Minor encourages community involvement, service learning

Volunteering has been a part of junior Megan Moore's life since high school. So when freshman adviser Joelene Bergonzi urged her to try "Beyond the Sample Gates," a service learning seminar in the Leadership, Ethics and Social Action Department, she did not hesitate. \n"I think that it is important to be proactive, to help out in your community or any place that you feel personally tied to," Moore said. "That is how communities grow." \nThe Leadership, Ethics and Social Action Department was the brainchild of a small group of faculty and staff from the College of Arts and Sciences who met regularly during the 2001-2002 school year to create the program, Bergonzi said. The introductory class "Beyond the Sample Gates" was offered in the fall of 2002. \nThe final class in the program, the Capstone Project and Seminar, requires students to craft their own semester-long project that responds to a community need. Students interview community members and do research to find out how they can best use their skills to create positive social change, Bergonzi said. \n"Our motto is really 'let knowledge serve the community,'" Bergonzi said. "Students use their areas of expertise to help meet a community need. It helps both deepen their learning and challenges them." \nMoore chose to get involved with the Franklin Project, a task force made up of juvenile focus groups that address the reasons behind student drop-out rates, she said. She helped organize meetings and does research to address the drop-out rate in Monroe County. \n"I want to be a juvenile judge someday," Moore said. "Working with the Franklin Project fit really well because trouble with the law is often a reason that students leave school." \nCurrently, students can only earn a minor in the Leadership, Ethics and Social Action Department. However, in the future the department may be expanded to include a certificate or major program, Bergonzi said. Students have already requested a major program, but at the moment those interested must pursue it through the Individualized Major Program. \n"In its first two years, the program grew astronomically," Bergonzi said. "We started with two people in the Capstone class, and now we have about 20. There are probably about 100 people pursuing the minor right now." \nThe program is open to any student and a wide range of majors, from business to biology, are involved, Bergonzi said.\nMoore said the program can benefit any major. \n"It is more than just volunteering," she said. "It is about cultivating interpersonal relations and learning about real working dynamics. You have to wake up and see the real world." \nStudents can choose from a number of ways to get involved in the community. They can write an informational brochure, write letters for a cause or sponsor an educational event, Bergonzi said. The project allows for individual initiative, but advisers can help make the connections to appropriate community partners.\n"Few people understand how much they will be changed by the program," Bergonzi said. "It really is a reciprocal partnership. When you engage in that kind of relationship, both sides are changed." \nStudents interested in pursuing a Leadership, Ethics and Social Action minor must apply to the program by the end of sophomore year, Bergonzi said. An information meeting will be held Feb. 22. \nAccording to the program's Web site, www.indiana.edu/~lesa/, applications must be submitted by the spring of the student's sophomore year. \nThough Moore completed her Capstone seminar project last semester, she continues to work with the Franklin Project as part of a one-credit hour independent study. \n"I wanted to stay and see the project to fruition," Moore said. "It is an ongoing process to see that the drop-out rate is lower and stays lower. Hopefully, I will eventually pass along my binders to another student when I move on"