Chance Lee, Ph.D., CNP, oversees the nonprofit leadership certificate programs at the Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University. One course he teaches, LEAD 195: Leadership and Service, is part of a three-course series for first-year students called a CAT (Connecting Across Topics) Community. CAT Communities are discipline-specific and across the three courses required for each one, first-year students have opportunities to work closely with instructors, mentors, and build their personal network – all a great start to their first year in college.
Lee wrote the following reflection about the work in his fall 2023 Leadership and Service CAT Community.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Over the course of the fall 2023 semester, first-semester students in the Leadership and Service CAT Community found themselves through experiencing a wide variety of service opportunities. Through these service learning efforts, our goal was to make an impact on the local community, but also learn and understand the systems around us so we can be better, more informed, citizens.
Students in the course experienced service learning through highly-organized projects, led by local nonprofit organizations as well as random acts of service that required no pre-planning or support from local organizations.
Examples of our projects included: Picking up loads of trash on Manhattan Hill, gardening with elementary students at Northview Elementary School, organizing food at Flint Hills Breadbasket, learning and donating at Be Able, prepping meals with Konza Student Table, and passing out food at the K-State Mobile Food Distribution organized by HandsOn Kansas State. The semester culminated in an effort to promote the Dolly Parton Imagination Library at the Manhattan Spirit of the Holidays Lighted parade and talking with around 1,000 local families about their ability to receive free books every month for their child through the program.
In the CAT community model, this one-credit hour class is paired along with two intro classes: Introduction to Sociology and Introduction to Leadership. In weekly reflection sessions in between service activities, we evaluated the experience, connected to issues from the other courses, and considered the concept of service in our lives and experiences.
“I have been able to make valuable connections with peers in my class,” said Lakota Persing, first-year student. “I have also been able to look at service in many different areas of life and learn how valuable service is to a community.”
This work is not possible without the support of local organizations who hosted our volunteers throughout the semester. Hopefully by engaging with these nonprofits their first year in Manhattan, students will find a passion for service and continue volunteering while at K-State and beyond.
