Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research
What can the Center do for you?
Penn State Berks embraces service learning and community-based undergraduate research for what these projects do for others as well as for what they can do for you as a student.
The publicized benefits of service learning and community-based undergraduate research for students include
- allowing you to take an active role in your education;
- enriching your understanding of the course material by integrating theory with practice;
- deepening your appreciation of issues through first-hand exposure to real-life situations and examples;
- sharpening your ability to think critically and to solve problems;
- teaching you practical ?on-the-job? skills;
- developing your collaborative skills with a diverse group of individuals, including community leaders and members, as well as fellow students;
- turning in-depth learning about real issues into a genuine service to the community;
- strengthening your values and allowing you to act upon them; and
- empowering you to effect change.
Projects help you draw meaningful connections between classroom learning and the world beyond the campus, urging you to understand your role as a responsible citizen in a complex world. You will be able to apply the knowledge and skills you learn in the classroom to help understand and solve important community questions. And most importantly, you will be able to share your findings and your conclusions, not just with your professor, but with the community organization or agency working to address those issues.
Pictured to the right are students with the late Senator Michael O'Pake 
at the Hispanic Center of Reading Annual Gala, where the Hispanics/Latinos in Reading and Berks: A Portrait of a Community debuted.
To enroll in a course offered with the Center, contact Dr. Grobman.
For more information, e-mail Dr. Laurie Grobman ([email protected]) or call 610-396-6141.