Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Service learning has be-come a crucial part of the college experience at Reinhardt University. Through classes like “Diverse People of Mexico” and campus min-istries, students have the opportunity to benefit from the experiential service aca-demically, professionally, and personally.
Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful com-munity service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Service learning may take place in your own community or it may involve travel to a different region of your own country or a different country entirely.
It may take place as part of a credit-earning course or it may involve volunteer activity, sometimes through a religious group. No matter what the circumstances in which a student engages in service learning, the benefits are endless, as we authors, Karina Rodriguez and Abby Snelson, have exper-ienced first-hand. Though our experiences were very different and in two distinct countries, the lessons and people we met along the way changed our lives forever. We’ll begin with Karina’s story.
As I looked out the window of the Delta plane, all I could see was the veil of smog that roofed Mexico City. It was spring break, and we were heading to Hidalgo, Mexico, to help the less fortunate. My classmates and I were all anxious, as we didn’t quite know what we were going to be partaking in or how our professors would be outside of the classroom.
Juan was Ascari’s uncle and would be hosting us at his home for the next seven days. The strong smell of trash and pollution quickly filled our noses. It was a three-hour ride from the airport to Hidalgo and then another hour farther to meet our leader, Ascari, at a nearby bus stop. Ascari Arias, one of Reinhardt Sociology Professor Dr. Cheryl Brown’s former students, had started the nonprofit organization Vidas De Esperanza, “Lives of Hope,” after seeing the need in his hometown. The big white van that was transporting us quickly filled with small talk from those who had previously been on the trip and those who were eager to start helping.
Painting the courts at Loma de Xothi.
Playing with the children of El Tablon.
By Karina Rodriguez & Abby Snelson
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