SUNY-ESF received an award for student and faculty activism, ranging from volunteering at a local fish hatchery to giving science lessons to Ecuadorian students.

The award, the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, recognizes projects that have major influences in communities and add value to students’ education, said Elizabeth Mix, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry community service and service-learning coordinator.

“I think we do a lot of really cool things, considering our size and limited resources,” Mix said.

She said the national award started in 2006 and ESF has won it seven times.

The service dedication of ESF students and faculty members, led by President Cornelius Murphy, has contributed to ESF’s position on the honor roll, Mix said. ESF also offers several service-learning courses, which are taken into consideration.

Mix said there are 20-25 community service projects open to first-year undergraduate students, and many complete at least one. Freshmen also clean up local parks through an orientation program called Saturday of Service.

Students also volunteer at the Rescue Mission, clean up beaches and streams, and visit local schools to help teach students about science topics.

Aislinn Brackman, a junior paper engineering major, volunteered as a judge at a science and engineering fair this past weekend at Onondaga Community College. She said she found the experience rewarding, and was surprised at how many other ESF students volunteered there.

“I think it was just awesome to see these eighth-graders who are so intelligent, and being able to help them by giving them ideas to improve their projects in the future,” Brackman said.

Many student groups are active in far-reaching ways, such as the Society of Conservation Biology, which organizes a trip to Ecuador to help re-forest the Amazon jungle, Mix said.

Many students also do community service through service-learning courses, Mix said, sometimes without even realizing it.

“They may not realize that service-learning is whenever they are taking the course content and benefiting the community with that by applying it to real situations,” she said.

One of the largest service-learning courses is about general chemistry, Mix said.

At the beginning of the semester, students can choose whether they want their grades to be based fully on written work or if they want to incorporate 20 hours of service for about 15 percent of their grade, said Kelley Donaghy, an associate professor in the chemistry department who teaches the course.

At the end of the course, students give a presentation to the class on how their community service relates to class topics and can benefit their future careers, she said.

Community connections that students can make from this activism give them opportunities for future careers, Donaghy said.

“The students get out and meet people in the area, potentially future employers,” she said.

A popular option for many students is volunteering at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology to put on educational programs for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, she said.

Donaghy added that many students take the course for the hands-on service-learning aspect, rather than for a degree requirement. Out of about 252 students in the program this semester, only about 3 percent are chemistry majors, she said.

Maureen Bishop, a junior environmental science major, took Donaghy’s service-learning course and volunteers at Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery, the Salvation Army and local elementary schools.

Said Bishop: “I think working with community members shows us how the real world works and the value of our hard work and dedication for others.”

Published on March 17, 2013 at 11:52 pm

Contact Shannon: smhazlit@syr.edu