The opening line of Gonzaga’s mission statement underscores our deep and abiding commitment to providing students “an exemplary learning community that educates students for lives of leadership and service for the common good.” For us, the Gonzaga experience is a transformative one. The Ignatian educational experience encourages students “to know, to care and to act.” At Gonzaga’s Center for Community Action and Service Learning (CCASL), our hope is that you are challenged both inside and outside of the classroom in ways that unearth and cultivate your gifts.
Through CCASL’s many service and community engagement programs students learn about the critical issues impacting the communities in which they serve and the ways they might contribute to positive social change. These experiences begin and end in relationships. Whether serving as a mentor to a middle school youth or building a lasting connection with a local adult that is differently-abled, our students are challenged to recognize the infinite worth in the person in front of them. This is the starting point from where we are able to engage in the “with” work – to begin our journey in answering Fr. Pedro Arrupe’s call to become “women and men for and with others.”
We invite you to journey with us. CCASL offers students opportunities to engage in service both inside and outside of the classroom. Over 100 community-engaged learning courses are taught each year, providing students opportunities to apply academic concepts to address real-world community needs and issues. We also offer a variety of co-curricular service programs such as:
- Zag Volunteer Corps (ZVC) Semesters & Saturdays of Service: Choose to serve alongside fellow ZVC volunteers at a local non-profit for 2-3 hours each week over the semester or volunteer for a one-day Saturday of Service project.
- Service Immersion Programs: This program provides students opportunities to delve more deeply into social justice issues impacting communities across the US through the week-long Justice in January and Mission Possible programs. You may also choose to spend 2-3 weeks with our international program in Ecuador explores the intersection of faith and justice through an international context.
- Gonzaga Youth Programs: Interested in working with local youth through our mentoring and tutoring programs? We offer seven programs that provide local youth opportunities to build meaningful relationships with Gonzaga students.
Stop by our office in Hemmingson 206 to learn more about how to get involved in these programs and more.
For those of you with a desire to get involved in the community from day one – we recommend attending our pre-orientation program, Reality Camp. Engage in this weeklong program with fellow Zags that share a heart for service and social justice. Click here to learn more.
We look forward to welcoming you to campus this fall!
-Molly Ayers
Molly Ayers is the director of Gonzaga University’s Center for Community Action and Service Learning and proud Zag (’00 BA History, ’08 MA Philosophy).