Beyond Service: Discovering Service-Learning

Service learning has been a passion of mine even before I was aware of the term service learning. As a high school student I attended a summer program, the Global Youth Village, which focused on youth leadership, dialogue, conflict resolution, and cross-cultural understanding. As part of this program, youth participated in action teams, which were 2-3 week long service projects meant to be youth-created and youth-led. As a student, I was inspired by the process. In a very short time we learned how to reflect on our roles in a group, organize ourselves, and truly work together to decide on an idea and plan of action. We decided to host a hunger banquet to shed light on issues of hunger and overall global inequity. Although the ‘learning’ side occurred throughout, I think the key moment was during our debrief of the project. People learned the capacity of their leadership and what they were able to accomplish.

This idea has stuck with me ever since. I realized that the most exciting part for me wasn’t simply accomplishing the goal or completing the project; it was seeing the transformation of people as they went through the process. That is what sets apart ‘service learning’ from simply ‘service’ or ‘learning.’

That transformation part of service learning has been a key motivation in the work I’ve done since graduating high school and college. Throughout college I worked as a counselor at the same summer program, leading action teams on art for social change, the power of mental maps, and leadership council. After graduating college, I worked for a year as an Americorps Promise Fellow with the Minnesota Alliance for Youth, an organization dedicated to providing service learning opportunities for middle school youth. Now, in my current position as an Americorps VISTA for the American Oromo Community of MN through the City of St. Paul, I am excited to develop the infrastructure of a service learning program for our afterschool program. I have never been to the NYLC National Service Learning Conference before, but I am thrilled to attend in March. I see it as an opportunity to gather resources, have fun, and connect with people across the country inspired for the same reason.

Amanda Duhon is an Americorps VISTA at the American Oromo Community of MN, City of St. Paul VISTA Program