Click here to share this essay on twitter!
The Story of Service-Learning
By Grace Shields
In today’s world, experience is everything. The Service-Learning Program at the University of Cincinnati (UC) aims to help students across the university gain valuable, relevant experience with nonprofits who serve the community while they are in school. There are two sides of the Service-Learning Program at UC: Service-Learning Courses and Service-Learning Co-ops.
In Service-Learning courses, classes work directly with a nonprofit organization and produce materials for that organization to serve their community. This allows professors to teach material in a hands-on, experiential way and allows students to build their skills, resumes and portfolios in a structured environment while earning course credit.
In the spring of 2024, Doctor Robin Selzer and Doctor Flávia Bastos taught a Service-Learning class called Doing Good Together: Student Philanthropy Studio. In this class, students were taught the importance and impact of philanthropy in modern society and were given $40,000 from the UC Foundation to distribute to five UC- or UC Health-affiliated organizations: the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Cincinnati, Level Up Cincinnati, Gen-1 House at the University of Cincinnati, UC Blue Ash College Community Dental Day and the Bearcat Pantry.
Throughout this course, Selzer and Bastos highlighted to their students the importance of intentionality and being impact-focused when studying and doing philanthropy. “One of the things our course is trying to address [is] the ethical implications of philanthropy, right? Because that is a mindset that you do philanthropy and you feel good about it. But then you kind of step away and you never think about, did it really do good?” said Bastos. “It's not only about doing philanthropy, but it's doing philanthropy that has good results in the world.”
Students in the class worked directly with their chosen organization to learn the ins and outs of their work and the impact of it. The impact of this being a Service-Learning course, as opposed to a typical course, lies in the direct engagement with these organizations. Through this hands-on experience, students were taught how to critically assess the ethics of philanthropy while interrogating socioeconomic issues that create philanthropic need. Additionally, they form working relationships with the organizations receiving the funds.
Selzer said one shift she saw in her students over the semester was in their understanding of all that philanthropy entails. “Many students came to the class thinking about philanthropy as defined as giving money. [Now] they're broadening their understanding of philanthropy to be more than that,” said Selzer. “It's not just money or people who have money giving...It's everyday people. It's preparation for being a good citizen, civic engagement, and that's where it really does connect to service learning. It's giving up your time, your talent.”
The students held a public narrative presentation for UC Foundation trustees, members of the organizations they worked with and members of the community to watch. The UC Foundation originally gave the class $20,000 to distribute, but they doubled the amount on the day of the presentations.
On the Service-Learning Co-op side, assistant director Paula Harper says the program emerged out of a need for more opportunities for UC students in majors that don’t require a co-op. In 2019, President Pinto had an initiative to ensure any student who came to UC could have the “co-op experience.” The Service-Learning Co-op was born as a way to achieve that while also serving the Greater Cincinnati area. As of spring 2024, there have been 762 student hires at 150 employers through the Service-Learning Co-op Program.
“[One of] the goals of the program is to eliminate the disparity that used to exist with unpaid internships,” said Harper. Oftentimes students who can’t afford to take unpaid internships lack critical access to career-advancing opportunities that students who can afford to work unpaid have access to. On the other hand, Harper said, “There were nonprofits that were posting unpaid internships and having a hard time getting students to accept them simply because these days students can't afford to work unpaid. So many students are working two jobs in addition to going to school full time.”
Some of the benefits Harper listed of doing a Service-Learning Co-op as opposed to working in retail or fast food are the ability to explore a variety of professional roles, serve one’s community in a nonprofit setting and receive mentorship from professionals in students’ desired careers.
She remembers being in college and being scared, like many college students, to do things outside of her comfort zone. Before applying to their first co-op, students are often intimidated by the professional world and their lack of experience. Harper encourages students to apply to these positions despite these fears. “These nonprofits are so eager to work with you, and they are so happy to mentor you and help you develop the skills that you want to develop. They will go out of their way to do that,” said Harper. “So if you're going to have a first job, have it be a Service-Learning Co-op.”
Students who participate in the Service-Learning Co-op program often complete multiple co-ops during their college years, either with the same nonprofit or different ones. One remarkable student in the Service-Learning Co-op Program, Henri Lo, has co-oped at the Lord’s Gym Ministry since fall of 2022 as a youth athletic representative. His co-op site offers youth programs such as football, basketball, boxing and wrestling to kids and teens from low-income families in Price Hill.
A sport administration student in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), Lo has taken full advantage of his co-op. In this co-op, Lo gained an array of experience in sport administration from coaching a seventh-grade boys basketball team to hosting fitness camps. One significant experience Lo took part in was leading a 300-mile biking “Resiliency Ride” with four teens in the program from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. This Resiliency Ride consisted of days with up to 15 miles of biking, setting up and sleeping at campsites and growing closer with the teens that Lo was on the ride with.
Lo said this co-op has given him a leg up compared to his peers in terms of career preparedness because he has gotten to take part in so many aspects of the nonprofit he works at. “In my experience, [nonprofits will] let you do a lot because they need a lot done…I've got to do a lot of things, I'm coaching right now, [and] I've got to do some more administrative things,” said Lo. “In terms of if I want to go into athletic administration or something, I have some experience that I can leverage.”
A common experience among students in Service-Learning Co-ops is the discovery of a previously unexplored aspect of their major that changes their career trajectory. Since starting at the Lord’s Gym Ministry, Lo said his Service-Learning Co-op experience shifted the focus of his career path. “I definitely have realized that I really enjoy working with the youth,” said Lo. “I think especially underprivileged youth. Sports education and things like that can really be a way out for a lot of kids.”
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the “learning” part of Service-Learning, the program truly has something to offer for everyone at UC. Because of UC’s urban campus, Service-Learning acts as a way for UC to give back—not only to the students who participate but to the community in which it is located.
“I would love for every student to do at least one service-learning class or Service-Learning Co-op. I think it would just ground students and help them understand their place in the world a little bit better—just opening their eyes to see what other people have to experience,” said Harper. “At the end of the day, we need to be here to support each other, and I think service-learning helps students understand that.”
The Service-Learning Program is housed in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies. To learn more about the program, click here.
Grace Shields is a University of Cincinnati Alum with a bachelor's degree in public relations and a minor in political science. She currently works for Interact for Health as the Communications Associate, and in her free time she likes to go on walks and do crafts.