Katie Andrews, '04 & Sandra Via, '04

Promoting Ferrum College's motto "Not self but others" has surged through student life and has made its way into the classroom. One way Ferrum has addressed the issue of service is through a service learning task force that is now addressing the relationship between service classroom learning. Political Science in particular, has addressed the issue by developing a new Political Science service-learning course, PSC 299 (Citizenship and Service Learning) which was implemented this spring.

The purpose of PSC 299 is to encourage the reflection and understanding of civic competency and cultural awareness through service. Dr. Frédéric Torimiro, Associate Professor of Political Science and the professor of this class, is passionate about his work and transmits this passion about self-exploration in the teaching of this course. Through a series of articles, service trips, innovative reflection, and understanding, Dr. Torimiro communicates the importance of service, civic and cultural competence to his students.

The articles assigned in class are an essential piece of the class and are relevant for the everyday appreciation and understanding of community service. Most of the articles are from "Soul of a Citizen" by Paul Loeb. Loeb's articles explore various aspects of community service and community activism. Through reflections of these articles, students are able to react, comment, digest, and process the articles in a constructive manner. Furthermore, the articles provide a sound theoretical foundation for the service trips to various community sights.

This past semester, the primary community service has focused on various projects with Big Creek People In Action in McDowell County, West Virginia. The first project of the class was providing assistance with a problem concerning the consolidation of several schools in McDowell County. The first step in this relationship was to meet with and discuss various aspects of the project with Frankie Rutherford and Marsha Timpson, who are coordinators for Big Creek People In Action. This was done by conference call with the assistance of George Loveland, Associate Professor and Public Services Librarian, where it was discovered that a meeting regarding the writing of a counter school consolidation proposal was to be held that weekend. Dr. Torimiro and Katie Andrews attended this meeting which yielded many positive results. At present, the class is awaiting the results of the counter proposal.

Upon entering McDowell County, the students were witnesses to the small coal mining community, and poverty that developed out of the postindustrial America. The students spent the night at the Caretta community center with several students from Dr. Susan Mead's, Associate Professor of Sociology, Social Problems class. The next morning students awoke before the "crack of dawn" to begin renovations on the kitchen of a local family. The students, accompanied by Dr. Torimiro, spent the day painting, remodeling, repairing the floor, and installing new cabinets. At the end of this exhausting day, the students felt humbled and overwhelmed with sense of self worth derived from the creation of a newly remodeled kitchen for an extremely impoverished family.

Service learning creates a dynamic way for students to learn about the world around them. It allows them to see just how they can make a difference, and Ferrum College is providing them with this opportunity through the development of the service curriculum.