training faculty, students and community leaders about opportunities in service learning is a first big step, Brandon says. In partnership with the university's Teaching Academy, the College of Health and Social Services offered many training experiences in 2005 to orient the campus about the advantages of service learning. There also were how-to sessions on implementing service learning into course curriculum.

The College of Health and Social Services has been leading the effort to broaden the university's use of service projects in course curriculum, but the university as a whole has embraced the idea, Brandon says.

In fall 2004, NMSU joined Campus Compact, a national coalition of college and university presidents committed to the civic purposes of higher education.

"It's really about living our mission," Brandon says.

Campus Compact members believe that by creating a supportive campus environment for engagement in community service, universities can best prepare students to be active, committed and informed citizens and leaders, Brandon says.

NMSU also has entered into a partnership with the United Way of Southwest New Mexico and its Volunteer Center Program, which matches prospective volunteers with opportunities based on their interests.

For more information: http://www.nmsu.edu/~servlrng/

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