The Value of Outside
Opportunities By Suzanne Shaffer
College is so much more than simply completing enough credits to graduate. During their years on campus, your student will be presented with many ways to enhance their college experience. Here are just a few!
Service Learning Does your student want to broaden their knowledge base while making a difference in the local community? As its name suggests, service learning combines classroom instruction with hands-on service. The goal is to help students connect their studies to real-world needs and put academic theories into action. Service learning experiences are usually tied to social science courses (political science, sociology, environmental studies, psychology) or pre-professional courses such as education, social work, and business. Types of projects include:
ʀ Direct service: Tutoring, serving meals, assisting patients in a medical setting, leading activities at a nursing home, helping at a preschool, walking foster dogs ʀ Indirect service: Fundraising, sorting donations at a resale shop, stocking a food pantry, collecting items for the needy, planting trees ʀ Advocacy: Writing to government officials, demonstrating for social causes, educating others about policy issues
Students can learn more on the college’s service‑learning webpage or by speaking with a professor in their field of study. 34
UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) UROP facilitates undergraduate participation in faculty-mentored research projects. Depending on the project and the professor, a UROP student might help conduct research, learn to use lab equipment, contribute to an academic paper or book chapter — even attend a conference! Your student doesn’t need previous research experience to apply and their home institution doesn’t limit their options. UROPs are open to undergrads from any college, and summer is a great chance for a student to broaden their horizons by applying for a project at another campus. UROP students may receive academic credit OR get paid by the university (not both). The programs Fall 2022
