This is not the first time that our school has won awards for service-related ventures, outstanding merit or sportsmanship. Yet, behind the scenes there is a humming, interconnected web of team players who participate in and generate programs that directly lead to a school winning awards.

The Downtown Milwaukee Campus office of Engaged and Service Learning is staffed with two AmeriCorps*VISTA coordinators: Marcia Blackman and Chris Spangler.

VISTA’s early roots date back to 1965 when it was created from the previous vision of President John F. Kennedy.

In 1993, it was incorporated into the AmeriCorps family, where it has stood for over 45 years as a beacon in the battle against poverty.

In 2006, Courtney Marlaire, Ph.D, associate dean, division of Liberal Arts and Sciences, worked on an Ameri-Corps*VISTA grant and submitted it to a national organization for higher education, the Wisconsin Campus Compact.

This generated the creation of the downtown office and the addition of two VISTA-paid employees. Both Blackman and Spangler share Marlaire’s interest and commitment to community-engaged learning, the most well known example being the annual Walk Against Poverty event.

Blackman mentions that there is bonus assistance from Suzanne Goodrich, Psychology instructor and faculty liaison for VISTA. Goodrich involved her online students with a “Get Out the Vote” project. It’s focus involved one-on-one interaction in addition to working together as a team, which was a unique experience for the online course.

VISTA’s campus presence has grown, and in March they started to offer what Spangler calls “advising hours” which are held on Mondays and Thursdays at the West Allis Campus.

Instructors can stop by and “brainstorm a service learning project.” Even though there are not VISTA hours at the Mequon and Oak Creek Campuses, Spangler and Blackman will go to ANY campus to see how they can help out.

As for the recent award, the application procedure was started by the team adding up the hours that students from all four campuses devoted to various service learning projects in 2009.

Then narratives were presented for each individual project. As Spangler notes, “It really adds up.” In a recent campus press release, 742 students and 31 instructors devoted over 5,700 hours.

Marlaire states that the service learning activities are curriculum based, but that it is important to point out that ANY student in ANY program can become involved. English, Business, IT, Culinary.the list goes on and on.

For instance, students from the Economics and Sociology courses have been focusing on the subject matter of poverty. The Walk Against Poverty event may only take place for one day, but the curriculum portion was created over an entire semester.

“It makes for a MORE interesting classroom experience. It also makes sure that as we educate students, we are creating an engaged, knowledgeable community activist for the future,” says Marlaire.

Spangler adds, “And that’s part of our job, trying to raise this awareness.”

Students can mention an interest in a service learning project to their instructors who will then contact VISTA.

The opportunities for creativity are bountiful. Marlaire adds, “The biggest testimonies for its effectiveness are ALWAYS the students themselves.