Vol. 4, No. 2
SENTINEL
April – June 2006
Service Learning Symposium Set for June 8
“P
romoting Significant Student Learning and
Civic Engagement: Principles, Procedures, and
Practices” will be the theme of the 2nd Annual
Service Learning Symposium at Western Carolina University on
June 8.
Dr. Robert Bringle, a nationally recognized service-learning
scholar and author, will be the lead presenter. Nine universities will
make presentations on various topics based on the theme during two
concurrent sessions of the symposium.
Dr. Bringle is Director of the Center for Service and Learning
at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. He was the
Business Takes Top Award
Leading Light: The Department of Marketing and
Business Administration and Law is the recipient of the
Leading Light Award for 2006. The annual award symbolizes
the highest achievement among Western’s academic departments
in integrating service learning into the curriculum. Professor
Debra Burke, Department Head, accepted the award from
Dr. Robert Caruso, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, at the
2nd Annual Service Learning Awards Ceremony on April 27.
Some 50 students and four student groups, 22 faculty and three
staff members, as well as eight community partners received
recognition for service-learning participation/contributions
and achievements. Details, pages 4-5. (Photo by Mark Haskett)
recipient of the Thomas Ehrlich Faculty
Award for Service Learning in 1998.
In 2004, Dr. Bringle was recognized at
the 4th Annual International ServiceLearning Research Conference for
his outstanding contributions to the
service-learning research field. That same
year, the University of the Free State,
South Africa, awarded him an honorary
doctorate for his scholarly work in civic
engagement and service learning.
Lead Presenter:
He has co-edited three
Dr. Robert Bringle, a
publications, With Service in Mind:
first-rate national expert
Concepts and Models for Serviceon civic engagement and
Learning in Psychology, Colleges and
service learning, will be
Universities as Citizens, and The Measure
the lead presenter.
of Service Learning: Research Scales to
Assess Student Experiences. He has also
published numerous articles in scholarly journals.
The symposium will mark the culmination of the Year of
Significant Student Learning at Western, said Glenn Bowen, WCU
Director of Service Learning and symposium organizer.
“The theme of the symposium reflects renewed interest in civic
engagement among higher education institutions,” Dr. Bowen said.
“Participants will discuss relevant issues and strategies to promote
and support effective practices for fostering both engagement and
significant student learning.”
The day-long symposium in the Hinds University Center will
cover a variety of topics, including community partnerships and
participation, civic engagement research, and recognizing service
in faculty tenure and promotion. During the opening session at 9
a.m., Dr. Kyle Carter, Western’s Provost, and Dr. Robert Caruso,
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, will speak on “Outreach and
Engagement as Part of the Mission of Higher Education.”
The inaugural Service Learning Symposium at Western last year
attracted 60 participants representing 22 colleges and universitites
from five Southern states.
In This Issue:
ØLifetime Memories from Alternative Break
– Page 3
ØCampus Compact Director Visits Western
– Page 8
ØAward Winners Featured in Poster Series
– Page 8
What they’re saying ...
• Thank you for making Hunter Library’s National Library Week
reception such a fine, enjoyable event. [The Service Learning Department]
added character and gravitas to our place. … Keep up the excellent work
and stellar service opportunities.
– Brandon Robinson, Hunter Library Public Relations Assistant.
Reciprocity in Community
Engagement
Reciprocity is a central component of service learning and
community engagement. As authors Suzanné D. Mintz and
Garry W. Hesser note, reciprocity suggests that every individual,
organization, and entity involved in service learning functions as
both a teacher and a learner.
“When service-learning emphasizes student learning and
the academy’s agenda without stressing reciprocal learning
and service, there is a real risk of exploiting or coercing both
the community and the student. Service-learning invites, even
requires, the partners to reassess the realities of power and
control over the learning and service goals. A tension will always
exist between the impact on the student and the impact on the
community. The degree to which we enter the service-learning
endeavor committed to reciprocal relationships will determine
whether we move the academy away from seeing the community
as a learning laboratory and toward viewing it as a partner in an
effort to increase each other’s capacities and power. …
“Reciprocity suggests that as students learn from faculty,
the community, and one another, faculty should also learn from
the students, the community, and one another, and so on. This
expansion of the community of learners and servers substantially
enriches the outcomes.”
(From Service Learning in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices,
1996, p. 36. Barbara Jacoby, keynote speaker at the inaugural WCU
Service Learning Awards on April 28, 2005, is lead author of the book.)
The Sentinel is published
quarterly by the Service
Learning Department, Division
of Student Affairs, Western
Carolina University.
Glenn Bowen
Director of Service Learning
Jane Adams-Dunford
Assistant Vice Chancellor for
Student Affairs
460 H.F. Robinson Administration Building
Cullowhee, NC 28723
Telephone: 828-227-7234
Fax: 828-227-7036
http://www.wcu.edu/studentd/service_learning
The Seninel, April – June 2006
• Hearty congratulations to you for a wonderful event [Service
Learning Awards] and for the conclusion of a productive year for the
Service Learning Department. I was so impressed with the number
of nominations, the quality of the projects, and the fact that the
number of faculty embracing this concept is quickly increasing. Upon
reflection, Service Learning at WCU has grown dramatically from just
one year ago! As a Community Partner, may I say that I am glad that
the SL Department is promoting the intention of civic engagement
and responsibility through Service Learning, and that it does so with a
partnering spirit. – Emma Miller, D.Div., Early Learning Specialist, Region A Partnership for Children.
• The students and I had a very fulfilling experience by teaching one class
a week at the Alzheimer’s Unit at Mountain Trace Nursing Home. The
students actually implemented treatment interventions that are evidencebased … and we had great successes.
– Dr. Margaret (Peg) Connolly, Associate Professor, Health & Human Performance, and course instructor for Recreational Therapy (RTH 360).
• This was a very good way to learn.
• This was a very enjoyable experience and gave me a greater
understanding of the Latino community in Jackson County.
• I really enjoyed my time at the [Cullowhee Valley] school during this
project. I have always enjoyed volunteering with children, and the Service
Learning Department/Program is an excellent source of opportunities.
– Students in Prof. Patricia Hackett’s Spanish 232 course, whose service-learning project was with the Jackson County Schools’ ESL Program.
• Putting students into real business situations to solve real business
problems seems to be a win-win for both the business community and the
students.
– Community Partner, service-learning project with the College of Business.
• It was a wonderful experience! The best thing I did all semester.
• I liked it all. I loved doing the designs and helping the community.
– Students in Intro to Theatrical Design (CMTA 332), whose Fall 2005 service-learning project supported the Hurricane Katrina relief program. Course instructors were Prof. Glenda Hensley and Prof. Luther Jones.
• It is so encouraging to see so many young people, from all walks of life,
come together for the common purpose of making a difference in the
world today.
– Dawn Treneman, WCU student, who participated in the COOL Idealist National Conference, held in Nashville, TN in March.
• [Students] tell us they like the university’s career-based studies that
prepare them for the world after graduation, the close interaction with
faculty who care about their students’ successes; our beautiful mountain
location; and the various opportunities for activities on campus and service
to the community.
– Leila Tvedt, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Relations.
Alternative Spring Break Leaves Lifetime Memories
WESTERN GROUP HELPS REBUILD HOMES AND LIVES
I
t has been called “the week that lasts
a lifetime.” And with good reason.
Alternative Spring Break (ASB)
projects have a way of galvanizing campus
groups and communities, and creating both
bonds and memories.
Western students and staff, faculty and
friends who took the trip to Bay St. Louis,
MS or participated in Project Panama during
Spring Break (March 4-11) are still talking
about it. They say the experience was so
“incredible” and so “amazing” that the
memories will remain indelible.
“This is one of the most amazing
experiences I’ve ever had,” affirmed freshman
Ramona Dowdell as she reflected on ASB in
Bay St. Louis.
“It was so wonderful,” declared Dr. Lydia
Aydlett, a faculty member who participated
in Project Panama. Back from the Central
American country, she reported: “It was an
incredible experience. … We did some small
tasks, but what we did made a huge impact.”
Nine students and five faculty members
(two retired) joined 11 members of the local
community for the trip to Panama, where
they repaired four schools and conducted
health screenings in the Boquete area. WCU
collaborated with the Sylva Rotary Club
and St. David’s Episcopal Church; Rotarian
Sandy Frazier, a member of the WCU Service
Learning Advisory Committee, coordinated
the project; and the Rotary Club of Boquete
hosted the 25-member group.
An eight-week series of classes preceded
the trip.
Gulf Coast Project
A
t the same time, a 19-member
group, comprising 16 students
and three Student Affairs staff
members, spent Spring Break in Bay
St. Louis, helping hurricane-ravaged
communities recover and rebuild. The
volunteers logged more than 750 hours
as they undertook a variety of repair and
rebuilding tasks to help Bay St. Louis and
the nearby Waveland community pick up
the pieces and rebuild homes as well as
lives.
Perspective
by Glenn Bowen
The volunteers took their energy and
their enthusiasm. Nathan Arledge, a senior,
took his tool belt, too.
They worked on 11 houses in the stormscarred communities. They removed ruined
walls and ceilings, fixtures and furniture.
Some cleaned out “muck,” a combination
of mud and sewage line overflow, from a
house that an 80-year-old man used to call
home. They helped him sort through what
was left of his house before cleaning it up and
removing a felled tree from his yard.
They gutted sheetrock (drywalls),
removed water-soaked insulation and peeling
tiles, and sprayed termite-infested frames.
They hammered, and raked, and swept. And
one team got to do some painting, too.
While they worked, they turned their
tools into guitars, drums, and cymbals. They
made music as they made friends. At the end
of each day, the work teams swapped stories
and gave “high fives” to one another.
A few volunteers took turns at supervising
children during art activities, games, and nap
time at the Main Street United Methodist
Church’s daycare center.
They put smiles on faces and hope in
hearts.
“The people really appreciate what
we have done,” noted Arledge during a
reflection exercise.
B
•
efore their first workday in Bay St.
Louis, the group toured the Lower
Ninth Ward in New Orleans, LA to
see some of the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
“It was so depressing,” one student recalled.
At the end of the first workday, freshman
Hannah Wait remarked: “What we’ve seen
here is something we did not see on TV. The
situation here is so bad [that] it leaves me
kind of speechless.” Five days later, on the
road back to campus, Wait commented: “This
trip exceeded my expectations, and I’ve made
some really cool friends.”
The 150-year-old Main Street United
Methodist Church was their base and their
“home away from home.” It served as an
operations center for rehabilitation projects in
southern Mississippi’s Hancock County. The
church lost its steeple and 70 percent of its
members, but not its spirit. The group from
Western worshipped there on a bright Sunday
morning and felt at one with the community.
Last Minute Productions (LMP) provided
financial support for the student-organized
Gulf Coast trip. James Contratto, an Assistant
Director in the University Center, served as
an adviser.
T
•
he Service Learning Department uses
the national BreakAway model for
Alternative Spring Break projects.
The model has eight components: Strong
Direct Service, Orientation, Education,
Training, Reflection, Reorientation, Diversity,
and Drug Free.
During their orientation, group members
saw the dismal images and heard the
heart-wrenching stories of people who lost
loved ones, as well as their homes, during
Hurricane Katrina.
Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast
on August 29, 2005. Its ferocious, 125mph winds and tidal surges left a trail of
destruction. The recovery process will take no
fewer than five years, emergency management
experts have predicted.
Students like Travis Lockhart and Adrian
Rose gained “a new appreciation of life”
and of “the things that really matter.” For
Ashlei Nichols, too, it was “a life-changing
experience.”
“The trip was fun, and I enjoyed working
with everybody,” said Cory Braun, one of the
students.
“Our work had a positive effect on
people,” asserted Tanisha Jenkins, WCU
Director of Multicultural Affairs, who worked
side by side with the students.
“This was a wonderful trip, and the work
we did has made a difference in people’s
lives,” said sophomore Katie Graunke. Other
ASB participants – Raquel Ramseur, Sean
Stogner, Patrick Garrett, Lisa Cameron, Tyler
Cooper, Joshua Polk, Zach Phillips, and
Karlie Briggs – all agree.
The Perspective column will return in the next issue of The Sentinel.
The Sentinel, April – June 2006 Service Learning Awards
STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY
PARTNERS RECOGNIZED AT MOMENTOUS EVENT
W
estern Carolina University’s Service Learning
Department presented its top awards for academic
achievements, teaching, service, and partnership for
the 2005-2006 academic year on April 27.
Students Norris Raby, Jay Moose, Cara Lovejoy, Rebecca
Grider, Patricia Graham, Erica Edgington, Ellie Lee, and Kanyon
Robertson were honored for outstanding academic achievements.
Faculty members Michael Caudill, Dr. Erin Tapley, Dr. Todd
Watson, Glenda Hensley and Claire Eye, Dr. Phillip Sanger, and
Craig Capano received awards for teaching while Patricia Hackett,
Dr. Lyn Lazar, and Dr. Lydia Aydlett were recognized for service.
The Department of Marketing and Business Administration
and Law received the Leading Light Award, emblem of outstanding
achievement in the integration of service learning into an academic
department’s curricula and courses. Faculty work by Department
Head Debra Burke, Jayne Zanglein, Dr. Lorrie Willey, Bruce
Berger, Frank Pimental, Dr. Steve Henson, and Dr. Julie Johnson
contributed to the department’s award-winning achievement.
Partnership awards went to Brian Thomas of WestCare Health
System, Sandy Frazier, Dr. David Thomas, Larry McDonald of
the Jackson County Board of Education, and the Town of Maggie
Valley. Mr. Frazier was the principal organizer of Project Panama,
the Alternative Spring Break project. Dr. Thomas acted as the chief
medical consultant for WCU’s Department of Physical Therapy
in developing a Cancer-Related Fatigue rehabilitation program at
Harris Regional Hospital.
The honors were announced by Walter Turner and Dr. Karen
Lunnen, members of the Service Learning Advisory Committee; Dr.
Glenn Bowen, Director of Service Leaning; Jane Adams-Dunford,
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. A. J. Grube,
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; and Dr. Robert
Caruso, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
Service Learning Fellows Vera Guise, Jane Nichols, Debra
The Kendo Club won a Community Service Award for its innovative project.
As a gesture of peace, club members folded approximately 1,500 origami
cranes and raised over $4,000 to help a Cullowhee family reopen their
restaurant, following a shooting incident.
The Seninel, April – June 2006
Burke, and Dr. Rey Treviño were also recognized during the
ceremony, which was held in the University Center Grand Room.
Guest speaker John Barnhill, Executive Director of North
Carolina Campus Compact, said he was “overly impressed” with the
service work and civic engagement initiatives at WCU. He said the
university was doing many things “absolutely right.”
Noting that “the community is involved as a partner,” Mr.
Barnhill commented that “thinking about the community as a
partner is the right way to go.” He observed that faculty was
enriching their teaching and their students’ learning and preparing
students for their role as citizens.
Mr. Barnhill remarked that there was strong collaboration
between WCU administrators, staff, and faculty. “There is no turf
war between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs
at this institution,” he asserted.
Luis Magana, a Latino boy who is terminally ill,
benefited from the “Cara de angel” fund-raising
party, organized by La Voz Latina, a student
organization. La Voz Latina also contributed
to cultural enrichment in the community and
won a Community Service Award this year.
Sylva’s Mayor,
Brenda Oliver, thanked
the university for
supporting the local
community over the years. “You are making a tremendous difference
by what you’re doing,” she said. She referred to a recent WCU
service-learning project that will result in a proposal to the Town of
Sylva regarding the management of the Keener Cemetery.
Mayor Oliver also praised the Martin Luther King Day of
Service project at the Community Table in Sylva this year. She
revealed that 17 percent of people in Western North Carolina were
dependent on soup kitchens and food pantries to supplement their
diet.
In her remarks, Dr. Beth Tyson Lofquist, Associate Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs, said: “I truly know and believe
that service learning – where the roads of experience, reflection,
and change of mind meet – is one of the most powerful ways to
learn.” She said that learning linked to service “makes a real, positive
difference in learning.”
It was a momentous occasion featuring an exhibition of student
and faculty work; a performance by Theatre in Education group
members Kendris Myers, Rachel All, Elena Pisano, and Tommy
Rawe; a sumptuous banquet; the presentation of certificates, pins,
and plaques; and congratulatory speeches. Dr. Lorrie Willey, an
Assistant Professor in the College of Business, introduced the guest
speaker.
From student Julia Patterson’s rousing rendition of the
National Anthem to Medford Scholar Meredith Silas’ expression
of appreciation, the two-hour event was a delightful celebration of
learning and service to the community.
Caruso Highlights
Achievements
The inaugural Community Service Learning Fair, two
Alternative Spring Break trips, membership in Campus
Compact, and preparations for Civic Place were highlighted
by Dr. Robert Caruso, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs,
at the 2006 Service Learning Awards
Ceremony.
“This year has been another one of
extraordinary achievement by the Service
Learning Department,” Dr. Caruso said.
He noted that the fair attracted more than
30 community agencies. “The goal was for
these agencies to showcase their programs
and services and engage in discussions with
VC Caruso
students and other campus partners.”
Alternative Spring Break trips to Panama and the Mississippi
Gulf Coast were successful, Dr. Caruso noted.
This academic year, Western became a member of Campus
Compact, a major national coalition of more than 950 college
and university presidents – representing some 5 million students
– dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement,
and service learning in higher education. “We also are proud to be
a member of the North Carolina Campus Compact,” Dr. Caruso
said. North Carolina Campus Compact is “an extraordinary
resource for service-learning administrators and faculty
throughout the state,” he added.
Speaking about Civic Place, the Vice Chancellor said: “We
have taken the first step toward building a residential component
for our service-learning program through the establishment
of Civic Place in the Village. This facility, which will house
20 students, will serve as the student hub for service-learning
activities. It will be a living-learning community for a select group
of students who want to make a difference through community
service and civic engagement.”
Dr. Caruso also announced that an Assistant Director of
Service Learning would be hired by the start of the 2006-2007
academic year.
MAJOR AWARDS
Community Service
Outstanding Achievement
(Individual)
– Teaching
• Samanthia McNeil
• Michael Caudill
• Tabitha Taylor
• Dr. Erin Tapley
• Dr. Todd Watson
Community Service
• Glenda Hensley &
(Organization)
Claire Eye
• Business & Law Society
• Dr. Phillip Sanger
• Kendo Club
• Craig Capano
• Last Minute Productions
Outstanding Achievement
• La Voz Latina
– Service
Meritorious Service
• Dr. Lyn Lazar
• Donna Welch
• Dr. Lydia Aydlett
• Patricia Hackett
Shining Star
Partnership
• Meredith Silas
• LaRhonda Dowdell
• Brian Thomas
(WestCare Health
Outstanding Achievement
(Students)
System)
• Sandy Frazier
• Norris Raby
• Dr. David Thomas
• Jay Moose
• Larry McDonald
• Cara Lovejoy
• Rebecca Grider
• Patricia Graham
(Jackson County Board
of Education)
• Town of Maggie Valley
• Erica Edgington
• Ellie Lee
• Kanyon Robertson
Leading Light
• Department of
Marketing and Business
Administration and Law
– Debra Burke:
Department Head
Certificate Recipients
For Community Service: Students Casey Campbell, Kathleen
Cummins, Amber Poling, Tamara Segovia, Adrienne Avery,
Shane Óhuid, Joseph Coppedge, Katie Beth Morris, Abigail
James, Jennette (Nikki) Patterson, Shannon Murphy, Amanda
Gibb, Stephanie Schutz, Chad Hearn, Susanna Forester, Raquel
Ramseur, Sean Stogner, Patrick Garrett, Ramona Dowdell, Lisa
Cameron, Nathan Arledge, Travis Lockhart, Tyler Cooper, Adrian
Rose, Hannah Wait, Ashlei Nichols, Cory Braun, Joshua Anton
Polk, Zach Phillips, Karlie Briggs, Katherine (Katie) Graunke, and
Anne Ledford; and staff member Tanisha Jenkins.
For Peer Education: Candace Brooke Humphries, Alice
Morrison, and Darius Bryson.
For Academic Achievements: Ashley Britt, Chanderamouli
Ganesan, Kristen Russell, Adam West, Bradley Williams, Kevin
Arias-Watkins, Jonathan Blackmon, Juan Carlos R. Jiminez,
Kenneth Ross, and Melissa Swice-Good.
For Teaching: Michael Despeaux, Dr. Paul Jacques, and Ronnie
Stillwell.
For Meritorious Service: Staff member Patty Harley.
For Service: Faculty member Kelley Holzknecht.
For Partnership Contributions: Sheila Tillman (Chair of
Hospitality Education at A-B Tech Community College), Paul
Strop (Program Coordinator for English as a Second Language),
and Howard Hill (Boquete Rotary Club, Panama).
The Sentinel, April – June 2006 5
Sentinel Scenes
The Seninel, April – June 2006
. . . DURING SPRING BREAK IN PANAMA
Photos provided by the Project Panama Team
Design: Clint Hardin
PRESENTATIONS: Dr. Amanda
Epperson, Visiting Assistant Professor
of History, made a presentation on “The
Keener Cemetery: History and Service
Learning” at Western’s first Social History
in the Mountains conference on March
18. She was one of five WCU presenters. Dr.
Epperson’s presentation was based on her Introduction
to Public History (HIST 471/571) service-learning course.
Faculty members Glenda Hensley and Claire Eye presented
“Theatre in Education: A Model for Teaching, Learning,
and Engaged Service” at the 20th National Conference on
Undergraduate Research, held at the University of North
Carolina–Asheville, April 6-8.
BRIGHT PROJECT: The March 2006 BRIGHT (Building
Relationships to Incorporate Good Health in Teaching)
project included service learning among its purposes. The
project was designed “to provide an excellent service-learning
opportunity for students enrolled in ND 340, Community
Nutrition, at Western Carolina University,” according to the
organizers. Additionally, the collaborative project sought
to address environmental and policy issues to improve the
health and nutrition habits of students enrolled in Jackson
County Schools, and to help teachers incorporate more health,
nutrition, and physical fitness lessons into their curricula. April
Tallant, Visiting Instructor in the Department of Health
Sciences, collaborated with Donna Bommer, Child Nutrition
Director of Jackson County Public Schools, and Jimmi Buell,
Health Promotion Coordinator for the Jackson County
Department of Public Health, in organizing the BRIGHT
project. “The BRIGHT Project has provided a tremendous
opportunity for our students to see how a community
nutrition program is organized and implemented as well as
how community agencies and organizations work together to
accomplish community and state goals in the areas of health
and nutrition, Prof. Tallant said. “I am very proud of the work
and effort that they have put into this project.”
STUDENT REP: Garrett M. Richardson will represent
Western on the Planning Committee for the 2006 North
Carolina Campus Compact Student Conference. The
conference will be held on November 11 at NC State
University. Richardson, who has just completed his freshman
year, was one of 215 students from 22 NC, SC, and TN
campuses at the 2005 conference at Appalachian State
University.
DIRECTORS’ CONFERENCE: Glenn Bowen, Director of
Service Learning, will attend the 4th Annual Community Service
and Service Learning Directors’ Conference, June 14-16, at
Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. The conference
is organized by North Carolina Campus Compact (NCCC). Dr.
Bowen was a member of the Program Selection Committee for
the 2006 Faculty Conference, also organized by NCCC.
SUMMER INSTITUTE: Service Learning Fellow Jane
Nichols facilitated the Service Learning Focus Team sessions
at Western’s 4th Annual Summer Institute on Teaching and
Learning, May 15-18.
The Sentinel, April – June 2006 7
NC Campus Compact Executive Director Visits Western
J
ohn Barnhill, Executive Director of North Carolina Campus Compact, visited
Western Carolina University on April 27-28. Highlights of his visit included his
keynote address at the Service Learning Awards Banquet and meetings with Provost
Kyle Carter and Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Robert Caruso.
Mr. Barnhill proposed the appointment of a university-wide council for service, service
learning, and civic engagement. He recommended that the council be jointly appointed by the
Chief Academic Affairs Officer and the Chief Student Affairs Officer.
During three separate meetings with campus groups, Mr. Barnhill announced that Campus
Compact, the national coalition, would celebrate its 20th anniversary in Chicago on October
16-17. It will provide an opportunity for member campuses to see their “vital work” in the
Barnhill
Provost Carter
community highlighted in a national forum among corporate, foundation, and government
leaders, he said.
At a breakfast meeting with Service Learning Fellows, Mr. Barnhill announced that the Carolina Collaborative (North Carolina Campus
Compact and South Carolina Campus Compact) has submitted a three-year, $1.5 million proposal to the Corporation for National and
Community Service for a “Learn and Serve America” grant. If the grant is awarded, the Carolina Collaborative will, in turn, award sub-grants
ranging of $2,500 to $10,000 per year to selected college and university campuses. “Proposals for sub-grants should be designed to increase the
capacity of campuses to address societal challenges through service,” he said.
Service Award Winners Featured in “One of Ours” Posters
S
tudents whose work has been recognized with Service
Learning Awards are among those also featured in
Western’s “One of Ours” poster series. The posters,
which are mailed to the participants’ high schools, are designed
to recognize some of the university’s best students and to
attract new ones.
involved in so many campus activities at Western. I think that a
lot of those give you hands-on experience that you wouldn’t get
at a bigger school.”
Dowdell, a social work major and 2003 graduate of
Orange High School, was involved in volunteer activities
with children and the elderly, and served as a counselor with
Mike Blackmon, Natalie
Breitenstein, Meredith Silas,
and Rod Palmer are among
16 students featured in
the current “One of Ours”
poster series. (Photos by Mark
Haskett and Ashley Evans)
The ongoing series includes students who were honored at
the inaugural Service Learning Awards Ceremony on April 28,
2005. They include Rod Palmer, Clare Sabo, Clyde Ray, Crystal
Belch, Judy Nguyen, Pamela Mulwee, Megan Chamblee, Beth
Kenyon, Drew Lancaster, Jessica Lodding, Meredith Silas, Mike
Blackmon, LaRhonda Dowdell, Natalie Breitenstein, and Joel
Stroot.
For her service-learning project, Breitenstein, a health
information administration major and 2001 graduate of
Glenn High School, helped to improve the birth certification
process at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. She received an
Outstanding Achievement Award from the Service Learning
Department in 2005.
Silas, Dowdell, and Stroot were Jacob Medford Service
Learning Scholars. Among her many activities, Silas, a business
administration and law major and 2004 graduate of Tuscola
High School, had served as team captain for Relay for Life, the
annual fund-raising event to fight cancer. She said, “I like being
The Seninel, April – June 2006
Project C.A.R.E., helping freshmen make the transition to
college. She is a member of the social work honor society and
the Organization of Ebony Students and performed with the
Inspirational Choir.
Stroot, a biology major and 2002 graduate of Smoky
Mountain High School, said, “What is dear to my heart is
helping other people.” In addition to his pre-professional
studies, he participated in several environmental cleanup
projects and worked with Habitat for Humanity in Charlotte.
Stroot said he decided to study at Western because it offered a
“quality education at an affordable cost and would be a great
stepping stone on my career path.”
“We have invited a number of Service Learning Award
winners from 2006 to participate in the next series of posters,”
said Leila Tvedt, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Relations,
who is heading up the project. “I am looking forward to
working with these outstanding students.”