The mission statement of Mount Ida College highlights our commitment to service learning: Mount Ida College provides a student-centered education through rigorous academic, leadership and service learning experiences for a diverse community of learners whose individual members practice civility, contribute positively to society, and demonstrate competence in their fields.
All students enrolled in the Leadership Studies Minor are required to take the Leadership Studies Seminar, a sophomore-level course that focuses on the development of personal leadership skills, analysis of leadership styles and strategies, and awareness of the civic and ethical responsibilities of leaders. Leadership Studies Seminar students complete a community service project which links the academic curriculum of the course to a need in the college or local community and allows students to observe and reflect upon the connection between leadership and service.
In the spring semester of 2000, eight Leadership Studies students and the course instructor formed a team representing Mount Ida College at a day-long “”servathon”" in the local Newton, Massachusetts community. “”Newton Serves”" brought together 1,000 community volunteers to work at project sites throughout the city, for the benefit of 40 local non-profit agencies and the city government. Projects included cleanups, painting, landscaping, carpentry, working with the elderly, and clerical tasks. The Mount Ida team attended initial planning meetings and opening ceremonies at City Hall, and spent a whole day cleaning out the old Newton Boys and Girls Club and landscaping the new Boys and Girls Club. The students had an extended meeting with the mayor of Newton, who stopped by to thank team members for their efforts.
Back in the classroom, students wrote an article for the school newspaper urging other students to experience the rewards of community service. They also wrote retrospective essays linking their personal values, goals and observations with what they had learned about leadership characteristics, philosophies and styles during the semester. Of particular interest to all was the interaction of Mount Ida team members with each other and with community members involved in the project. Students were encouraged to reflect upon their own leadership and team-building skills and identify successful and unsuccessful leadership strategies employed by organizers of the events. These discussions led to a broader examination of the relationship between citizenship and participation, on campus and off-campus. The students evaluated the project as successful on personal and academic levels, as they appreciated the opportunity to practice skills developed in the classroom. The students also made a commitment to continue to volunteer in the local community.
