CEL Reflections
Curricular Community Engaged Learning
This course was such an insightful experience because it is so hands on. The active involvement in the community allows room for understanding the struggles of addictions, the need for recovery programs, and the need for compassion. Before this course, we all came in with our own set of biases, but we are now able to see addictions for what it is behind the stigma that it's burdened with. Being able to find creative means to aid these amazing programs out there helping those who are facing these kinds of struggles really inspired me to look more into what I'd like to do in the future.” - Addictions Theory student
"I have always wanted to go to law school and become a lawyer, but I never considered doing advocacy or volunteer work as a lawyer. At the community agency where I did the [CEL] project, retired accountants volunteer their time to help those who cannot afford to see an accountant. I now realize that, if I am successful at becoming a lawyer, I can use my knowledge to volunteer and help those who cannot otherwise afford those services. Through this experience, I have learned the importance of helping others.” - Community Psychology student
“In terms of the CEL experience, I thought it was an amazing way to get exposure and build confidence in the practicality of our skills since usually, the only application we get to see is on exams. Julie and Michelle from VON were outstanding sponsors and extremely supportive throughout the entire process which made the CEL experience one of the best and most rewarding aspects of the semester.” - Project Management Student
"Having the opportunity to participate in CEL was an amazing opportunity to interact and engage with our community to get a sense of what goes on outside of the 'Western Bubble'. Opportunities like this do not come along every day and having such a wonderful experience was priceless." - Sociology of Deviance Student
Co-Curricular Community Engaged Learning
“By working with the children living in this rural and isolated region, I was able to apply my learning about health promotion and the social determinants of health from my lectures in class. I watched all of my textbook learning come to life and I understood the importance of so many health concepts. This opportunity allowed me to explore a new culture, and explore my understanding of the world.” - Alternative Spring Break participant
"Orientation Serves was an amazing new addition to the Orientation Program last year. It allowed first-year students to immerse themselves into the London community, either as someone new to the community, or as someone who has lived in London for years, but never before as a Western student. Students were able to spend the afternoon learning and volunteering, which also helped them bond with their new peers and helped them feel as if they are part of the London community. As a student who helped organize O-Serves Day, I think the best part was talking to students when they got back. Many students I talked to shared how connected they felt to the community, how they felt inspired, and that they had interest in volunteering with their organization again, which were ultimately our goals of the program." - Jenna Froebelius, 2017 charity soph; 2018 Charity coordinator
"This service-learning opportunity was truly remarkable and has allowed me to grow both academically and personally. Not only was I able to use what I had learned in class to assist in a community-driven project, but I was also able to learn more about gratitude, resilience, and cultural competence. We also learned about the genocides that occurred in Peru against their aboriginal communities and I felt that this paralleled some of the issues that Canada has had. This learning highlighted that it was important to support this community because of its aboriginal roots and systematic isolation. In this way, I feel that I learned more about Canadian history and realized that human history is extremely similar worldwide." - Alternative Spring Break participant
