Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University is celebrating community service and engagement with a week of activities that included a documentary screening, community murals, and participation in various service projects.

Organized by the Stockton Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, the week will run from Monday, Nov. 18, to Friday, Nov. 22.

"The Week of Engagement aims to focus on the value of community engagement within Stockton and between Stockton and our external community, reflect on our best practices, including the high impact of service-learning, and chart new approaches," Merydawilda Colón, SCCESL’s executive director, said.

The Michael B. Jacobson Board of Trustees Room provided an intimate environment for Nov. 19’s Celebration of Service event as students shared and discussed the service-learning projects that they worked on throughout the fall academic term and the impact that these projects had on the local community.

In his remarks shortly before the program began, Provost Michael Palladino emphasized the significance of undergraduate research and service-learning, saying that projects such as the ones highlighted during the event were high-impact practices (HIPs) that “make a difference” in a student’s collegiate experience.

“Experiences like this help students select their vocation, gain a greater sense of purpose, find their passion, majors, careers,” Palladino said. “For me, undergraduate research was one of those HIPs, and I had experiences that were far better than any didactic class I had, and it propelled me to graduate school and to work in different higher education institutions.”

Palladino also shared a surprising statistic: nationally, less than one-third of university/college students participate in service-learning. He urged students not to take their experiences or the opportunities presented to them for granted. 

“Service-learning is not just about community service; it’s about learning social responsibility, cultural competency, compassion, understanding and, when a university does it well, it’s about fostering a long-term commitment to help elevate our communities,” Palladino said.

Student projects had a wide range of topics, including mental health, food insecurity and youth and senior services. Kaylyn Ullman, an Environmental Studies major, presented the research and projects she completed through Tuckerton’s Environmental Commission, of which she serves as Ocean County’s youngest chairman.

In the three years that she’s held this role, she oversaw the maintenance of a community garden and pantry, participated in Project Terrapin with Stockton at Tuckerton Beach, hosted an annual night admiring the local flora and fauna called Moth Night and more.

Through the commission, Ullman is currently examining Tuckerton’s waterways to earn more credit toward federal and state grants for the county.

“Right now, I’m compiling all of the informational data about our waterways in the area, where our drinking water comes from, all of the water’s uses and how we can work together to make it more sustainable,” Ullman said.

The majority of the projects highlighted were collaborations with service organizations already actively involved in the community, including SCCESL’s current in-house project offerings, the ARC of Atlantic County, the Eastern Service Workers Association, Angels in Motion and Jewish Family Services. 

One of the projects on the floor was SCCESL’s current homework completion program in Atlantic City’s Stanley Holmes Village. Greg Copeland, a Sociology & Anthropology major from Atlantic City, said the two-year experience was “beautiful” and that he and his peers who joined the program with him experienced “eye-opening” moments with the middle schoolers.

“In my whole experience in the city, I never realized just how diverse we are. It’s a beautiful sight to see,” Copeland said, sharing Census results that show Atlantic City’s demographics as minority-majority, with African Americans second to Hispanics/Latinos. “Experiencing the kids, I got to see a lot of ‘a-ha’ moments: kids that were told, to their faces, that they’re ‘dumb’ or ‘not good enough’ but seeing them realize that they’re amazing and smart with beautiful minds. I got to see these kids grow up through this program.

“I also got to see the culture shock from my classmates – a lot of them would be surprised by the things the kids say, asking, ‘Wait, how do they know about this?’ and I explained that, with inner-city living, you’re forced to grow up fast. This is their life, and yours may look completely different.”

Following the poster presentations, student researchers were given certificates by the SCCESL team.  

“Celebrating students’ service-learning work is a testament to the commitment and accomplishment of the success students have completed in serving their community,” Taylor Coyne, coordinator of Service-Learning, said. “It provides them with a sense of purpose, appreciation and gratitude to continue serving." 

Future activities include Thursday, Nov. 21’s Fall Day of Service on both the Galloway (beginning at 11 a.m. in the Multicultural Center) and Hammonton (beginning at 2 p.m. in front of Kramer Hall) campuses and an alumni panel on service careers co-hosted with the offices of Alumni Relations and Career Education & Development in the Campus Center Meeting Room 5, starting at 6 p.m.

To conclude the week, SCCESL will invite the campus community to contribute to an interactive mural that raises the question, “How do you contribute to your community?” The mural will be in the Lower E-Wing Gallery from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22.

– Story by Loukaia Taylor

– Photos by Susan Allen

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