Name: Brooke Hoger
Role within Service-Learning: S-L Advisory Board Member, S-L Alumni, Faculty
College Affiliation: Explore Program
Major: BA Communication Studies (2015)
How are your values expressed through your community engagement and Service-Learning work?
I teach Connections & Decisions, a 1-credit course for first-year undeclared students in the Explore Program. The course is designed to support students in their exploration and prepare them to be successful at Northeastern and beyond. I love teaching the students who opt in to the service-learning experience because there are many opportunities in our class for meaningful conversations about social justice, what it means to serve a community, and how to incorporate their values into their future career exploration. Education and community are things that I value, so to be able to help first-year students discover their own values through these lenses is one of the most exciting and fulfilling parts of teaching this course!
Did you find Service-Learning or did Service-Learning find you?
Service-Learning and I found each other at my Northeastern orientation! I learned about the option to enroll in a service-learning section of Connections & Decisions as an undeclared student, and thought it would be a great opportunity to connect with the Boston community, just as I help students do now as an educator. From there, I became an S-LTA, Service-Learning Co-op, and was a member of the second cohort of Team Managers. Service-Learning had been so important during my undergraduate experience that when I graduated and accepted a position at Northeastern, I wanted to stay connected. I started teaching Connections & Decisions with service-learning, and recently joined the Service-Learning Advisory Board.
What is your favorite memory of Service-Learning?
One of my favorite memories is from my last undergraduate semester at Northeastern. I was a Team Manager to the most awesome group of engaged, fun, and dedicated S-LTAs. We became very close during that semester, and our last meeting was a social at my apartment!
If Service-Learning were a food, what would it be and why?
I think it would be ice cream! There are so many different “flavors” of service-learning but they are all meaningful (or delicious). Service-Learning can be adapted to be accessible to everyone, like non-dairy ice cream, and you can find it in different forms – cone, cup, ice cream sandwich, direct service, project-based, or whatever form meets the needs of the course and community.
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