Whether students do community service to break out of their shell on campus, or simply use it to help build a resume, the impact it can have on them and the community is one thing that keeps them coming back for more.
The Social Immersion Project, now in its seventh quarter, offers students a chance to become more knowledgeable about a social issue while volunteering in that particular area.
The program accepts about 25 students, mostly from the Honors and Scholars program, who attend weekly meetings and volunteer for two to three hours each week, said Vicki Pitstick, the director of the project and program manager at the Honors and Scholars Center.
The topic this quarter is housing and homelessness and will place students in sites such as the Maryhaven Engagement Center, a mental health facility, and the Dowd Center, which has an after-school program for homeless children. Students will read "The Glass Castle," by Jeannette Walls, pick a service site and attend meetings to incorporate learning and experiencing homelessness, Pitstick said.
"By learning where a social problem has its roots, it is easier to help and possibly prevent," Pitstick said. "Students need to be aware of what is happening in the outside world."
Some students said the project has increased their awareness of issues affecting people outside the university community.
"It is shocking at first. You don't realize how these issues are affecting your local community," said Rachel O'Connor, a sophomore in psychology and criminology. O'Connor has participated in the project the last two quarters. "It allows you to explore the issues behind the problems and you can see what is underlying, not just the needs on the surface."
O'Connor said reading the book and listening to speakers and discussions at the meetings helped her understand the problems more in depth.
"The project is different because we learn throughout the volunteering process," she said. "We would have speakers who each shed a different light on the topic."
Colleen Kershaw, a senior in psychobiology and pre-medicine, has participated in the project for two quarters.
"I like to do service. I got a chance to get out of the bubble that is college," she said. "I get so wrapped up in this world and there is a whole world outside and I am very privileged."
Applications for the project are due by Wednesday.
Laura Allen can be reached at allen.878@osu.edu.
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