CSUCL recognizes 160 students at annual service-learning ceremony

May 6, 2010

164 Rutgers students involved in the Center’s portfolio of service-learning initiatives for the 2009-2010 academic year.
The Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership recently held a ceremony to recognize the work of 164 Rutgers students involved in the Center’s portfolio of service-learning initiatives for the 2009-2010 academic year. 

Rutgers students and staff from the CSUCL gathered on May 6th for the Center’s annual Student Recognition Ceremony in the Camden Campus Center.  At the ceremony the Center spotlighted its many academic, health, and human service initiatives and the students that were placed in them this year through internships, fellowships, work-study, or through academic courses. 

Over 80 students took a break from studying for final exams to attend the luncheon, where they each received a certificate from the CSUCL for successfully completing their placement duties, followed by applause from the 100 member audience led by Chancellor Wendell Pritchett, Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, and Dr. Robyne Turner. 

Some of the programs that students worked in, some for as many as 300 service hours, included the Family Support Center, the Center for College Access, Jumpstart, the YES Institute, ASPIRE, and LEAP Academy Charter School. 

Successful partnerships with academic departments on campus also allowed 31 students from the Rutgers School of Nursing to complete clinical field rotations, 10 students from the School of Social Work to complete field placements, and created academic credit courses for 35 Rutgers undergraduates. 

Chancellor Pritchett lauded the Center and its students for their hard work and commitment to advancing the university’s scholarship and community engagement and anticipated seeing even more students next year as the Center continued to expand its programs. 

CSUCL Director Gloria Bonilla-Santiago said the Center treasured these students’ talents and enthusiasm.  “The work of these students is a critical component of the Center’s academic and research mission as we continue to expand the breadth of our programs and their impact on the Rutgers, LEAP, and Camden city community,” Dr. Santiago said.