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Student Community Engagement and Service Learning Opportunities
| Program | Name | Description | Contact | Categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting | ACCT 452 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance | Students prepare federal and state income tax returns for individuals who need assistance in the community. | Jack Bovay | EXP, credit, volunteer |
| Art & Art History | ARTH/ARTS 275 Community Muralism | Students plan, design, and produce a largescale mural. Some semesters include community-based learning opportunities. | Andrea Lepage | EXP, credit |
| Biology | BIO 275 Food for Thought | Students develop an understanding of the experimental tools used in basic and applied nutritional sciences research through community-based learning. | Sarah Blythe | health, credit |
| Business | BUS 197 Washington and Lee Student Consulting | Pro bono consulting services to businesses and not-for-profits, sometimes with local organizations. | Lloyd Tanlu | EXP, credit, volunteer |
| Business | BUS 301 Organizational Behavior | Students learn to understand conflict and how to effectively manage teams. Taught at Augusta Correctional Center. | Jeffrey Schatten | carceral population, EXP, credit |
| Classics | LATN 200 Latin Practicum in Schools | A service-learning course in which W&L students design a curriculum and teach beginning Latin in the local elementary school. | Rebecca Benefiel | K-12 schools, world languages, EXP, CBL, credit |
| Cognitive & Behavioral Science | CBSC 300 The pursuit of Happiness | Students examine the meaning and significance of happiness and explore pathways and barriers from several perspectives. Students become immersed in local service opportunities. | Karla Murdock | health, volunteer, credit |
| Cognitive & Behavioral Science | CBSC 413 Senior Capstone | Among other options, students may choose to complete the capstone as community-based research or an applied-science experience in the community. | Karla Murdock | CBL, EXP, credit |
| Community-Based Learning | CBL 100 Unheard Voices of Black Lexington and Rockbridge County | Students learn the basics of community-engaged learning by working on projects focusing on Black Lexington and Rockbridge County. | Sascha Goluboff | CBL, EXP, credit |
| Economics | ECON 235 Economics of Social Issues | This seminar examines hypotheses developed by economists and other social scientists regarding the causes and consequences of a wide range of social problems. Students serve in local community agencies on a weekly basis. | Art Goldsmith | volunteer, credit , EXP |
| Education Studies | Burish Internship | The Education Studies program offers an application-only, credit-bearing, paid leadership opportunity called the Burish Service-Leadership Internship. | Haley Sigler | internship, K-12 schools , leadership, credit, paid |
| Education Studies | Classroom Volunteer | Students may contact the current Burish Student Coordinator for tutoring, afterschool, and other volunteer opportunities in the local, K-12 schools. | Current Burish Coordinator or Haley Sigler | K-12 schools, volunteer |
| Education Studies | Education Coursework & Fieldwork | The W&L Education Studies program offers minors in Education and Education Policy which include credit-bearing courses with experiences in K-12 schools. | Haley Sigler | K-12 schools, EXP, credit |
| English | ENGL 210 Intro to Creative Writing | A course in the practice of creative writing, with attention to two or more genres (e.g. fiction and nonfiction; poetry and the lyric essay; and flash and hybrid forms.) Some sections/semesters include community-based learning opportunities. | Leah Green | credit |
| Environmental Studies | ENV 111 Environmental Service Learning | Practical application of student knowledge of environmental issues based on supervised volunteer work in the greater Rockbridge community. | Kim Hodge, Debra Frein | volunteer, EXP, credit |
| Film | FILM 238 Documentary Filmmaking | Students work collaboratively to create a professional-quality documentary. Some semesters include community-based learning opportunities. | Stephanie Sandberg | credit |
| Earth & Environmental Geoscience | GEOL 275 Introductory Geophysics | This laboratory course provides a review of the geophysical methods used in geophysics to collect and analyze data. Some semesters include community-based learning opportunities. | Chris Connors | credit |
| Journalism & Strategic Communications | JOUR 227 Public Relations Writing | A writing course to teach the many forms of persuasive writing used by public relations practitioners to reach diverse audiences with the intent of working with community partners. | Nandini Bhalla | credit, EXP, CBL |
| Journalism & Strategic Communications | JOUR 273 Principles of Public Relations | This public relations course emphasizes the planning, writing, and management functions, working with media and developing effective public-relations strategies with community partners. | Dayo Abah | credit, EXP, CBL |
| LACS | LACS 434 | Working with immigrants in immigrant detention centers | Seth Michelson | world languages, credit |
| LACS | LACS 451a | Working in Mar del Plata, Argentina | Seth Michelson | world languages, credit, international |
| LACS | LACS 451b | Immigrant Rights Clinic, Lexington, VA | Monica Botta | credit, world languages |
| LACS | LACS 452, 453, 454 | Volunteer works in public schools, retirement home, wildlife refuge, restaurant, law, office, municipal bank in Nocoya, Costa Rica | Monica Botta | credit, international, world languages |
| Law | LAW 402 Rights of Prisoners Practicum | This experiential, community-based course looks at the rights incarcerated individuals have while in prison, the means by which incarcerated individuals collaterally attack their convictions, and the legal challenges formerly incarcerated individuals face. | Allison Weiss | carceral population, EXP, CBL, credit |
| Law School | Immigrant Rights Clinic- Interpreter | The Immigrant Rights Clinic utilizes bilingual undergraduate students to help interpret for its non-native English speaking clients. Most volunteers are Spanish speakers, but we see speakers of all languages. | Matthew Boaz, Tammi Helwig, Ellen Mayock | world languages, volunteer |
| Law School | Immigrant Rights Clinic- Translator | The Immigrant Rights Clinic utilizes bilingual undergraduate students to translate documents from English to Spanish (and vice versa). Other languages are occasionally needed. | Ellen Mayock | world languages, volunteer |
| Law School | Law, Justice, and Society Minor | Undergraduate students with a Law, Justice, and Society minor are eligible for a capstone experience that involves working with a real case in one of the law school clinics. | Tammi Hellwig | world languages, credit |
| Office of Student Affairs | LEAD Program | The Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Program is a multi-year, comprehensive leadership program purposed to empower students to discover their potential and develop their skills as leaders. The program aims to enhance student learning and development in areas of self-knowledge and leadership competence through various workshops, teambuilding exercises, roundtable discussions, reflective activities, and service. | Leah Beard | leadership, volunteer |
| Offices of Sustainability and Energy Education | Compost Crew | Student-led, student-run food waste collection effort on W&L's campus | Kim Hodge, Nicole Poulin | leadership |
| Offices of Sustainability and Energy Education | Sustainability interns | Student sustainability internships with assigned projects or special focus areas | Kim Hodge, Nicole Poulin | internship |
| Offices of Sustainability and Energy Education | Watchdog group | Students evaluate parts of campus and look for areas of environmental and sustainable improvement. | Morris Trimmer | |
| Offices of Sustainability and Energy Education/Campus Kitchen | Work in the Campus Garden | W&L's Campus Garden, located on back campus, is always open for student volunteers or paid workers, depending on your needs. Work includes planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting produce that goes to Dining Services and Campus Kitchen/RARA. | Nicole Poulin, Ryan Brink | volunteer |
| Outdoor Education (Outing Club) | Local trail construction and maintenance work | Get involved with the trails you use. Help our Outing Club and local Rockbridge Trails Club build new and maintain old trails in the area. We partner with the US Forest Service, S.A.W.S. (Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards,) and other agencies. | James Dick | |
| Physics and Engineering | Engineering and Community Development | Students work on local and international engineering projects to enhance living conditions. | Jon Erickson | international |
| Physics and Engineering | PHYS/ENGN 207 Electrical Circuits | This laboratory course studies electrical circuits and the methods used in their analysis. Some semesters include community-based learning projects. | Jon Erickson | credit |
| Physics and Engineering | PHYS/ENGN 378-379 Senior Capstone | Year-long capstone design project in which student teams solve open-ended engineering problems by integrating and synthesizing engineering design and analysis learned in previous courses. Projects can be community-based. | Joel Kuehner, Jon Erickson | credit |
| Politics | POL 294 Food Policy | An introduction to the institutions and politics of U.S. food, nutrition, and farm policy. Some semesters include community-based learning opportunities. | Rebecca Harris | health,EXP, credit |
| Romance Languages | ESOL | Student volunteers facilitate communication in Lexington and Rockbridge County through English tutoring sessions, translations, interpretations, and community events. Students also organize service-learning trips abroad to Puerto Morelos and Guadalajara. | Ellen Mayock | world languages, K-12 schools, volunteer, international, credit, |
| Romance Languages | SPAN 204 Conversational Skills | Development of speaking skills for communication in Spanish. Some sections/semesters include ESOL community-based learning opportunities. | Ellen Mayock | world languages, credit, CBL, EXP |
| Romance Languages | SPAN 216 | Working with the community in Buenos Aires, Argentina | Seth Michelson | world languages, credit, international |
| Romance Languages | SPAN 217 | Working with the community in Puerto Rico | Seth Michelson |
world languages credit, EXP |
| Romance Languages | SPAN 295A Migración en las Américas, ¿Vivir en Comunidad? | This course further develops advanced listening and speaking skills. Some semesters include ESOL community-based learning opportunities. | Ellen Mayock |
world languages, credit, EXP |
| Romance Languages | SPAN 392 Spanish Language Theory and Practice | An advanced seminar focused on topics in the Spanish language. When the course is offered as an ESOL-based topic, the focus is advanced Spanish grammar and translation, and students complete a community translation project. | Ellen Mayock | world languages, K-12 schools, volunteer, international, credit, |
| Shepherd | POV 102 Fieldwork in Poverty Studies | Sustained critical reflection on pivotal issues in poverty studies based on supervised volunteer work, journals, and weekly discussions and papers related to the readings in POV 101. | Marisa Charley | volunteer, EXP, credit |
| Shepherd | POV 103 Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction and Fieldwork | An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects, and possible remedies for poverty. This course integrates service fieldwork into the introductory course on poverty and offers the same credit as POV 101 and 102 combined. | Marisa Charley | EXP, credit, |
| Shepherd | POV 197 Bonner | This course is offered to members of the Bonner Program, who commit to 8-10 hours of service in the local community a week, and provides structured learning and leadership training. | Marisa Charley, Fran Elrod | volunteer, EXP, credit, leadership |
| Shepherd | POV 296 Special Topics in Poverty Studies | This interdisciplinary, community-based seminar takes place at Augusta Correctional Center. Topics vary. | Howard Pickett | carceral population, EXP, CBL |
| Shepherd | POV 453 Shepherd Summer Internship | Eight-week paid summer internship working with communities and individuals experiencing poverty in a wide range of issue areas. | Fran Elrod | internship, EXP, credit, paid |
| Shepherd | #hungerfighters | #HungerFighters is a group of first year students committed to learning more about the causes and consequences of food insecurity through the combination of direct service and educational opportunities. | Ryan Brink | health, volunteer |
| Shepherd | Bonner | The Bonner Program is a national service leadership program that pairs students with local community partners aligned with their academic and professional interests to serve 1800 hours over their four years. As part of this credit-bearing opportunity, students also participate in the Bonner Foundation Student Developmental Model, which has been used nation-wide for over three decades to help students in the program graduate with strong professional and leadership skills, as well as a deep ethic of service and commitment to community. | Marisa Charley, Fran Elrod | volunteer, credit, leadership |
| Shepherd | Campus Kitchen | The Campus Kitchen at W&L aims to combat food insecurity and food waste in Rockbridge County through a number of service and educational programs. CK offers opportunities to be involved in direct service during the school year with food preparation and serving, educational events and speakers, and a summer internship program. | Ryan Brink | health, credit |
| Shepherd | Good Nabors | First-year students in the Good Nabors cohort work with the Nabors Service League to connect to service opportunities in the Rockbridge community and encourage a spirit of service among the first-year class. | Jenny Davidson | volunteer |
| Shepherd | Habitat Club | Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. | Jenny Davidson | volunteer |
| Shepherd | Nabors Service League | Foster a spirit of service at W&L through service days and alternative break trips. | Jenny Davidson | volunteer |
| Shepherd | Student to Student Mentoring Club | Provide after school social support through mentorship relationships with local students. | Jenny Davidson | K-12 schools, volunteer |
| Sociology & Anthropology | SOAN 253 Narrating our Stories: Culture, Society, and Identity | This course focuses on recognizing the ways we tell our stories and how this impacts our ability to shape our identities and experiences. Taught at Augusta Correctional Center. | Sascha Goluboff | EXP, credit, carceral population, CBL |
| Sociology & Anthropology | SOAN 276 Art & Science of Surveys | This course is designed as a group research project devoted to the art and the science of survey research. Some semesters include community-based learning projects. | Krzysztof Jasiewicz | EXP, credit |
| Student Organizations | Annual community service projects and initiatives | The Office of Student Activities advertises multiple service opportunities throughout the year that are coordinated by individual clubs on campus. | Kelsey Goodwin | volunteer |
| University Sustainability Committee | Student members | University Sustainability Committee will advise the president on matters related to the sustainability efforts of Washington and Lee. | Jane Stewart , Elizabeth Knapp | |
| Work Study | Work Study at Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden | Work Study at Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden | Miranda Edwards | paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at Carilion Hospital | Work Study at Carilion Hospital | Miranda Edwards | paid, health |
| Work Study | Work Study at Habitat for Humanity | Work Study at Habitat for Humanity | Miranda Edwards | paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at Lexington City Office on Youth | Work Study at Lexington City Office on Youth | Miranda Edwards | K-12 schools, paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at Lexington City Public Schools | Work Study at Lexington City Public Schools | Miranda Edwards | K-12 schools, paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at ODK | Work Study at ODK | Miranda Edwards | paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at Rockbridge Area Community Services | Work Study at Rockbridge Area Community Services | Miranda Edwards | paid, health |
| Work Study | Work Study at Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization (RARO) | Work Study at Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization (RARO) | Miranda Edwards | health, K-12 schools, paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at Rockbridge County Public Schools | Work Study at Rockbridge County Public Schools | Miranda Edwards | K-12 schools, paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at Rockbridge Regional Library | Work Study at Rockbridge Regional Library | Miranda Edwards | paid |
| Work Study | Work Study at United Way | Work Study at United Way | Miranda Edwards | paid, K-12 schools |
| Work Study | Work Study at YMCA | Work Study at YMCA | Miranda Edwards | paid, K-12 schools |
| Writing | WRIT 100 First-year Writing Seminar: Nonconformity and Community | Concentrated work in composition with readings ranging across disciplines. Some sections/semesters may include community-based learning opportunities. | Holly Pickett | CBL, EXP, credit |