April 10
North Shore Community College (NSCC) student Nicole Levy has become a more engaged and thoughtful citizen through service-learning.
Service-learning incorporates classwork with real-life applications, offering experiential learning opportunities in partnership with non-profit community organizations.Through multiple service-learning projects, Levy learned more about the topics that interest her, gained insights into new cultures and processes, gave back to her community, and forged intercultural partnerships.
"Volunteer work has been part of my values for a long time, and at North Shore, that work is tied into my courses,” said Levy. She recently received the Cummings Foundation Service Scholarship, awarded to a student who completes at least 50 hours of service-learning over the course of one semester.
A STEM major, Levy’s lifelong love of learning was inspired by her parents.
“I really love science, and I really love languages. When I was looking for some enriching classes, I came to North Shore,” she said. "Courses here expanded my horizons. I was exposed to different things, and the classes gave me a more accurate perspective on the world."
Levy has been involved in several service-learning projects, but her involvement with the Universidad Central del Ecuador and Mass Audubon stand out the most.
Language and Culture Exchange
Levy was first introduced to service-learning in a Spanish class taught by Professor Irene Fernandez. In a partnership with the Universidad Central del Ecuador, NSCC students were paired with Ecuadorian students who are studying to become English teachers.
Each session was half in Spanish and half in English, giving each student an opportunity to practice conversation in their target language. Levy incorporated lessons from her Spanish class, and she found that things like new verb forms quickly became second nature through conversation.
Not only did the conversation partners increase their vocabulary, but they also learned about each other’s cultures. This cultural exchange changed the way Levy sees the world and current events.
“I feel like an ambassador in my own small way—I can build bridges between different cultures. It helped me understand my world better.”
State and Local Advocacy
Through the class Writing about Literature and the Environment, Levy began a service-learning project at Mass Audubon, which broadened her awareness of an important environmental issue and of the legislative process as she applied classroom learning to real-life experiences.
Levy focused on second-generation anti-coagulant rodenticides (SGARs), a class of poisons used by exterminators to target rats and mice. With SGARs, the rats do not die immediately, raptors like hawks or owls who catch and eat the poison-filled rodents are also poisoned.
Levy advocated for a bill that promotes more humane methods of extermination that do not have such a negative impact on wildlife.
“I wrote letters to representatives about the issue, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the legislative process in the state,” said Levy.
The bill proposal has gained momentum and soon volunteers will be visiting State senators and representatives at the State House to educate them about the issue.
In addition to writing to representatives, Levy undertook a project to document the SGAR boxes in her community. Her goal was not to punish the businesses owners with SGAR boxes on their property, but to educate them.
Through service learning, Levy and other students are taking their learning beyond the classroom, deepening their education and also making a meaningful difference in the communities in which they live and serve.