Check out our new September edition of Civically Speaking, the official podcast of the WVU Center for Civic Engagement.

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See you in the community!

by: Emily Renzelli
Senior Political Science Major

I’m writing to encourage EVERYONE on campus to become involved with the CCE at WVU. The CCE staff helped make my undergraduate experience great, and I promise they can help you find a project you’ll love too.

I first started working with the CCE after returning from a study abroad trip in South Africa. While abroad, I was involved with numerous service organizations, and I wanted to continue the work I was doing while in West Virginia. With the help of the CCE, I created the “Ubuntu Project”, which was a pen pal program that connected students in Kyamandi South Africa to kids at the Boys and Girls club in Morgantown.

by: Amy Casdorph
Sophomore Fashion Merchandising Major

The Center for Civic Engagement has so many opportunities and ways for people to get involved. Not only have I been able to meet people from all across the country, but I have been able to make friends with them all while doing something great for the community.

I have participated in just about everything that the CCE has to offer, and I don’t see myself ever letting go of this great part of the University. With the help of Kristi, I have created my own service projects to help out the community in ways that I love. I worked for the Christian Help Women’s Career Closet by putting on a Fashion Show for underprivileged women. This was such a fulfilling experience because I got to see the best of both worlds, and brighten so many people’s day. I have done a service project with Kaleidoscope and set up a Healthy Kids Club and implemented this into their activities. The kids loved it, and so did I. It was a great learning opportunity for them and me!

I have attended the CCE Conference which was amazing. I met so many influential people such as Jessica Lynch and Vickie Smith that really touched my heart and opened my eyes to volunteerism. We worked on service projects and learned about all sorts of different ways that we can help out. It was wonderful. I just see this conference getting bigger and bigger!

So as you can see, the CCE has touched my heart in many different ways. I hope it can only touch yours just as much.

Spring 2008 produced many successes for the WVU Center for Civic Engagement. Growth in our overall GOLD (Get Out and Learn by Doing) program through student, faculty, and community partnerships demonstrates the commitment to learn and serve outside the classroom through innovative experiences is real. Additionally, the MVP (Mountaineer Volunteer Programs) student numbers rose to new levels as well. What does all of this mean for WVU and the surrounding communities? It means that the CCE is providing the necessary collaborative supervision for excellent educational programs with accountability. It means that our community partners are doing the best that they have ever done in educating, grading, and supervising our students. It means that more faculty are finding both the time and the desire to couple educational learning outcomes with real community needs to provide meaningful service in our communities. And finally, it means that our students are developing in ways that exemplify why civic engagement belongs in the higher education curriculum. Problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, critical and creative thinking are all skills that are valued both inside and outside the higher education classroom.

Welcome to the new CCE Blog. We are so excited that you stopped by. We will use this blog to update you on our upcoming activities, share stories, post student reflections, and keep you informed about the latest happenings at the CCE.

Thanks for stopping by and we hope you will check back often.