Learning From Real-World Experience

“As an anchor institution, we have both a civic and moral imperative to prepare our students to work and to serve.”

— President Blanchard

UHD continually develops relationships with community partners—local nonprofits, schools, and businesses—growing a professional network for students through internships and service-learning opportunities.

Through the University’s Community Engagement Work Study and Internship Program, students contribute thousands of service hours to the Houston community, including GatorServe events supporting the National Days of Service in Remembrance of 9/11 and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. These efforts mean students are learning valuable, real-world skills and contributing to meaningful community projects.

UHD faculty routinely incorporate service-learning projects as part of the curriculum. In a Criminal Justice senior seminar taught by Dr. Judith Harris, for example, students assist with day-to-day functions of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Brother in Arms program. Veterans in the Harris County Jail are provided resources to address substance abuse, help with life skills, and support mental health. In return for volunteering, students receive hands-on servicelearning experience in the criminal justice system, including interacting directly with the inmate population as well as with employees in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

For many UHD graduates, contributing to the community does not end at graduation. UHD alumna Heide Laser (’14), a former student of Harris’, is the Chaplaincy Case Manager/ Program Coordinator for Brothers in Arms. Laser epitomizes the “giving back” mentality of a UHD Gator. She observed:

“This class was a priceless experience that really put things into perspective when I was a student. It changed my career trajectory by connecting me with something I’m very passionate about—helping people.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” At UHD, the answer is clear: Our faculty, staff, and strategic partners are providing students service-learning and volunteer opportunities that change their perspective, open their minds to possibilities, and bring home the value of helping others.

Preparing a Senior-Focused Workforce

“Impactful knowledge creation is part of our mission and how we contribute to better lives for everyone in our community, and in so doing, make our world more welcoming and kinder.”

— President Blanchard

The over-65 population makes up more than 11% of Houstonarea residents, and their need for innovative solutions to manage the challenges of aging—health issues, food and housing insecurity, social isolation, and in some tragic cases, abuse—grows with each passing year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in four Americans will be 65 and older by 2030. A large percentage of the elderly will be childless, meaning they may not have family members to care for them.

UHD’s Service, Teaching, Aging, and Research (STAR) Lab, based in the College of Public Service (CPS), is working to address those challenges by preparing a highly trained senior-services workforce through service, teaching, research, connection, consultation, training, and advocacy.

“The over-65 population is growing faster than any other segment in the U.S. They need help and their caregivers need help. “We take a multi-faceted approach to providing that help, beginning with our students,” said Dr. Angela Goins, STAR Lab Founder/Director and Assistant Professor of Social Work. “We incorporate service opportunities into our classes to ensure students get real-world experience with the senior community, and in return, seniors and their caregivers get much-needed assistance.”

Goins noted that part of STAR Lab’s mission is to provide educational justice to this underserved community. “We’re trying to address the needs of seniors and caregivers today as well as to educate a future workforce of geriatric-focused social workers,” Goins explained. “Our hope is to create a world in which growing old is a privilege, not a punishment.”