14
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 3RD APRIL, 2016
One day in 2015, Shilohna Phillanders
wore mismatched
socks to work. She persuaded her colleagues in the UWI
Division of Student Services and Development to wear
mismatched socks to bring awareness to the genetic “mismatch”
that causes Down Syndrome.
“It was a fun exercise, and easy for people to do. There was
an overwhelming turnout. And this allowed the discussion for
awareness,” Phillanders remembers the day with surprise and
satisfaction. This event was a part of a broader campaign at a
national level.
“Getting people to step outside their selves and their
comfort zones” seems to be an effective first step for students to
engage with society through selfless giving. It is one technique
that may be useful to bring young people to the core concept
of service learning and community engagement in the arsenal
of a cross-functional team under the purview of the Deputy
Principal of the UWI, Professor Rhoda Reddock.
Reddock believes that the role of the university is “to
develop leadership and commitment, and graduate human
beings who are strong in their disciplines but who also have
the competencies required to be good and useful citizens with
a sense of social responsibility and social justice.”
Phillanders, community engagement liaison in the
Division of Student Services and Development, is the point
person for the Community Engagement Programme,
particularly the community service component. Since 2011,
she is the principal link between NGOs, CBOs and students.
“Engagement with organisations like the Cyril Ross Home,
Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA), Nature Seekers,
Habitat for Humanity, as well as mentorship programmes such
as GoodStart and SUMMON, have been going on for years. We
are in the process of solidifying and structuring relationships;
providing assistance for student-based causes, communications
such as the call for volunteers, and coordination and record-
keeping for semester-long or ad hoc (one-day) programmes.”
Building A Student Conscience
A database of students and their engagements, and of
agencies or companies participating in service learning and
community engagement, is being built. And as more students
come to see service learning as a vital feature of their growth
and development, there is need to engage a wide variety of
NGOs, CBOs and even government agencies or companies
whose CSR activity extends to interventions in communities
as well as student internship and apprenticeship programmes.
Lynette Joseph-Brown’s forte for collecting the evidence,
collating the data and analyzing trends is the appropriate foil
to Deputy Principal Rhoda Reddock’s over-arching vision for
a just society through interventions such as service learning
and community engagement. Joseph-Brown, through the
Office of the Deputy Principal, has embarked on an exercise to
win support from corporate citizens for the Service Learning
and Community Engagement (SLCE) programme that will
provide practice-based learning and research opportunities for
students, as well as needed funds and resources for aspects of
the programme in need of development; such as the database,
an interactive website and tutors for courses.
As a consultant/ monitoring and evaluation specialist
who has worked with UN agencies and other regional and
international organizations, she brings a wealth of insight
and experience to the process. (Companies interested in
partnering with the UWI to participate in any aspect of SLCE
are encouraged to get in touch with Joseph-Brown in the office
of the Deputy Principal at the UWI.)
Across the campus, many students and staff are already
involved in volunteering, mentoring and giving, through home,
charities and churches. The working group that came together
in 2012 to review the community engagement programme
conducted a survey and presented the findings in a study titled,
“Are you engaged?” Phillanders confirms that there is need for
all faculties and departments to be aware of the structures being
put in place to assist and encourage students in community
engagement, which includes service learning, community
service and community-based research.
Through this programme, all students will have
opportunities to build skills, gain broad experience and
enhance employability. Critical thinking, interpersonal or
customer-oriented communications as well as a value system
that embraces social responsibility are qualities that employers
respond to, over and above certifications. So it is a win-win for
all parties involved.
UWI students taking part in the international coastal clean-up in
2015, one of the annual community service events.
PHOTO: ODESSA FORTUNE.
Miss, your socks don’tmatch
Engaging students through service learning and community service
B Y P A T G A N A S E
COMMUNITY
Structuring Another Arm of Learning
“Students and faculty are recognizing that many post-
graduate programmes require evidence of community
engagement on students’ transcripts. And it’s not enough to
simply state the activity. We have to ensure there’s qualified
supervision for students in the field to ensure authentic
participation and attendance. We also want to ensure that there
is learning,” says Joseph-Brown. She identifies key steps in the
process as important in the achievement of the objectives:
reciprocity (what is being exchanged between the organization
and the student) and reflection (what does it mean; how can
the exchange be improved for mutual benefit?)
Considerations for reciprocity include asking, among the
pertinent institutions and the 5000 registeredNGOs inTrinidad
and Tobago, what are the resources they lack? Do they have the
resources to provide initial training to students?”
The restructuring of the programme is overseen by
the Community Engagement Advisory Committee. This
Committee draws representatives from all faculties, from the
student body and from the private sector and community-based
organizations, for the purposes of promoting understanding
and awareness of SLCE, deepening the practice and fostering
linkages between faculties and organizations/corporate citizens
in the wider society.
“Trinidad and Tobago is listed tenth in the 2014 World
Global Index for Giving. This is an indicator of the generous
nature of the people in our society. Many students want to give
– time and talents – but don’t know how or where. They now
have a desk and a face in Student Services. Come to Shilohna
Phillanders!”
Phillanders is enthusiastic about her own path to
community engagement. With a BSc in International Relations
and MSc in Global Studies (with research on development
issues, community development and service learning), she grew
up in Interact, the school arm of Rotary, and has also been a
member of the Eastern Youth Chorale, Habitat for Humanity,
and recently joined the Child Welfare Association.
Joseph-Brown reminds us: “There are still many students
who come to the university with one purpose in mind: to get
the degree that will allow them to get the good job and earn big
bucks. To those students, I encourage you to become engaged
through service learning and community service. Your chances
of obtaining a better job will increase.”
Phillanders added, “Many of these students may come
reluctantly but they find fulfillment and satisfaction outside
academic achievements. And they are hooked.”That the initial
reason to participate may be because of requirements on a
transcript doesn’t faze them: “It matters not how you come to
us, but that you do come!”
“We need to get the language of service learning and
community engagement out there… to teachers in secondary
schools as a start, as well as the campus community. We need
to change the culture,” says Joseph-Brown.
Lots of Socks: One of the activities with members of staff of what was formerly Student Advisory Services, now the UWI Division of Student
Services and Development
PHOTO: ESMOND TELESFORD JR.
