Community Service FWS: “It’s Like a Real Job”
“It’s like a real job. [Students] are considered part of the agency, they go to staff meetings, they’re treated with respect, and the work they do is really meaningful.” Don Hayes
Coordinator of Community Service (Retired)
Keene State College
Keene State College has a close relationship with many community agencies. Don Hayes, who worked at the college for 13 years &emdash; most recently as the Coordinator of Community Service &emdash; wanted to see students serving long-term at the agencies and becoming “ambassadors” between the agencies and the college. He believed having students work in the community would improve town-gown relationships.
Hayes had tried for years to get access to Federal Work-Study (FWS) funds that could be used for positions at some of the community agencies where the college already had relationships. Receiving a grant through Campus Compact for New Hampshire was the impetus for a meeting among representatives from the Financial Aid office, the Presidents’ office, the faculty, and Hayes to discuss the possibilities for a new community service FWS program. Keene State has many students who qualify for FWS and the college relies on the services the students provide in different departments.
When discussing what helped make the new program possible, Hayes credits having key stakeholders in the program (Financial Aid, Community Service, community agencies, faculty, and the President’s office) talking together from the beginning. They realized they were all hoping for the kind of student learning possible in a program like community service FWS.
When Hayes learned that a staff member from the Financial Aid office had a background in career services — including experience creating internship positions in the community — he asked her to join his steering committee. At meetings, a respected community leader spoke out positively and persuasively about what the positions would mean for the community. At a statewide meeting of colleges and universities, Hayes brought the Financial Aid staff to hear from other institutions about the benefits of a community service FWS program. “Those things helped move the idea of more money for community service work-study from ‘no’ to ‘maybe’” Hayes says. After three or four meetings of the key people, the FWS “Fellows” program was created.
Keene State already had a community research center through the Sociology department. Through the center, students connect with different community agencies and provide research services such as surveys and focus groups. Some of those community agencies were already close partners of the college and were among the first to host a FWS Fellow. The director of the center, a faculty member, co-directs the Fellows program.
Keene State annually supports eight FWS Fellows who make a year-long commitment to the community agency where they work. The Fellows’ position descriptions are advertised on a webpage that students access. When students express interest in the Fellows program, the Coordinator of Community Service arranges an interview with the community agency.
The steering committee for the program meets once per semester over lunch with all eight student Fellows and their community supervisors. Half of the meeting is devoted to hearing student and community organization perspectives, and the reports are very positive. In addition, the program has developed a Memorandum of Understanding that all parties (student, agency, and college staff) sign to clarify roles.
All student Fellows go through an orientation. The Fellows also meet with an experienced “lead” student three weeks after they start for a focus group. The lead student then reports outcomes to the steering committee. The lead student again meets with the Fellows toward the end of the semester to help each one prepare a presentation for the steering committee.
Hayes believes the community agencies appreciate fresh perspectives that the students bring and the questions they ask. “The students help the agencies think of things differently,” he says. Hayes also lists multiple benefits for the students from the experience. “It’s like a real job. They’re considered part of the agency, they go to staff meetings, they’re treated with respect, and the work they do is really meaningful.”
As an example, Hayes describes a senior Sociology major who, after serving with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a work-study student, realized she wanted a career working with kids. The student was hired after graduation to work in the youth services area for Big Brothers Big Sisters’ regional office. Her prior experience and her clarity about what she wanted to do helped get her the job. Hayes notes that other students have also been hired after graduation because of their experience: “They gain skills that make them more attractive to an agency.”
Over the three years of the program, one or two placements haven’t work out. Hayes reports they’ve learned from those experiences, including the need to take the time to help community agencies tailor their position descriptions to be appropriate for a 10 hour per week student job. He also emphasizes that the position must be a real contribution to the agency.
After three years and ongoing efforts to build support for the program from campus and community stakeholders, Hayes reports that the program has become sustainable and will continue after his retirement.
The Faculty Perspective: “Everyone Is a Winner”
“Everyone is a winner with the Community Service Work-Study program.” Dr. Kathleen Johnson
Assistant Professor
Management Department
Keene State College
Currently a faculty member in the Management Department at Keene State College, Kathleen Johnson has also served as Director of the Keene State Community Research Center. The Center’s mission is “to develop research skills and promote professional development among Keene State College students while helping to meet the research needs of non-profit and public agencies in the Monadnock Region.” Local agencies receive assistance from the Center with program assessment, grant writing, and conducting local surveys, among other research-related services.
Johnson also serves on the Community Service Work-Study (CSWS) program steering committee where she has been able to make use of her community connections. Initiated in the fall of 2003 with the aid of a Campus Compact grant and Federal Work-Study monies, the CSWS program brings together community leaders and social service agencies in the Monadnock Region with faculty, staff, and students at Keene State College.
The purpose of this collaboration is to increase volunteerism in the Region and promote experiential learning that is integral to the College’s mission. According to Johnson, “Everyone is a winner with the Community Service Work-Study program.” Some of the benefits students receive from the FWS positions include:
- Satisfaction from serving the community.
- Improved social skills.
- Experiences that can validate — or challenge — students’ career choices.
- A larger social network to meet potential employers.
- Resume-building experiences and skills.
- The discovery of personal strengths.
Johnson’s research students at the Community Research Center have helped to evaluate the CSWS program. Student researchers conducted interviews with the FWS students (called “Fellows”) in order to identify and resolve potential problems. According to Johnson, “Community partnerships are delicate and it is important to identify problems that students or partners may have before they become unnecessarily thorny. Sometimes students may not have the confidence to speak to their supervisor directly about the difficulties they may be experiencing.”
Johnson hopes to see more connections between faculty members and FWS students in the future. She would also like to see a more developed service-learning component for the program. The CSWS’s “Memorandum of Agreement” (shared in the Appendices to this document) requests that community-based supervisors encourage civic education and reflection among their student workers.
Recruiting students has been the primary challenge to the program, even though many Fellows agree that it provides great opportunities. Community agencies prefer to hire juniors and seniors who have better-developed skills, and that limits the candidate pool. Johnson notes that it has also been a challenge to find the optimal way to classify the community service FWS positions in the institution’s existing online job system for campus jobs, where most students look to find work-study positions. In addition, some students are looking for an “easy” work-study position on campus, while the Fellow positions are created for students who are looking for a challenge.
To help with recruitment, current Fellows are asked to identify potential candidates for the program and make personal connections. Johnson also helped create a brochure (see Appendices) for the program that is distributed in select classes on campus.
Johnson’s dream for the future of the program is to see an increase in the funds available for community service FWS positions. With more financial resources, more Fellow positions could be created and additional activities could take place that would bring the campus and community closer. Events could be held to celebrate successes, reach additional students, and build a culture of service on campus. “If the college can sustain the financial support, we’ll do the rest,” she explains, referring to the active Steering Committee for the program.
The Community Perspective: “Something to Be Proud Of”
“This experience gives the students something to be proud of.” Peg Monahan
Executive Director
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Monadnock Region
Keene State College Community Partner
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of the Monadnock Region in New Hampshire connects caring high school, college, and adult mentors with youth. Peg Monahan, Executive Director, graduated from Keene State College and has lived in the area since 1965. She explains that BBBS has a small annual budget and has benefited from a relationship with Keene State in a variety of ways over the years.
Monahan has supervised student interns for 20 years but only started supervising Federal Work-Study students in 2004. She was approached by the Coordinator of Community Service at Keene State who offered to send her FWS students who would stay and serve her organization for longer than one semester. In the past, student interns would “get on board, get up to speed, and then leave.” Having students stay longer than one semester was an attractive offer, and the students have become a valuable resource for her organization.
Since 2004, two FWS students have served BBBS each year. The students support the mentoring program and help with communications. One student helped develop the “Bigs Council,” a volunteer group of experienced mentors. The student launched a weekly e-newsletter for the group and created activities that mentors and youth can do together. Another student helped created the “Super Bigs” program that utilizes experienced mentors to supervise other mentors when professional staff are not available.
Monahan strives to make the experience meaningful for the FWS students so both sides will benefit. She helps the students learn what it takes to turn ideas into reality in a real-world setting. “Our staff are all trained educators, so it’s satisfying to have students around here.”
When asked what makes the program work well, Monahan responds, “We have a good relationship with the campus people so the students who come have a lot of energy and are the best. This experience gives the students something to be proud of.”
Keene State College provided Big Brothers Big Sisters with a small grant to be a partner in the community service FWS program, but Monahan states, “The program would be willing to participate without the additional funds.”
The Student Perspective: “I Really Feel Like I’m Accomplishing Something”
“Students need to be making money, and I know other students who would love to do service and combine it with employment. I would have liked to just volunteer at the after school program, but I couldn’t because I had to have a job. I really feel like I’m accomplishing something now, and that is what students are looking for.” Erica Martineau
Student, Keene State College
Erica Martineau is a senior transfer student at Keene State College, double-majoring in early childhood development and drama & psychological development. She first learned of the opportunity to do a community service FWS job at Keene State College’s Work-Study fair. She saw a booth featuring photos of children and was immediately interested.
As a Fellow in the Keene State community service Federal Work-Study program, Martineau works with children in an after school program and with middle school youth at a local teen center. She sets up speakers and field trips, and also directed a special movie-making project that resulted in a youth-created DVD. Martineau also recruits additional volunteers for the youth programs, such as Keene State students who play basketball with low-income youth during after school hours. She also makes presentations about what she’s learning and doing to other Keene State students in education and sociology classes.
Martineau had a “traditional” on-campus work-study position at her previous institution. When asked about the differences between on-campus FWS and the community service FWS job, she quickly replies, “Now I’m accomplishing something!” In her community position, she enjoys her time more and has a good experience to put on her resume. She describes the position as one that “has responsibilities and helps build skills, such as presentation and formal communication skills.” She has gotten to know the children she serves and feels passionate about the work. At the same time, Martineau admits that the community work-study position is more work. “I can’t sit and do homework on the job.”
Martineau is applying what she’s learned in a course on creative movement to her community job by teaching movement concepts to the children in the after school program. “I can try out different things, see how the children react, and what works best with different age groups. I am helping the kids learn how to control their bodies. This job has flexibility so I can bring my own ideas to it.” This experience influenced Martineau’s ideas about her future career. She plans to become a teacher and hopes to incorporate elements of drama into her instructional methods.
Martineau also likes how the program is structured. She meets once per semester with other Fellows to present what she’s been doing. They do regular check-ins with an experienced “lead” Fellow who can offer help if newer Fellows are having problems. She feels supported by the people who run the program. “Now I know a lot more people on campus, and they appreciate what I’m doing.” Suggestions she has for the program include updating the website and having a newsletter to share what the Fellows are doing throughout the year.
Martineau would like to see more students in the Community Service Work-Study program at Keene State. “Students need to be making money, and I know other students who would love to do service and combine it with employment. I would have liked to just volunteer at the after school program, but I couldn’t because I had to have a job. I really feel like I’m accomplishing something now, and that is what students are looking for.”
