Service Learning & Community Service Internships!
In collaboration with the Office of Community Service (http://www.service.gatech.edu/)
Find a part-time or full-time internship with a non-profit or other civic organization!
Community service focuses on giving back to the community. Service learning has an emphasis on furthering the participant’s academic knowledge while giving back to the community. The UPI program recognizes the value of both activities, and students are welcome to register either type with the UPI office.
Service Learning Internships: Interested in finding an internship with a non-profit or other civic organization that allows you to give back to the community?! Be sure to check out these sites:
- VolunteerMatch: www.volunteermatch.org/directory/
You can search for non-profit organizations by zip code and/or area of interest.
Additional Resources for Finding a Service Learning or Community Service Internship
You can find a service learning or community service opportunity through our job database, P2D2 (http://www.upi.gatech.edu/p2d2.php, through our list of agency contacts , or on your own and have it approved by a UPI advisor.
Students who choose to seek a service learning or community service internship will have the same benefits as a traditional UPI student; they will register for an audited internship course (http://www.upi.gatech.edu/internship_registration.php) to maintain their full-time student status.
Students interested in Service Learning should start the process by completing a UPI Application http://www.upi.gatech.edu/application_process.php) and bringing it to the Division of Professional Practice located on the 1st floor of the Savant Building.
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Community Service refers to service that a person performs for the benefit of his or her local community. People become involved in community service for a range of reasons — for some, serving community is an altruistic act of giving back to others or for developing and practicing professional skills.
Mandatory Community Research has recently increased in many schools in our country. A study was done to prove, students who maintain a weekly community service record, 85% of the time, are more likely to succeed and have a higher grade point average than those who do none at all.
Examples of community service projects include (but are not limited to):
- cleaning a park
- collecting much needed items including clothes, shoes, food, blankets, etc.
- getting involved with Habitat for Humanity
- reading to the elderly in nursing homes
- helping out a local fire or police department
- performing health assessments
- helping out at a local library
- tutoring developmentally disabled children
“Service-Learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. Reflection and reciprocity are key concepts of service-learning.” (Jacoby, 1996)
In 1990, the Corporation for National and Community Service conception of service-learning said that it:
- Promotes learning through active participation in service experiences
- Provides structured time for students to reflect by thinking, discussing and/or writing about their service experience
- Provides an opportunity for students to use skills and knowledge in real-life situations
- Extends learning beyond the classroom and into the community
- Fosters a sense of caring for others
(as adapted from the National and Community Service Act of 1990)
