Celts Students Adapt Programs to Pandemic Conditions
Adaptability serves as a perennial guideword for the community-engaged work of students in the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS). Adjusting plans and programs to the realities of day-to-day life is part of working in community, and students’ skills of adaptability have been well-utilized during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the innovations developed during the pandemic will inform the work of CELTS into the future, offering expanded ways of serving with the community. For example, the Berea Tutoring Program developed an option for remote video tutoring, which will continue to be offered alongside traditional in-person tutoring options.
“We have developed new skills and practices during the pandemic that will strengthen the work of CELTS into the future,” said CELTS Associate Director Sarah Rohrer.
Students’ outreach and community-engaged work through CELTS has looked different during the pandemic, but it has never stopped. In the most recent academic year, CELTS students welcomed increased opportunities for in-person programming as pandemic circumstances allowed.
“Our services have been very different compared to what [they] used to be, but our purpose is still the same,” reflected Bonner Scholar and Berea Buddies team member Wilmer ’23. “I know that when things get better, we will be able to go back to seeing those connections and relationships flourish in the CELTS space.”
Looking forward, Rohrer said, “While we’ve been grateful to strengthen our adaptability muscles during the pandemic, we are also heartily looking forward to a new normal. We look forward to once again hosting hundreds of Berea College student volunteers each semester, with a variety of opportunities to be engaged in the Berea community through more than 40 hours of programming a week, serving populations from kindergarten to senior citizens.”
Enjoy a glimpse into a few of the service and community-engagement programs offered by students through CELTS this year.
Adopt-a-Grandparent (AGP) volunteers have traditionally visited with and provided programs for residents of long-term care facilities. Since in-person visits were not possible during the pandemic, AGP team members created door decorations for each resident’s birthday alongside holiday cards for each resident. They also created “craft-to-go” kits to provide additional opportunities for creativity and socialization. Throughout the year, at events like Mountain Day, the AGP team invited students from across campus to make cards that were delivered to residents.In collaboration with local schools, Berea Buddies created school-based and remote programming for children, including Buddies Backpacks filled with craft supplies and activities. “Berea Buddies is important because we give children the opportunity to be seen and heard,” said Bonner Scholar and Berea Buddies team member Jenna ’24.First-Year Bonner Scholars led a series of
afterschool programs for students at Berea Community Middle School. They also collaborated with various community partner organizations for short-term service projects, including cooking meals for the Berea-based Room in the Inn seasonal shelter for individuals without
permanent housing.The Habitat for Humanity program collaborated with the Madison and Clark County Habitat
Affiliate, using Bonner Community Funds, to support a repair program, including building a new accessibility ramp for a community member. “[Building the ramp] represented a significant
community-building experience for the Habitat team, as we worked alongside each other, met
an actual member of the Berea community and once again showed the town that our work is expanding back into the local sector,” said Bonner Scholar and Habitat for Humanity team member, Chase ’24 (second from right).Through the Hispanic Outreach Program (HOP), students offered Spanish-language classes and tutoring, translated written materials into Spanish for organizations like the Madison County Public Library and the Madison County Clerk’s Office, and offered on-campus cultural and educational programming through HOP Talks and the annual Dia de los Muertos altar. “It was beautiful hearing the reasons why our English-speaking [participants] wanted to learn Spanish. As a result, we understood each other on a more personal level and created a welcoming environment to learn Spanish,” said HOP team member Ofelia ’23 (pictured).Students in service-learning courses collaborated with community partner organizations to build beehive habitats, databases and websites to provide programming and program materials for students from elementary age through adults. A student in TAD 140, Design Production in Wood, taught by Engineering Technologies and Applied Design Professor Dr. Gary Mahoney ‘82, said, “It’s different from other design classes because in those you’re not really working with anyone in
practice. But in this class, we can apply what we’re learning. We’re serving a purpose, so it’s
really different. Usually, we’re doing projects for ourselves or for a grade, but now it’s for someone.”
I will like to be there