Service learning isn’t just about volunteering and helping the community. It’s a way to take a step back and fully connect with those around you. Kylee Darden, a third-year medical student, worked as the campus representative to the schoolwide Service-Learning Coalition (SLC) executive board at the West Lafayette campus before moving to Indianapolis for clerkship rotations. Darden is now an events chair on the SLC and continues planning service-learning opportunities for students year-round.
“As future physicians, it is important for us to be engaged and truly understand issues that our patients may be facing,” Darden said. “The knowledge gained from these service experiences allows us to grow and make a more positive impact on patients and our communities.”
GrowLocal Lafayette
GrowLocal Lafayette is an urban gardening nonprofit specializing in building, nourishing and nurturing the community with gardens. The organization’s core values are to provide access to healthy food and resources, develop and share best practices across the urban gardening network, and educate and inspire healthful attitudes and actions.
IU School of Medicine–West Lafayette partnered with GrowLocal Lafayette for last fall’s Day of Service, providing 11 students ready to help. Many were tasked with preparing the garden for winter by weeding and pulling out dead crops. The students finished the Footbridge Sharing Garden cleanup in less than two hours.
Why service-learning is important
Molly Beatty, a second-year student at IU School of Medicine–West Lafayette, is the current campus representative. She develops opportunities for students to work with the community, which incoming medical students may hear about during orientation.
“I believe getting medical students to volunteer in the community is crucial to a great medical education,” Beatty said. “Not only are students able to get to know others in the community outside of school, but service learning is a way to build connection and real empathy. Engaging in a helpful activity, which is sometimes physical, two groups of people form one team. And understanding how to help others in the community now on a service level is going to go far in terms of understanding a patient as another human being.”
Food Finders Food Bank
For last year’s MS1 Orientation community immersion project, IU School of Medicine–West Lafayette partnered with Food Finders. Food Finders is a food bank located in Lafayette with various programs, such as a mobile pantry outreach, fresh market and resources coordination, and is committed to ending hunger across its 16-county service area.
Look out for messages in the campus GroupMe to become involved with upcoming service-learning opportunities!
