Learning Through Service

I have spent a great deal of time this week riding the #5 Muni, a bus that so conveniently shuttles me from St. Anthony Foundation to the University of San Francisco, just several miles down the road. There is no shortage of differences between these vastly diverse communities, one being a social services non-profit serving the needs of San Francisco’s poorest, and the other being a major university serving the educational needs of their young, vibrant student population. My job is to help others recognize the similarities and bridge the gap between these two Golden Gate Avenue communities. Here at St. Anthony’s, I work in the Justice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy department. One of my primary responsibilities is to coordinate our service-learning program. For the past few years, I have helped to facilitate student access to the community in a way that is both meaningful and educational for students, but also provides value-added service to the organization and those we serve. Students are given the opportunity to practice skills in a real-life setting that they have acquired in the classroom, and while doing so, learn from the community they come to serve. Such a simple, yet transformative idea, that goes further than just transfer of knowledge and gets to the heart of discovering self-worth and empowerment for both the students and the guests/clients with whom they interact.

This being the second week of May, USF’s spring semester is quickly coming to a close and I am given the opportunity to participate in many of the students’ final presentations about their service-learning experiences (hence the frequent trips back and forth on the #5.) It is this point in the semester that my typically ongoing questions of “What are students learning? What are they gaining from this experience?!” are often answered. They often speak of a particular client with whom they worked in the tech lab or share something they learned from a participant in the Father Alfred Center. They realize that they have left their mark on St. Anthony’s and the Tenderloin Community, and hopefully many will look back on this experience as one that in some small way, has changed their lives. It is my hope that they walk away thinking, “We’re not so different after all.”

Come join me and the St. Anthony staff in thanking this semester’s service-learning students and interns at the Semester Celebration event on Thursday, May 14th from 3-5pm at 150 Golden Gate. Find out for yourself about student experiences at St. Anthony’s and the valuable education that can be achieved through experiential service-learning!!