Got Service Learning? We Do…

This October, forty students in Dr. Molly Pepper’s Principles of Management course picked up hammers and shovels to assist with a local Habitat for Humanity building project. The Habitat Build is part of a service-learning project aimed at integrating management concepts with practical experience that benefits the Spokane community. Throughout the semester, Dr. Pepper’s students participate in a building project, act a “secret shoppers” at the Habitat Store, and learn about the process individuals undergo to apply and receive a Habitat for Humanity home. In groups, students will prepare a client report which includes an analysis of the Habitat process, integration of theories/models from class, and final group recommendations for improving management processes and potential areas of involvement for future courses.

The Principle of Management course is one of over ninety service-learning courses taught annually. This fall, nearly 900 students are enrolled in service-learning courses. Service-learning provides students a hands-on application of their academic curriculum while meeting identifiable needs in our community. Students perform work as tutors and mentors, provide meals and companionship to seniors, hospice patients, and homeless individuals, perform community-based research that affects positive change in our community, and much more. This program is one way Gonzaga helps support students in “becoming men and women for others.”

Ask your student if they have had the opportunity to take a service-learning course. To learn more about this program or other community outreach efforts, please contact Gonzaga’s Center for Community Action and Service-Learning or (509) 313-6824.