Service Learning is an opportunity for students to serve their community by actively participating in volunteer work. This allows students to learn the academic material relevant to their specific courses within their respective majors. To celebrate the service learning in the community, the William T. Daly School of General Studies hosted its annual Celebration of Service on November 19 in the Galloway Campus Center Event Room. 

The event allows Stockton staff, administrators, faculty, students, and community members to learn about students’ projects. Each student and/or group of students presented a poster with information about their project and experience to share their experiences of taking part in service learning. The event hosted a variety of majors, including environmental science and education. 

Taylor Coyne, the coordinator of service learning, discussed her experience of working with students to bring their projects to life. She stated, “The celebration of service is an opportunity for our students this semester to share their service work with the greater Stockton community. As a high-impact practice, students gain practical experience in the community while tying their work back to the academic curriculum in their service learning course.”

Mikaila Lucia, a student of Education and Human Development, says, “Working with youth 6-21 with emotional, behavioral, [and] intellectual disabilities, it’s nice being at the youth group because a lot of the youth come from a trauma background, so gaining their trust is amazing.”

Jason Allen-Roomet, a student of Environmental Science, says, “With my project, I helped take out posts, signs, and flagging from the previous year and helped [NJFW] repaint [boards] in addition to other maintenance around their field office. Overall, it was a great experience and I would definitely do it again. It aided my job search and overall career interests.”

Other service opportunities can include spending time with the older adults at the Pleasantville Housing Authority. Holding an art event and seeing the community come together to enjoy spending time and creating art to promote fine motor skills, cognitive function, sensory engagement, social connection, and mindfulness. 

Overall, service learning allows students to work in their respective fields while also engaging with the community.