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This first semester in the ITP is the first experience that Ive had with legitimate service
learning and what an experience it has been. Ive learned so much about what service learning is,
how it affects the community and how it truly impacts the person who is involved with the
service projects themselves. Service learning is not only beneficial to the community but to the
student who is involved. The experiences that a student can gain in a student learning
opportunity are priceless.
First, it is important to explain what service learning is, before I begin reflecting on what
it means to me. Service learning was a new idea to me that I hadnt had much opportunity to
experience, although in theory it sounded very beneficial. I quickly learned that service learning
is relating the information that is obtained in the classroom to real life activities and experiences
that also benefit a community. Service-learning involves students in community service
activities and applies the experience to personal and academic development (Kankiewicz).
Service learning applies learning to real world experience so that students are both book
smart and street smart. Service learning encourages the understanding of concepts through
involvement and active learning. From what Ive come to understand, students tend to do better
when they interact and do things instead of listening to a lecture about a theory only. They need
to be actively doing things to fully understand a concept that theyve learned about in school. Its
like ELK compared to schema, for an example. ELK is worthwhile and important, but schema is
where deeper understanding comes in-book learning combined with actual experience.
Service learning is an innovative way for students to better their education, improve their
community as well as get a feel of what volunteering is like. Volunteer work is not necessarily
related to school work; rather, volunteering involves choosing something that you as an
individual are passionate about and donating your time to better the cause. Volunteering can

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definitely makes you feel proud, accomplished and happy but it doesnt necessarily further your
education. Volunteer work is focused on bettering other people, while service learning
incorporates that with furthering educational concepts learned in school.
From my perspective, there are a few different reasons I should be involved in service
learning. For one, it will most definitely benefit my future interpreting career, it will increase my
skill in ASL and it will benefit the community that I care so much about. Also, service learning
should be able to relate all of my ELK, and my book knowledge and apply it to real life
experience, which is extremely beneficial as an ITP student. Ideally, service learning enriches a
particular course of study, and students have the opportunity to reflect in the classroom on their
experiences. (Strom).
Service learning will definitely benefit my future career as an interpreter because I will be
seen in and even more involved in the Deaf community. Networking and making connections in
the community is a huge part of becoming a successful and talented interpreter. If I am out
volunteering and working to benefit the Deaf community, not only am I marketing myself as a
future interpreter, but Im meeting new Deaf friends. The goal is for them to see me as a
beneficial member of the community who truly cares.
Also, by being involved in these projects my ASL skills will improve by leaps and
bounds because Ill be interacting with many different Deaf people. Its not only exciting for the
possibility that my skills will improve vastly, but also that Ill be meeting so many new friends. I
love to meet new people and by being involved in service learning I will be able to meet a
variety of new people and possible job connections for the future.
I think one thing that is hugely critical to why service learning is important is the benefit
to the community that you get involved in. Service learning gives students an opportunity to get

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involved and benefit a community that, as ASL students, we are all extremely passionate about.
By doing service projects, I gain experiences that not only benefit my skill and future career but
also benefit the Deaf community.
Since last year I have been involved in the Gold Heart Volunteer Group through the Deaf
center, and I had the opportunity to volunteer every Friday for a few months. I was the teachers
aide in the childrens class while the parents went to the CASE parenting class that was offered
there.
Originally, the only reason I chose to get involved with this opportunity was to fulfill my
volunteer hours for my Service Learning class. I also really like kids so that seemed like a good
volunteer opportunity for me. I expected the seemingly obvious. I knew Id be getting more than
the required hours of volunteer service in the community, I knew Id enjoy playing with the kids
and I knew Id be meeting new people. Other than that, my expectations were just average, I
didnt expect anything extraordinary. To my very pleasant surprise, I gained more than I
couldve ever imagined. I decided that I would like to have a future career involving both ASL
and children. I also adore volunteer work, especially in the Deaf community and definitely want
to pursue that as part of my career and education. Also, this opportunity actually inspired me to
get more involved at church and to get ASL involved in our church ministry. I am now coleading worship for children and I get to teach them gestures and signs to go along with our
music.
Ive benefited through all of those things. Ive found a new passion in using ASL with
children, and Ive found a more specific career goal to work towards. I feel much more involved
in the community than I ever have been and Ive made new connections and friendships I never
would have had I not volunteered. This experience has done nothing but benefit me more than I

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couldve ever imagined. If I would change anything about the experience that I had volunteering
this last semester, I would try to give as much of my time as I could to volunteering and working
in the community. I would also go in with the attitude to learn and grow from the experience and
to genuinely help people in the community that I love.
With this new-found passion I have for volunteer work, I have included a service project
I think would be excellently beneficial for the Deaf community. I love helping projects that have
already been set up, and I plan to do that at the Deaf center with the rest of the cohort, although
this service project idea could be a great one to get started in the community.
This project was completed by a group of seniors who decided to help the elderly in the
area so that they are well-prepared and knowledgeable of what to do in the case of a natural
disaster. They held neighborhood parties to help educate the elderly as well as researched the
areas around their homes for pet-friendly shelters so they would know where to take their pets.
I think it's completely possible to relate this to the Deaf community because the Deaf
community in general deserves the same information as the majority hearing population. I think
it's a great opportunity to serve, meet new people and get more involved in the community.
There could be an assembly of sorts at the Deaf center for the community to attend and learn
about what to do in a natural disaster. This would be an opportunity to educate and train them, as
well as give those supplies and information of where to go if a natural disaster were to occur.
This is something that could be set up with the help of all of the ASL students in the community
as well as the community members and Deaf center.
The ITP Cohort is going to get involved with the Deaf center starting in January to plan
the summer camp that will be held there. From the beginning to the end and all the details inbetween, the ITP students will help plan, set up and come up with ideas for the summer camp.

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We will be working closely with Mary Beth Baierl and also with Joene Nicolaisen. The summer
camp will be a week sometime in June. It will be Monday-Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm. The
themes and activities are to be decided upon planning with the ladies at the Deaf center.
This activity is going to positively impact a huge amount of people, children and adults
alike. The Deaf community, parents and children both, will benefit from this opportunity greatly
if my prediction is correct. The children will be interacting with each other, Deaf adults and
hearing adults who are learning ASL which will benefit their language skills and social skills.
The kids will have a great time, and will meet new people that they may or may not have met
before.
The parents of these children will be pleased to have their children in an interactive and
educational summer camp that also involves them in the Deaf community. The parents will be
given a break from the kids and will give their children an opportunity to learn and grow in an
environment that is conducive to visual learning and social skill development.
This service project will be so beneficial to the students learning as well. Students will
learn how to plan and prepare a summer camp in a large group. There will be opportunities to
learn about compromise, open discussion and building rapport with others who are from a
different culture and perspective. Students will expand their knowledge of what it takes to
prepare an educational summer camp from start to finish, which will include all the creative
brainstorming, planning, set up of activities and field trips, advertisements and more. Also, there
will be immense time to learn hands on about Deaf culture, and ASL and the natural usage of it.
Not only have service projects been beneficial for me as a student in the ITP, my opportunity to
mentor one on one with a close friend of mine as well as working closely with Mercy Persinger
as a teachers aide has been an invaluable time for me.

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My experience working with my Deaf mentor-Gabby, and volunteering in the community

has taught me so much about myself and about Deaf culture. Ive gained insight into the
perspective of many different Deaf people about a multitude of questions Ive had, and my
signing skills have definitely improved.
My work with my mentor, Gabby, has taught me to be more confident in myself. She is
good at helping me to feel comfortable in my own skin when signing but also telling me what to
improve and how to do it. She is always encouraging and feels that I am part of the community,
which means a lot. My ability to converse in ASL has improved a lot through my time with her. I
feel that Im more confident in my place as a friend and ally in the Deaf community. Ive
become more aware of the powerful place Im in as a future interpreter and about the double
bind that Im caught in- between the power of being a hearing person and future interpreter and
the solidarity of having friendships in the community.
My volunteer work is something that has truly touched my heart. Ive grown in my ASL
skills, in my social skills and my professional skills. Ive also really improved my ability to work
with children and educate them at the same time. The time I was able to spend personally
working Mercy Persinger, who was the Deaf teacher, was an excellent experience. She helped
me improve in my signing as well as my ability to lead the class and take responsibility for the
students.
I would recommend that every majors program have a service learning aspect. Its not
only beneficial to the community but its invaluably beneficial for the student who can get
involved. This opportunity to be involved in the Deaf community as a service learning student
has given me the chance to network and build relationships with people who will affect my
career and my future life. Without this opportunity to volunteer in the community, I would have

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lost out on an experience of a life-time, and a new-found passion that will carry through the rest
of my life.

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Works Cited:
Kankiewicz, Kim. "Definition of Service Learning." Writing@CSU. Web. 4 Sept. 2014.
<http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/service_learning/definition.cfm>.
Strom, Stephanie. "Does Service Learning Really Help?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 9
Dec. 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
http://www.nylc.org/resources/projects/safety-preparedness-seniors