Boys and Girls Club, blood drives and the Student Global AIDS Campaign are just a handful of the volunteer opportunities offered through the Kernodle Center for Service Learning.

With so many programs, it is no wonder that almost 90 percent of Elon students have been involved with service by the time they graduate.

Service learning at Elon was noted as one of the “Programs to Look For” in the 2008 U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Colleges” Edition. Service Learning also won a Presidential Award in the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

More than 500 colleges applied for this first year of the Honor Roll. Six schools were highlighted, three for their Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and three for their overall quality of service. Elon was one of the three schools recognized for overall service.

“We applied hoping just to get on the Presidential Honor Roll,” said Kathleen Edwards, assistant director of the Kernodle Center. Instead, Elon was awarded as one of the top three schools in the nation for service. The award also recognizes other service programs at Elon like America Reads and Periclean Scholars.

Through the Kernodle Center and other programs, students have access to a wide variety of service opportunities. There are some intensive options like academic service learning, which requires 30 to 40 hours of service. Students can also get involved with Elon Volunteers, which has over 60 student leaders.

Elon Volunteers offers such programs as Adopt-a-Grandparent, S.H.A.R.E., Safe Rides, Make-a-Difference Day and Special Olympics. There are also awareness programs like Invisible Children and Amnesty International.

Domestic and international service trips for students are offered during fall break, spring and fake break and on weekends.

Edwards attributes the success of service learning at Elon to faculty and student support. The program encourages students to initiate and run service projects.

“We want students to develop an ethic of service, one that recognizes that there are multiple perspectives in the world,” Edwards said.

Some students may participate in service on only a few occasions while others might decide that they want to dedicate a majority of their time to it.

“Through making connections with people on campus and at the service sites, I got sucked further into a place where I don’t know any other way to spend my life,” said junior Bonnie Harvey, a Kernodle Center intern.

Edwards believes that service learning is mutually beneficial. The needs of the community are aided by the students’ volunteer work and students gain a broader worldview.

“There is more to service than just hitting a nail with a hammer or playing with kids,” Edwards said. “We have to understand the issues that require service to exist.”

Harvey agrees that the community serves as a teacher that leads students to be more responsible citizens.

“It’s given me leadership and communication skills that I could never have learned in a classroom,” she said.

This year the Kernodle Center plans to offer two new programs. The Service Scholars program is a combination of academics and workshops that students can apply for the second semester of their freshman year. The Student Initiative Grant program will provide $1,000 for a service project after an application and interview process.

Reporter: Alexa Milan - 09/05/07