Serve IT, a student-based technological resources clinic, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with networking sessions, presentations and a panel discussion.
Technology for Social Good, which will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 31 in Memorial Stadium, will be led by IU first lady Laurie Burns McRobbie and the School of Informatics and Computing.
The organization recruits IU students with backgrounds in technology to assist nonprofit organizations in projects ranging from creating websites to managing databases . Students are placed in specialized groups and matched with organizations before developing a strategic plan.
“Serve IT brings IU closer to the Bloomington community,” sophomore Karina Abramowski said. “
Abramowski is an intern on the Development Internal Training Team, where she trains other Serve IT teams to become proficient in various forms of technology, such as JIRA, a bug tracking system for businesses and nonprofits.
During her first semester on Serve IT, Abramowski said she has developed several technical skills to help her in the future, although her accounting major may not be directly technologically related.
She said she has also become a better professional, while working with nonprofit organizations to improve and spend more time on achieving their goals.
McRobbie and SoIC Assistant Dean Maureen Biggers founded Serve IT in 2010. They said their objective was to create an inclusive technical environment by combining service learning and professional development.
“Serve IT works well for many reasons,” McRobbie said in a press release. “The teams work across semesters, and the entire focus is on what the nonprofit needs, not the requirements of a course. The interns are also required to provide 10 hours of direct service, so they have a stake in the organization they’re serving.”
The organization has served over 45 clients with the help of over 330 interns. The total amount of services Serve IT has provided in five years is estimated by the clinic to be $282,000, according to the press release.
Sponsors fund the clinic, and applications for both interested sponsors and interns open in the middle of each semester.
Freshman Brooke Foulk said her time as an intern on the Teach IT team has allowed her to help others while preparing her with skills for a career in informatics.
“We go to events and spread awareness on fun things in technology, like coding, especially to younger kids who don’t get the opportunities to learn about them,” Foulk said.
Foulk said her group works with the Monroe County Library, Boys and Girls Club and elementary schools throughout Bloomington to engage and inspire an interest for technology in both students and community members.
“What Serve IT has done for me has shown me a way to use my passion for technology in ways that benefit others,” Foulk said.
