Service-Learning Course Spotlight: Human Services Professions

By Haomu Chen, Street Team Member 

It doesn’t matter if you have just finished celebrating the greatest comeback in the history of all sports, or you have just got through another draining day in the office of your first co-op, or you are about to go into another 100-page-long journey of reading or writing. Let us take a break and hear what students in the Human Services Professions class think of the 3-month Service-Learning experience they are about to have/having.

HUSV 1101 Human Services Professions, led by Professor Lori Gardinier and Service-Learning Teaching Assistant Kaitlyn Elliot, is a Service-Learning class at Northeastern in Spring 2017 partnering with United South End Settlements, Breakthrough Greater Boston and many other community organizations around Boston. The following keywords and quotes are directly extracted from students’ online discussion board.

“It is so easy to get trapped in the bubble of a college campus, but it is so important to interact with the outside environment, especially when in a city like Boston.”

— Hannah Pettit, Serving with United South End Settlements

“On my first day alone, I stayed an extra hour because the woman I was helping was so committed to learning and finishing her assignment. I need to not think of my comfort or level of education, but only of how to better the students in areas they wish. Their passion for their own growth is what matters, not how or when I want them to succeed.”

— Monica Johnson, Serving with United South End Settlements

“Right away I felt a connection with the organization’s goals and beliefs…I wanted to start right away.”

— Kerri Zerfoss, Serving with Breakthrough Greater Boston

“We are lucky to be welcomed into their space and given the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience, and hopefully are able to teach the students just as much as they are able to teach and welcome us.”

— Ayanna Coburn-Sanderson, Serving with Camp Harbor View

It is a great pleasure to see that students participating in service-learning are more than ready to launch their service. The Service-Learning Team is just as excited as these students going into another semester of amazing partnerships. We will come back later in the semester with updates from their serving, learning and exploring stories. Make sure to tune in!