The Sophomore Service Learning Community is an intentional community in which sophomores have the opportunity to think and discuss in the residence hall, classroom and in the reflection groups on issues concerning the poor and underserved communities. Second semester freshman year students are selected on the basis of application and interview to live in Alumni Hall.

What is Service Learning Community:

Service: You will mentor a child or teen, tutor in classroom and after school programs, teach adult literacy, teach in Robotics program at local high schools, and teach Peer Mediation to elementary school children or high school students for 3-4 hours per week.

Learning: You are required to take one course fall and spring semester that are designated for the Sophomore Service Learning Community. Courses will be listed by February 2008 for fall semester.

Community: You will live with students who share values and desire to serve the poor and examine the causes and structures in society which keep people poor, and enjoy Community nights, evenings of reflection celebration dinners, orientation in August and January and day of service in September and opportunities to choose weekends of service.

Students choose from one of five courses in the spring in which the professor has agreed to integrate course work to allow the student to reflect on the lives of the people with whom they serve. Students receive one credit each semester for their participation in a one hour reflection on service and assigned readings.

This weekly hour of reflection is alternated with discussion and journal writing. Each “fourth hour” is facilitated by a professional facilitator and two student’s facilitators who have been members of the sophomore service learning community in their own sophomore year.

Students plan Community nights for one another in alumni gym. Celebrate with community partners, host children on campus for activities day and celebrate community at community dinner. Students in the community implement one community action project in the spring on behalf of their community partner.