Student Acheivements
Current Students
Currently, there are over 200 students pursuing a Human Services majors and minors.
Service-Learning TA Profile: Caitlin McDermott
"As a Communication Studies major Service-Learning (S-L) has informed my studies two-fold. As a student having taken 5 courses utilizing S-L, I was able to use and reflect on theories of communication barriers and interpersonal relationships while tutoring ESL students at the YMCA and develop consulting skills while creating more effective communication strategies for hopeFOUND. Now as an S-L Teaching Assistant I am once again able to inform my study of these communication theories while managing communications between community organizations, students, faculty, and the S-L program staff."
Caitlin is pursuing a double major in Human Services and Communication, graduating in fall of 2009. She is currently the S-L TA for Lori Gardinier’s “Human Services Professions” course.
Read the full article in the Service-Leaning Newsletter, November 2009 "Fall 2009 S-L Partnership Orientation & New S-L Request for Partnerships Process" here.
Hostelling International's Cultural Kitchen
“Contributed by Community Partner Paula Levitt, Cultural Kitchen Coordinator” Hostelling International USA, Eastern New England CouncilHostelling International USA is partnering with two courses utilizing service-learning this fall to connect NU students with HI-USA's signature youth outreach program, Cultural Kitchen (CK). Cultural Kitchen is an educational 10-session program in which Boston-area youth gain a greater understanding and appreciation for culture and diversity through hands-on exploration of world cultures, group discussions, peer teaching and cooking!
Cultural Kitchen is happy to be partnering through Service-Learning for the second year in a row this fall. This year, students from Elise Dallimore‟s Interpersonal Communication and Emily Mann‟s Human Services Professions classes came together for a 3 day training at the Boston Hostel to be trained on the Cultural Kitchen curriculum and become CK Facilitators. Service-Learning students are currently co-teaching at 4 out of the 8 CK sites this fall. Service-Learning students have helped Cultural Kitchen reach the largest amount of schools, community centers, volunteers and youth that Cultural Kitchen Boston has ever seen during a semester period in its 4 years of existence. We hope to continue our partnership with Service-Learning in the future!
Read the full article Service-Leaning Newsletter, November 2009 "Fall 2009 S-L Partnership Orientation & New S-L Request for Partnerships Process" here.
Fall 2009 S-L Partnership Orientation & New S-L Request for Partnerships Process
The Fall 2009 Service-Learning (S-L) Partnership Orientation, hosted by the S-L Program on September 3rd, served as the kick-off for the new academic year! The event brought together over 20 representatives from our community partners, 9 S-LTAs, and 9 faculty members for an opportunity to meet face-to-face to discuss their new and continuing course partnerships for the fall semester.
This fall brings more overlap between courses and community partners than in past semesters. Faculty member Rebecca Riccio appreciated “the opportunity to speak with the instructor of the other course our S-L partner [Discover Roxbury] will be working with” at the orientation, Emily Kales enjoyed the “time to meet with all participants.” Ivana Freitas, S-LTA and co-op student with the Center for STEM Education at NU said, “It was great to have an open discussion [at the orientation] about how S-L can impact both an organization and also the students and faculty here at Northeastern. It's a program where everyone benefits!”
The Service-Learning Program would like to thank all who were able to participate in the new RFP process and Fall 2009 S-L Partnership Orientation!
Read the full article Service-Leaning Newsletter, October 2009 "Fall 2009 S-L Partnership Orientation & New S-L Request for Partnerships Process"here.
Meet the new Service-Learning Teaching Assistants!
By serving in this leadership role, these students will provide support to faculty members, students, and community partners in upholding the “best practices” of S-L throughout their partnerships.
We are excited to have all 13 of them join and grow S-L at NU!
Ten of the thirteen S-LTAs have previously engaged in S-L. Below, each S-LTA has shared reflections from their own S-L experiences or their current role as an S-LTA.
Amanda Stutz, CAS ‘11 Human Services major “My own S-L experiences have affected my plans for my professional future: I now hope to one day work with children, either as a teacher or a psychologist.”
Caitlin McDermott, CAS ‘09 Communication Studies major & Human Services minor “I am currently in my fifth service-learning class and will be taking another in the fall semester.”
Helen Schroeder, CAS ‘11 Dual Human Services & International Affairs Major, & Art major “Since I am majoring in more than one discipline, S-L has provided me with a unique opportunity to integrate the experiences with my majors in both straightforward and more creative ways.”
Read the full article Service-Leaning Newsletter, October 2009 "Meet the new Service-Learning Teaching Assistants!"here.
The majority of my time in the Human Services program was spent deeply involved with Social Change through Peace Games, a student organization that works to empower Northeastern University students to be actively involved in our local communities as peacemakers and agents of sustainable social change. As graduation approached I knew that afterward I wanted to work with young people in Boston; yet I wasn’t sure in what capacity that would be possible, and where my developed skills and leadership would be most fostered.
And so after hours spent on Idealist.org and other job network sites, I decided to apply for positions through the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship, a statewide 39-member AmeriCorps program housed at Northeastern. The Massachusetts Promise Fellowship hires individuals who commit one year to provide at least one of their five promises to young people across the commonwealth: a caring adult, a safe place, a healthy start, marketable skills, and an opportunity to serve. The Fellowship partners with youth organizations in Boston that support young people in a variety of ways; the organization and Fellowship work together to hire their ideal candidate, someone whose experiences thus far have prepared him or her for the rewarding and challenging experience to come.
Now I am fortunate to be serving at mytown, a youth organization that stands for Multicultural Youth Tour of What’s Now. mytown hires and trains high school students to give historical walking tours of the South End, Lower Roxbury, and Fenway areas; these tours focus on the deeply seeded social activism in this great city. mytown's Youth Guides also create media-based historical projects and facilitate leadership development and community building trainings to other young people in Boston, during a workshop series called BRICK, or Building Revolutions in Community Knowledge. mytown understands that when young people are aware of the history of their neighborhoods, they too can be agents of social change and positive role models to the people in their communities.
My experience at mytown has challenged me as I develop my identity as a Youth Worker; as a member of a small staff I have been part of the overall decision-making and critical reflection, which is a type of responsibility that not many recent graduates have. I have already fostered so many meaningful relationships with young people and adult staff members alike. I have developed some core competencies surrounding effective youth development; and I have so much more to learn. I know that the skills and knowledge I’m acquiring, not to mention the connections I’m making, will only benefit me as I decide my next step. I am grateful to the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship and to the youth and adult staff at mytown to provide me with this opportunity; I would recommend this experience to anyone interested in building their skill set, creating long-lasting professional relationships, and learning about the incredible and inspiring young people in Boston.
Attention Students!
Interested in becoming a service-learning teaching assistant for the Spring 2010 semester?
The Service-Learning Teaching Assistant (S-LTA) Program provides opportunities for students to take on leadership positions through which they provide support for courses utilizing Service-Learning (S-L). S-LTAs engage in ongoing training and reflection, gain skills in S-L pedagogy, facilitation, and community building facilitated by the S-L staff in the Center of Community Service. S-LTAs collaborate with faculty, community partners, and peers to apply the best practices to their utilization of S-L. S-LTAs work to ensure both learning and service goals are met by:
-identifying appropriate community partnerships for the course
-establishing service experiences that match the learning objectives
-providing students with an orientation about S-L
-enhancing and maintaining the community partnership(s)
-co-facilitating reflection discussions and assignments
-regularly assessing and evaluating the experiences and partnerships
To learn more about the S-LTA program, please visit our website Here
The spring 2010 S-LTA application will be available soon, so please check back to our website frequently!
Read the full article Service-Leaning Newsletter, October 2009 "Meet the new Service-Learning Teaching Assistants!"here.
Scarlett Trillia
The daughter of immigrants, human services student Scarlett Trillia was thrilled to combine her academic interest in worker cooperatives with a co-op in her father’s homeland, Argentina.
Read the full article NU Voice 10.02.09 "Coop Experience in Argentina"here.Sarah Honigfeld
The Northeastern University Deaf Club (NUDC) begins its annual Deaf Awareness Week tonight, with events open to all Northeastern students, said NUDC President Sarah Honigfeld.
NUDC’s events follow last week’s International Week of the Deaf, a week recognized by the World Federation of the Deaf and the National Association of the Deaf,according to the associations’ websites. The week, recognized annually during the last full week of September, commemorates the first meeting of the World Congress of the Deaf in 1951, according to the sites.
Read the full article Huntington News 09.28.09 "Deaf Awareness Week" here.Krupa Asher
Is the recipient of a Summer, 2009 Provost Undergraduate Research award. Her project on "The effects of social change through Peace Games curriculum on the students in Bangalore" was selected to receive funding.
Class of 2009's [100] Most Influential Seniors
Two Human Services students made the list Pam Asen and Julie Miller.
Julie Miller
Reflections from Graduating Seniors
The various connections I have made with the Service-Learning (S-L) movement at Northeastern have been deeply formative of my academic and professional experiences. My roles as a student, Service-Learning Teaching Assistant (S-L TA), and community partner have enriched my understanding of service-learning, as a whole.
As a student in multiple S-L courses, my professors and S-L TAs encouraged and expected me to participate as an active citizen in my community while simultaneously integrating classroom with real-world learning. Courses I have taken with integrated S-L have sprouted rich discussions, sincere insights, and strong foundations for cross-cultural competency. Call me biased, but I believe that educators and administrators do their students a disservice by confining them to the classroom and the library and expecting them to gain a firm grasp of complex concepts. S-L has made concepts within Human Services Professions, The Sociology of Human Service Organizations, and Research and Evaluation in Human Services tangible on several levels.
I have also served on “the other side” as a community partner. I have been involved with Social Change through Peace Games for several years, serving as the Director of Outreach. Recruiting students who are taking S-L courses, meeting with professors and S-L TA’s, collaborating with site supervisors, and advising students during their stint- or long-term stay- with our organization has been a pleasure and a challenge. I have gained invaluable skills in this role working with, as Lori Gardinier would say, “many moving parts,” and can now appreciate the S-L students in an organizational context, in addition to an academic one. This year, over fifty students in S-L courses have served in four local K-8 schools, working with youth to create peaceful and safe communities locally, nationally, and around the world. This is work that cannot be done in the library or studied realistically in a book, but can absolutely can take place in a second grade classroom.
And, as for my third “hat,” as an S-L TA, it has been a pleasure and privilege to work with two very masterful professors. For two semesters, I worked with Robert Hall and his “Politics of Poverty” course, facilitating the S-L relationships of roughly thirty students per semester with fifteen to twenty community organizations. I have also been fortunate enough to work with John Wolfe’s “Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity” course as an S-L TA. I consider myself lucky to be able to interact with such tremendous professors, students, community partners, fellow S-L TA’s, and mentors within the Center of Community Service. I value the relationships that we have forged through a commitment to academic excellence and civic responsibility, and hope to carry these values with me in the future in both personal and professional contexts!
Service-Learning Final Reflections Spring 2009.Joey Bordieri
Why it's Cool to Serve
Four students tell us what civic engagement at Northeastern means to them- including their take on the school’s brand new Civic Engagement Program. This semester, sophomore Joey Bordieri and seniors Winnie Bell and Brittany Sidway have each taken on service-learning projects there as a requirement for the class “Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising” (renamed Strategic Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management). Taken from the Spring 2008 Northeastern IMPACT Vol. 2, Issue 1
Read full Impact article.Sarah D. Puccio
Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership: Read It! One of our big projects is our Read It! Literacy Program. It encourages program participants to read a book, take a book, or donate a book. Children's books are especially needed here. We go through books so fast, we can hardly keep our shelves stocked. Last year we gave away 700 new and gently used books! We also promote library events and hold book fairs to encourage the joy of reading. If there are any student groups in need of a good community service project (fraternities, sororities, any student group with a service requirement, etc.), please keep our literacy project in mind. A Book Drive would help us keep the shelves full. The kids love being able to take the books home, and with Christmas ahead, we anticipate a rush of parents that may turn to our shelves for some gifts. Taken from Center of Community Service November NewsletterScarlett Trillia
Scarlett Trillia is the recipient of an Honors Junior/Senior Project Grant for 2008-2009. A faculty committee approved her project, Why Women Are Driven to Participate in Social Movements? A Case Study of Women's Cooperatives in Reforming Argentina for the award. Once her research is completed, Scarlett will present her research at the annual Spring Honors Evening in April 2010.
Michael Coyne
Michael, Human Services and International Affairs Dual 2011, is working at the Boston City Council for his co-op. Mike is assigned to a specific Boston City Councilor and assists the Councilor in a number of ways. Mike handles many of the administrative tasks and researches any areas of possible work interest of the Councilor for legislation, or an upcoming hearing. Mike has been able to attend various events with, or as a representative for the Councilor.
Julie Miller
Learning life lessons through volunteering By Jeanine Budd
Julie Miller is double majoring in American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting and human services, and minoring in African American studies. However, she said only 20 percent of her focus is on academics.
She said she devotes the other 80 percent to learning from the people she works with during the hours she spends volunteering at Students for Choice, Peace Games and at the Center of Community Service. "I've learned so much by volunteering," Miller said. "People really inspire me to keep me going, which is all the motivation I need to manage my time."
Through Peace Games, a national organization aimed at ending youth violence, Miller teaches a class to local elementary school students once a week. During this time, Miller and her colleagues use problem solving exercises, with team and confidence building activities as tools, to teach the children cooperation.
"The class is only once a week, but I've been able to make Peace Games the experience that I want it to be," she said. "I've taken on leadership roles because I love the organization and I love the people that I work with, and I really believe in the mission of the organization."
Miller's passion for volunteering began in high school, she said. "I just randomly went into this elderly home that had been built near my house and asked if I could do anything to volunteer," she said. "They didn't really know what to do with me, so I kind of just started hanging out with the residents at this place."
Eventually, Miller created a volunteer program in her Maryland community for people her age that would allow them to volunteer if they needed hours for service, or if they simply wanted to get involved. "I feel like a lot of people our age feel like they won't be good at anything, like they won't be able to serve anyone if they just show up," she said. "But really ... a lot of elderly people just want someone they can talk to."
Miller's next leadership position came when she moved to Connecticut. Miller, whose older sister is deaf, began learning ASL when she was 11 years old. Miller decided to create a few sign language clubs in her community, one of which was called Hand in Hand. "It was a traveling theatre group for the deaf and hard of hearing," she said. "We toured it around to ... kids in Connecticut, and we really tried to create a feeling of inclusion and accessibility for everyone."
Miller said she has also learned the importance of communication while working at a few camps for kids with autism, retardation and cerebral palsy. "I worked with a 9-year-old boy at a camp who had some kind of developmental delay. He wasn't autistic, but he was nonverbal," she said. "I feel like he and I made this incredible bond that wasn't based on words, but was based on play."
In the future, Miller said she hopes to work with families in crisis. "More than anything else, I know that people lift each other up," she said. "So if one person does not have stable support, they might be more likely to fall apart."
Taken from: NU-News; (NU-News) Issue date: 6/4/08 Section: Campus LifeScarlett Trillia
The Effect of Ecotourism in Southern Mexico
In the fall of 2006, when I decided to switch into the Human Services department, my academic life suddenly kicked into high gear. Within days of joining the major, I applied to the Human Service Summer I Dialogue program to Mexico. From there, my curiosity and enthusiasm just grew and grew. I soon discovered that I was eligible to apply for a research grant from the Provost and hoping to expand the experience of the Dialogue program, I began to investigate potential research topics in Southern Mexico.
Drawing from my background of interest in Ecology and outdoor adventure, I proposed to continue to travel in Mexico in order to experience first hand the development and impact of Ecotourism. I was very shocked by the results of this research project. Going into it I was expecting to be greeted by the kinds of programs and tours I had researched on the Internet. However, there is a huge discrepancy between what an American tourist can do through an American agency and what an average Mexican tour guide can offer. The meaning of the phrase "Ecotour" seems to be completely lost in translation. Expecting to be guided through lush wilderness and educated in the local ecology, we found instead that we were met by desperately under-funded guides hoping to make a little money however they could. One of our "ecotours" guided us literally past not only a quarry but also a garbage dump!
At least hoping to find the high costs of these tours being redistributed back into local communities, I was upset to see that all the best tours were run completely independently of the local people. Even worse, instead of finding a keen interest in ecology, my inquiries about environmental tourism were met with anything from confusion to utter disgust. How could I have expected elevated ecoliteracy in a place where most people are not even exposed to basic literacy education? We realized we needed to take a huge step back.
Despite the fact that the project took a sharp turn in a direction I hadn't expected, I was very pleased with the way it turned out. I was exposed to so much more than I had ever hoped to be and the places we visited really helped to identify which things I will be interested in studying in the future. I hope to return to Latin America, this time focusing on more critical issues, such as literacy, women's rights, cooperative education, and contemporary social movements. However, by maintaining a dedication to eco-literacy and the environment, I also hope to find, or develop, a middle ground that can address environmental issues while simultaneously working to improve quality of life.
We had the opportunity to visit so many amazing organizations, both with the Dialogues program and during my independent study. There is a successful history of cooperative efforts in every realm, including the environment. What I would like to do is find a way to draw the tourist's attention to these types of organizations. I think everyone is beginning to realize that coming together is the most powerful way to tackle big issues. Right now the environment might not be a top priority but it definitely plays a role. I can't wait to continue to learn and grow through continued research and travel.
Taken from: Honors PERSPECTIVE; Volume 3 - Fall 2007Scarlett Trillia
Scarlett, HS Major 2010, is also the Development Intern for Fall 2007. She is a third year Human Services student at Northeastern University and selected HSTF for her first full time Co-Op Internship. Scarlett has always had a strong interest in social services, youth programs, and eco-literacy. Prior to joining the Development team at HSTF she cut her teeth working on grants for Boston based La Alianza Hispana. Scarlett recently spent six weeks studying and doing social and environmental research in Southern Mexico. Next year she plans to continue her research, studies, and social service work in Argentina, her family�s country of origin. She is a strong supporter of community gardening and was a participant in the original Edible Schoolyard program. She hopes to make this the focus of her future work in urban youth development.
Scarlett was also a recipient of funds from the Provost Undergraduate Research award. She is continuing her stay in Mexico from the International Human Services DOC Program and will do her research will be on eco-tourism in developing Mexico looks interesting and its description provides good support for the budget.
Corrie Hunkler
Corrie,Human Services Major 2010, and others wanted to tackle with inefficiency of NGOs to find a way to connect the many NGOs and people involved with them in Boston and create a venue accessible to all.
Starting in January, their team has been meeting with different community leaders, non profits and networking organizations to help us get a better idea of the NGO sector of Boston. In May they received a grant from the Center of Community Service at Northeastern that is helping us build and fund our website Network a Nonprofit: Scholarship Opportunities
Network a Nonprofit is currently being established, and when finished (September), they hope it will provide another way for the students, volunteers, communities and non profits or Boston to connect, establish relationships, and start to discuss and work together on issues. Network a Nonprofit will have a discussion board, calendar of events, contact information, and more. It will be accessible to anyone involved in the non profit sector.
Recent Graduates NU Acheivements
Barbara Civill
Barbara, Human Services Major 2008, is now the Program Coordinator for Ritmo en Accion. She is a senior at Northeastern University studying Human Services and International Affairs. She has also spent time studying in South Africa and Mexico. She started with the Hyde Square Task Force in July 2006 and began working with Ritmo en Accion in January 2007. As the Coordinator for Ritmo en Accion, she was instrumental in planning the first annual Ritmo en Accion Cultural Showcase in May 2007.
Co-op Award Recipient 2007
Co-op Awards Committee is pleased to announce that they have and selected the following students for the three named awards:Alcott- Matt Bouchard, Physics major
Pratt- Daniel Yokell, Pharmacy
McMahon - Maria Graceffa, Human Services/Psychology
The Thomas E. McMahon Award was established in 1991 in Memory of Dean McMahon, who retired from the Department of Cooperative Education in 1972, after 27 years of distinguished service to the University. This award recognizes one student for outstanding devotion and commitment to serving others while on co-op.
CRITERIA: Dean McMahon will long be remembered as a warm and caring individual who was always ready to lend a helping hand or attentive ear to students and staff alike who sought out his counsel and support. Accordingly, the award which bears his name is presented annually to a senior in the human service professions who in the course of his/her Cooperative Education work has demonstrated exceptional integrity and character combined with a high degree of devotion and commitment to serving the needs of fellow human beings.
Ceremony for the award winners was held on November 8th from 3:30-5:30.
Maria Graceffa and Amanda Parker
Maria Graceffa, Human Services/ Psychology Double Major 2008, and Amanda Parker, Human Services Major 2008, presented with Dean James Stellar, College of Arts and Sciences and Professor Richard Porter at the World Association of Cooperative Education (WACE) Conference in Charleston, SC.
This panel will first share its experiment in using concurrent and collective reflection with students while on-co-op. Then, it will engage audience participants in a conversation to elicit their thinking about and experience with different models of reflection on co-op by focusing on the following questions: A) What models of reflection are currently, or could be, used in WIL programs? B) What benefits to students might be expected from different models of reflection? C) How would one assess whether these benefits are achieved by the students? D) What are the associated costs and do the benefits outweigh these costs? In sharing their model of concurrent reflection, the panelists will report on their work-in-progress in evaluating their experiment using a Practice-Based Learning Outcomes Questionnaire developed by Joe Raelin. The student panelists will bring to the conversation their experience on co-op both with and without concurrent reflection and discuss their role in the ongoing research effort to assess benefits for students. The panel will also share its experience using different types of facilitators for the learning teams, the best ways to start up the learning teams, and how to keep students engaged throughout the process. Finally, the panelists will share especially administrative considerations that might feature in deciding whether the benefits outweigh the costs, will disclose the rationale for initiating this model of concurrent reflection, and will highlight the different roles students take on in implementing this model.Amanda Parker
Amanda Parker, Human Services Major 2008, was accepted and currently attending the Summer I 2008 Dialogue of Civilization to Egypt. She will be spending 7 weeks in Egypt and the UAE.
Peter Sauro
Peter, Human Services Major 2008, spear headed the Husky Volunteer Team. The mission is: The Husky Volunteer Team, sponsored by the Center of Community Service, sends out teams of 5-10 student volunteers to local community organizations to provide meaningful and ongoing service. HVT addresses a variety of social issues within the communities of Roxbury, South End, Fenway, and Mission Hill. It also provides a great opportunity to become civically engaged with the neighborhoods surrounding Northeastern University and to gain valuable experience in a leadership role.
Jesenia Tejada
Jesenia, Human Services 2008, is working at La Vida Inc. A non-profit organization in Lynn. Amongst their many programs, she is teaching illiterate adults how to read and write, as well as helping to run a pilot program called La Vida Scholars. The Scholars program�s emphasis is on getting Lynn high school sophomore students prepared for the college admission process. We start them off early and keep them throughout their remaining 3 years of high school. We help them pass their MCAS, get them ready for the Pre-SAT�s, as well as learning strategies for when the actual SAT�s roll around. We also plan college campus visits and help them find scholarships. It's wonderful and really loves it there!