| The World is Your Campus | |
| By Peter Rice '05 |
If there is a CC “bubble,” Luke Terra ’00 and Elizabeth Pudder aim to pop it. Through the Center for Service and Learning (formerly the Center for Community Service), they push students to get off campus and interact with the greater community. That community could be just down the street in Colorado Springs, or it could be anywhere in the West — and soon, across the world.
Bulletin : Is it fair to say the Center for Service and Learning is best known for BreakOut community service trips on block breaks and spring break?
Pudder: Sure. BreakOut is one of the longest-running student organizations on campus. And the Priddy Experience — four-day orientation trips for first-year students sponsored by the Robert and Ruby Priddy Trust — was modeled after BreakOut. Just in those two efforts, we send out over 55 groups of students, mostly to the West, although one group is going to India soon. Many students lead trips back to their original Priddy site through BreakOut.
Bulletin : What else does the Center do?
Terra: The Center advises about 30 student-led service organizations, like the on-campus community soup kitchen, that do regular work in the community. We also help work-study and other students connect to volunteer placements in the community. We help faculty connect with community partners, and welcome community agencies who want to put events on campus.
Bulletin : What’s behind the name change?
Terra: It’s not enough to serve. We try to ensure that all volunteer work has a reflective or educational component, helping students understand the context of their service experience — the “why,” if you will.
Bulletin : What’s an example of this cross between learning and service?
Terra: Community-based learning courses. In one class taught by chemistry professors Sally Meyer and Mark Morgenstern, students learned about the practical use of energy and how to measure energy loss by assessing the problem in a low-income house in Colorado Springs, then retrofitted the home to be more energy-efficient. We’re here to coordinate actions like that. Also, leaders for both Priddy Experience and BreakOut are trained in leading group and individual reflection, and they’re expected to provide pre-trip orientation and ongoing reflection for the other students.
Bulletin : Are alumni involved in the Center?
Pudder: Yes, often through the Priddy Experience as participants or community partners. Alumni participate as volunteers every year
as well. They also frequently work — independent of us — on our
volunteer sites. Alumni include James Francis “Buck” Bershears ’33, Paul Tatter ’66, Tracy Jaramillo ’80, Lance Cheslock ’82, Ezra Bayles ’93, Abby Nelson ’02, Kathy Morgan ’03, Emilie Steed ’03, Sam Fuller ’04, Max Harper ’04, and Phoebe Garfinkel ’05. They’re a great addition to the experience, and we’re always looking for more.
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