Service learning has long played a role in UBalt’s unique approach to experiential learning
BY JESSICA SILLERS (NEÉ JONAS), M.F.A. ’13
This spring, a new Service Learning Fellowship launched, allowing faculty and students to make an even bigger impact outside the classroom. Funded by the University System of Maryland, the program provides faculty with stipends to deepen community engagement through their coursework.
The fellowship’s inaugural semester featured four classes across multiple disciplines, in which students logged at least 15 hours of service work with a community partner through collaborative projects. They also completed “significant and structured reflection” that tied their classroom learning to their service experience.
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN LEARNING AND IMPACT
Dr. Tiffaney Parkman, director of the B.A. in Human Services Administration program, built in a collaborative community project as a main component of her senior seminar capstone over a decade ago, so it was a natural fit for the fellowship.
“ The best takeaway of this class is watching people make time in their week to be more creative than they would have been otherwise.”
DR. RACHAEL ZELENY
“I’m always looking to do more. Always looking to see how we can not only make a larger imprint on the community but also on our campus, and what we need for our campus family,” Parkman said.
In conjunction with the John Manley House, the Baltimore County Crisis Center, and ENTRO LLC, a behavioral health program, student teams led nutrition workshops, organized self-care activities for staff and hosted a mental health fair. Parkman said it was rewarding seeing students gain deeper appreciation of their real-world impact: “Incorporating service learning can bridge the gap between what you think you know and how to parlay that knowledge into an actual service opportunity, where you make the community better.”
LEARNING GIVES BACK
Amber Lewis, CERT ’17, M.S. ’19, joined the Service Learning Fellowship with her first teaching experience at UBalt. Her course, “Topics in Advanced Interaction Design,” partnered with the Division of Student Success and Support Services.
“Why not utilize the students and the classes to enhance the overall student experience at the University of Baltimore?” Lewis asked.
Students helped campus services like the Office of Student Support and the Campus Pantry become more accessible by proposing improvements for website design and user experience, a win-win for students and the wider University ecosystem. The course exposed students to resources they may not have known existed and offered a chance to give back to their own community.
“Every time we were meeting with a client and collaborating, students really excelled,” Lewis said.
MORE THE COLORS AND TYPEFACES
Megan Rhee, M.F.A. ’08, built her capstone course as an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Master of Arts in Integrated Design program and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. This year, design students partnered with student entrepreneurs looking to elevate their businesses, including two of this year’s “Rise to the Challenge” Business Pitch competition winners, Jay’s Watermelonade and Uniquely In Place, a salon for neurodivergent clients. They developed logos and packaging design, researched market competition, and offered suggestions to reach customers in the community more effectively.
“They have this moment where it suddenly comes together, and they realize they can do a lot more than pick colors and typefaces. They can write, they can strategize, they can understand audiences and they can tell a story,” Rhee said. “They’re thinking about how these businesses function from a complete customer perspective.”
Quantifying hours showed student dedication in a new light, Rhee said. The Service Learning Fellowship requires 15 hours of service, but her nine students had nearly 600 hours combined.
SERVICE TELLS A NEW STORY
Dr. Rachael Zeleny’s cross-listed Arts and English course, “Arts in Society,” considers how art can expand equity, access and literacy. She has spent seven years honing the service learning component of this course by adapting to the needs of cultural organization partners across Baltimore. This spring, students interviewed librarians and incorporated art and writing techniques to create interactive versions of children’s books. Some added tactile elements to learning and story books. One student re-imagined the Spider-Man comics by inserting images of himself in the art. Another used newspaper images from the 1960s as a background to (literally) add a layer of historical context to the pages of Brown Girl Plays Jazz.
The multimodal composition encouraged students to find new entry points to engage readers.
“I really believe this is harder than a research paper when it’s all said and done,” Zeleny said. “I think as a society, we’ve forgotten how to play. The best takeaway of this class is watching people make time in their week to be more creative than they would have been otherwise.”
LOOKING AHEAD
As the Service Learning Fellowship program continues, more students may have an opportunity to explore how service experience can expand their skills.
“This opportunity elevates the work that we’re already doing across the University. I think it’s what sets our students apart. They’re learning so much about teamwork and collaboration and how much deeper their skills go. It’s fantastic that UBalt continues to focus on community engagement through a service learning component,” Rhee said.