Student Life program coordinator says community service beneficial to students
Photo by Jennifer Pearsall
Katie Treadwell leading an Adopt-a-Street service learning day, September 25.
Mia Cantu
News Writing Student
Learning through volunteer service to the community is worthwhile for students, said Katie Treadwell, the Service Learning and Student Life program coordinator.
Treadwell recently spoke to a journalism class about the benefits of going outside the classroom to participate in service learning programs.
Treadwell is a Baylor University graduate with a hefty load of service learning projects under her belt.
She has been involved in many such programs including Teachers for America and Habitat for Humanity.
When describing her involvement in Teachers for America, Treadwell discussed her time spent teaching in the Bronx, in New York.
“I have stories that involve third graders trying to beat up teachers, third grade students getting arrested in class, and pregnancy scares,” she said.
Treadwell said the experience woke her up to a world where everything wasn’t about her anymore.
Service learning is a program where students are able to dedicate their time to certain charitable organizations in order to gain something other than financial payment in return, she said.
Most students involved with service learning programs benefit in the sense that they leave the experience with a better knowledge of what their future careers might hold for them.
Treadwell said OCCC offers eight service days a year that she organizes and attends with groups of students.
The service days remaining for the fall semester are helping build a new home for an Oklahoma City family through Habitat for Humanity Saturday, Nov. 21, and ringing bells for the Salvation Army Saturday, Dec. 5, she said.
There are programs to benefit many majors, Treadwell said, but students also can get involved with them simply out of the goodness of their hearts.
OCCC sponsors many charitable organizations.
Some involve animals, like Oklahoma City Animal Welfare.
Others are open to volunteers at places such as the Oklahoma Heritage Association/Gaylord-Pickens Museum.
Treadwell said service learning is a great way for students to discover whether they are going to enjoy the career fields they are studying.
When students lend a helping hand, she said, they are learning things they cannot receive in a classroom.
Some psychology majors are required to participate in these programs because they need a real, personal experience with the types of people they will be dealing with on a regular basis.
Service learning offers a real life test run for countless careers.
For more information on service learning at OCCC, contact Treadwell at 405-682-1611, ext. 7683.
