About 70 Mount Saint Mary College students in the course “Forms of Literature” took learning beyond the classroom by serving at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in Cornwall, N.Y. and the Downing Park Urban Farm in Newburgh, N.Y.
The initiative was spearheaded by Rob Wakeman, associate professor of English and First-Year Writing Coordinator; Marie-Therese Sulit, professor of English and director of the Mount’s Honors Program; and Peter Witkowsky, associate professor of English and chair of the Division of Humanities.
Together, the students and their professors logged more than 160 hours of service.
“Not only does studying literature teach critical reading, writing, and thinking skills, it also teaches empathy,” noted Wakeman. “How can we use storytelling to see the world through someone else's eyes? So we wanted to put the empathy skills students were learning into practice by volunteering in our community.”
During the course, students read stories about food, family, and hunger by authors like Sandra Cisneros, Grace Stone Coates, Angelique Stevens, and Merlinda Bobis. They continued these conversations not in the classroom, but while serving their community. Students then wrote an essay reflecting on the experience, connecting the class readings to issues people face every day in our communities.
This kind of hands-on experience benefits not only the community, but the students as well, Wakeman said.
“In the end, we want students to see how a college education does more than help them get a job,” he explained. “They can make a difference in their communities and help create a more livable world.”