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F E AT U R E
S O A R TO G R E AT N E S S
WINTER 2010-11
Community & Civic Partnership Millersville University strives to offer its students the highest level of education possible. But the goal doesn’t stop there. After years of planning, Millersville’s Civic and Community Engagement and Research Project (CCERP) came to life to encourage students, faculty and staff to engage in all aspects of their community— locally, regionally and globally.
The University reaches out in many ways—student internships, sharing faculty expertise, providing assistance to nonprofits, promoting entrepreneurial thinking, and offering community-focused research and problem-solving. That engagement is opening the doors to a myriad of volunteer opportunities that not only enrich the lives of students, faculty and staff, but allow nonprofit agencies to benefit from the wide-ranging talents that can help them help their clients. Students can learn things not found in the classroom or textbooks while offering their time to both local agen-
cies and communities around the world. Millersville is where it all begins for so many: Community involvement and civic engagement, once inspired, can grow and flourish for decades. The passion to achieve, once ignited, can carry the ideals of service forward for a lifetime. Read about a few of the many Millersville students and alumni, who find a way to share their time, talents, knowledge and resources with others to make the world a brighter place.
Her commitment to volunteering and service learning, she said is “because I know what it is not to have much. Being able to give [others] the opportunity to succeed always helps me keep going and stay motitvated.” She also spearheaded the campus initiative of First Book, a project that provides a “first book” for underpriviledged or low-income school children. The effort raised more than $2,000. Price Elementary in the School District of Lancaster is among those schools qualifying for the program. It was where Jassinya went to elementary school, and now those children will soon be the proud owner of their very first book.
Through the Color of Teaching, she stays closely tied with other organizations needing assistance including arranging for food and clothes drives for the homeless. Whenever they bring kids to campus, “we always feed them,” she said. “We know a little bit always helps.” Trying to balance her studies and service to others can be challenging, but, she said, “I always find a way to bounce back.” She said, “When others see you do things, it shines a light on [it], and influences people to take a step forward.”
For more information about CCERP, visit www.millersville.edu/ccerp or call 717-872-3049.
Mentee turns mentor Jassinya Alvarado-Padilla, a senior education major at Millersville, makes giving back a part of her life every day. For starters, she is president of the Color of Teaching organization, which trains Millersville education majors to mentor middle and high school students of color. Today, she is an active mentor to two high school students. Many of the students never thought college was an option for them. Jassinya has been there—as a mentee.
