Service Learning

Jasmine Cho, Staff Writer
April 1, 2013
As Published in The Silversword

In Chinatown, a room bustles with student volunteers tutoring elderly people each week as part of Project Students Helping in Naturalization of Elders, or Project SHINE, a program where college students teach immigrants basic English and civic skills necessary to become a citizen. Although targeted at Chinese immigrants, anyone who’s willing to learn English is welcome to join on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

For students, Project SHINE isn’t just about helping immigrants and performing the required amount of community service or fulfilling service-learning requirements because it’s a part of the class’s curriculum. It’s about the relationship people develop with each other and the self-satisfaction of making a difference by helping those who need it.

“I found that it becomes important to a lot of people because people develop relationships with the learners [tutees] … they teach you as much as you teach them,” said Candice Sakuda, who is Chaminade’s Director of Service-Learning and a community partner of Project SHINE.

Although reluctant at first, many people involved in the program are first introduced to it through a class. Several professors on campus incorporate service-learning projects into their curriculum. It becomes a part of a student’s assignment where he or she learns from participating in service-learning.

Chelcy Reyes, a SHINE coordinator who has been in the program for seven years, said she learned of SHINE from her intro to sociology class with Professor Bryan Man. Although hesitant at first, she grew to love the program and said whenever SHINE asks her to come back, she says “yes.”

“Really, the best part about SHINE, at the end of tutorial, the learners [tutees] always are just so thankful,” Reyes said with a smile. “Even as tired as you may be, from either a long day of work, long day of classes, it’s early Saturday morning, at the end of tutorial, they are so happy and so thankful and you feel that. It makes a difference.”

Although rewarding and self-satisfying, tutoring immigrants isn’t without its hardships.

Alanah Torre, a communication major who is also SHINE coordinator, said the language barrier was one of the difficulties she experienced when tutoring the learners.

“There are some learners [tutees] with no basic English skills at all and expect us to understand Chinese, which of course we don’t understand at all,” Torre said.

Often, online translators, English to Chinese dictionaries, pictures and hand motions are used to overcome the problem, but it’s still possible for a simple task like learning “What is your name?” to take an hour.

Another difficulty is the fact every immigrant’s level of English is different. It’s not uncommon to see a tutor teaching two to three people. Sakuda said tutors may find themselves not being able to progress into different subjects; however, they should not be discouraged.

The way tutors teach their students vary. Immigrants may bring in storybooks, or tutors may teach their learners phonetics, or use flashcards asking questions that will be on the naturalization test. If the student wants to go over the N-400, the application for naturalization, the tutor will teach what the words on the form mean.

Sakuda said the passing rate for the Project SHINE learners is 80 percent on the first try, and although the tutees passed their naturalization test, some still come back to learn more English.

Many students in the project are thankful for the time and effort volunteers put into tutoring them. According to Sakuda, “people win,” everyone gains out of SHINE. Immigrants learn English, tutors get their required assignment for their professor done, Chaminade has hours added to its 50k hours project and Project SHINE serves its purpose.

“Everybody has to give,” Sakuda said. “That’s why we really try to make it clear what everybody’s roles are because we need everybody to participate. I can’t do it by myself. They can’t do it by themselves. It’s all of us working together. It’s like our baby.”

See if you can answer these civic questions that can be seen on the naturalization test:

Who makes federal laws?

How many U.S. senators are there?

What are the two parts of congress?

What is the name of the current president?

If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

Who vetoes bills?

Who signs bills to become laws?

What is the highest court in the United States?

Who is the Governor of your state now?

What is the political party of the President now?

The following is from a Press Release by  McNeil Wilson Communications, Inc. on June 6, 2011:

HONOLULU, HAWAI’I – The Hawai’i Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) <http://prsahawaii.org/> announced the winners of its first proposal-writing competition. Chaminade University business students Chelsea Taketa and Eugenia Lutali took top honors in the contest that gave Hawai’i college students an opportunity to hone their skills on preparing a formal response to a public relations Request for Proposal (RFP).

“We congratulate Chelsea and Eugenia for submitting a proposal that was clearly outstanding in every category,” said Ruth Limtiaco, CEO of The Limtiaco Company, who spearheaded the contest. “Their entry exhibited strategic thinking, a consistent theme and a practical budget, elements that are all essential to any comprehensive public relations plan.”

Open to teams of students from any Hawai’i college or university, the RFP asked for a written public relations plan to position Iolani Palace as a premier cultural and historical treasure, worthy of high recognition and regard in the visitor and resident market sectors, and as an institution deserving of philanthropic support.

“Iolani Palace was pleased to play a role in this excellent exercise to provide students with a learning experience,” said Kippen de Alba Chu, Executive Director of Iolani Palace. “The winning proposal was well thought out and the team obviously put considerable effort into a very creative plan.”

de Alba Chu joined four premier PR professionals on the judging panel, including Limtiaco, Nancy Daniels, APR, of Outrigger Enterprises, Amy Hennessey, APR, of Hawaii Pacific Health and Nathan Kam of McNeil Wilson Communications. On a scale of 1 to 10, they judged each submission based on how well the proposal was written, research, strategy, budget and if it would be competitive in the real world.

Taketa and Lutali scored the most points out of 10 teams. The Chaminade students, who both recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, each received a $100 cash prize and will have a chance to network with Hawai’i PR professionals at the 2011 Koa Anvil Awards, held on July 28 at the Hawai’i Prince Hotel Waikiki.

“This contest was a way to provide aspiring PR professionals with a ‘real world’ scenario that they will face one day,” said Moani Wright-Van Alst, PRSA Hawai’i president. “We’d like to thank Ruth Limtiaco for leading our first student competition and we hope to continue it next year.”

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PRSA Hawai’i, chartered in 1947, was one of six founding chapters of PRSA. The society is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals, with nearly 20,000 members representing business and industry, counseling firms, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms, and not-for-profit organizations.

Also found online at http://www.migrationinformation.org/integrationawards/files/2011-05-18-E…

WASHINGTON – The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) on Wednesday announced that Project SHINE (Students Helping In the Naturalization of Elders) is one of four recipients of its 2011 E Pluribus Unum Prizes for exceptional immigrant integration initiatives. The national award honors Project SHINE, an intergenerational learning program through which nearly 10,000 college students have worked with elderly immigrants and refugees to improve their English proficiency, civics knowledge and health literacy.

The Intergenerational Center at Temple University serves as the national office of the SHINE network, which operates on 19 campuses and a community non-profit in nine states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

SHINE and the other E Pluribus Unum Prizes winners will be honored tonight at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., featuring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other national policymakers. The national award is accompanied by a $50,000 prize.

The E Pluribus Unum Prizes program, established in 2008 by MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy with generous support from the J.M. Kaplan Fund, seeks to encourage the adoption of effective integration practices and inspire others to take on the important work of integrating immigrants and their children so they can join the mainstream of U.S. society.

SHINE partners with colleges and universities, immigrant communities and local health/aging networks to improve elderly immigrants’ English language skills, knowledge of U.S. civics and history and understanding of healthy aging practices. SHINE volunteers also prepare older immigrants to take the U.S. citizenship test. SHINE also enhances the health communication skills of older immigrants, addressing their language and health literacy needs.

Since 1997, Project SHINE has offered educational services to over 40,000 older immigrants and refugees, an often-overlooked segment of the immigrant population that is less able to actively seek ways to better integrate into local communities. Nearly 10,000 college students have participated in Project SHINE since the initiative’s inception, volunteering more than 150,000 hours. By instilling an ethos of service and civic participation, SHINE helps future leaders by giving them a window into new cultures and older generations.
“Project SHINE is an exceptional model of two-way integration. The students provide important English, civics and literacy knowledge to an immigrant population that is often overlooked by others, and at the same time are exposed to the rich cultures and experiences of older migrants,” said Margie McHugh, co-director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.

“The program provides elderly immigrants and refugees with new links to their communities,” said MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix, who is co-director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. “SHINE has strong metrics demonstrating its success with this often harder-to-reach elderly population.”
A study by the American Institutes for Research found that only 46 percent of first-time applicants for citizenship over the age of 65 passed the naturalization exam, compared to the national pass rate of 84 percent. Ninety percent of Project SHINE participants who take the citizenship test pass it. Student volunteer tutors provide at least two hours of mentoring weekly per semester, with lesson plans and one-on-one teaching or in small class settings.

“Older immigrants have a strong desire to learn about their new countries and contribute to their communities. They may have difficulty learning in a regular classroom setting due to pace of instruction, isolation or linguistic barriers. SHINE has evolved over the years as it responds to the needs identified by older immigrants,” said Project SHINE Program Director Patience Lehrman. “Through SHINE, older immigrants have reported increased confidence in their ability to communicate with health practitioners, increased access to health services and increased civic participation.”

Project SHINE has been replicated at colleges and universities in California (San Jose State University, San Jose City College, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, California State University at Northridge and California State University Fullerton); Georgia (Emory University and Georgia Perimeter College); Hawaii (Chaminade University, Kapi’olani Community College and University of Hawaii at Manoa), Minnesota (Metropolitan State University and Minneapolis Community and Technical College); New York (Utica College and Hamilton College); North Carolina (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro); and Texas (University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College). It also operates in Colorado at the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning.

The other 2011 E Pluribus Unum Prize winners are the International Rescue Committee in San Diego, Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (MO) and the Welcome Back Initiative. Marriott International received the first-ever E Pluribus Unum Corporate Leadership Award.

For more information or to set up interviews, contact Michelle Mittelstadt at 202-266-1910, [email protected]; or Burke Speaker at 202-266-1920, [email protected].

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The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels.

15th Annual Continuums of Service Conference, 2012-04 Seattle, WA
Higher education has its roots in serving the public good. While most colleges and universities still believe this to be a core foundation of their missions, over the years, more emphasis has been placed on the individual gain of the student, primarily in the realm economic mobility. At this point in history, it is imperative for higher education to reconnect to its public purpose.

The civic engagement/service-learning field is well-poised to help create a new vision for higher education. The 2012 Continuums of Service conference, “Creating the New Vision for Higher Education” focused on this topic.

Chaminade University’s Service-Learning Director, Candice Sakuda, was chosen to serve on the COS planning committee.  The committee sought to facilitate roundtable discussions to explore diverse perspectives, to create public spaces to share ideas, and to invite prominent keynote speakers representing a broad range of expertise to challenge our thinking.

The committee elected Chaminade Professor Wayne Tanna as one of its keynote speakers for this national audience.  He was thought-provoking and hilarious at the same time. Of all we covered during this featured session, Professor Tanna’s speech was the one that everyone was talking about at the refreshment table afterward.  One graduate student commented, “That made me kinda want to look into going to Chaminade!” His peer wholeheartedly agreed, “Oh my gosh, I was thinking the same thing.”

Throughout the conference, participants integrated collective ideas into a “new vision” to guide their work, connected their colleges and universities with their communities in profound ways, and prepared their students to be civic leaders NOW, and in the years to come. (Adapted from COS Conference theme statement.)

KEYNOTE PANEL PRESENTATION – Thursday, April 12 at 12:45pm

Moderator: Sherril Gelmon – Sherril Gelmon, DrPH, is Professor of Public Health and Chair of the Division of Public Administration in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University and Senior Consultant with Community-Campus Partnerships for Health. One of her current areas of research on engagement relates to institutional strategy and establishment of models of faculty roles and recognition for community-engaged scholarship. Dr. Gelmon was the founding chair of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (2006-2008), she is the lead author of the Northwest Health Foundation’s handbook on program evaluation and of the Campus Compact publication “Assessing the Impact of Service-learning and Civic Engagement,” and she received the Civic Engagement Award for Excellence in Community-Based Teaching and Learning from Portland State University in 2007. She is the 2011 recipient of the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award from Campus Compact.
She is an alumna of the Pew Health Policy Fellows Program, and received her doctorate in health policy from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Her master’s degree is in health administration from the University of Toronto, and she holds undergraduate degrees in physiotherapy from the Universities of Toronto and Saskatchewan.

Dr. Lee D. Lambert currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Shoreline Community College.
As a leader and champion for innovation and change in U.S. higher education, President Lambert’s work has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Association for Community College Trustees Pacific Region Chief Executive Officer Award.
President Lambert has a J.D. degree from Seattle University’s School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College. He also serves on a number of local and national Boards and Councils.

Deborah Wilds is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the College Success Foundation (CSF).
The Foundation has over 10 years of proven experience inspiring underserved, low-income students to finish high school and providing the unique integrated system of support and scholarships they need to graduate college and succeed in life.
Prior to 2006, Dr. Wilds was a senior program officer for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led efforts for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, Gates Cambridge Scholars and Washington State Achievers Program. She also oversaw the early college initiative creating 250 new early college high schools.

Dr. Wilds served as the Deputy Director of the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Office of Minorities in Higher Education in Washington, DC. She has co-authored several books, written more than 20 articles and co-authored ACE’s Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education. She was the Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of New Era Education, an independent school and pre-school located in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently serves on boards for CSF – District of Columbia, Philanthropy Northwest, College Spark, University of Washington Bothell Advisory and is on the Board of Regents at Seattle University.

Dr. Wilds has a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Planning and Administration from University of Maryland at College Park; an M.S. degree from Howard University; and a B.S. degree from California State University, San Diego.

Wayne M. Tanna, JD, LL.M., is a professor of accounting at Chaminade University. His academic focus is in the areas of tax law and ethics. He teaches a broad range of courses in accounting, tax law, and business ethics to undergraduates and M.B.A. students at Chaminade. Professor Tanna is an attorney and practices exclusively on a pro bono basis concentrating in the areas of non profits, tax, and civil rights law. He has presented over 300 workshops and seminars to community organizations and grassroots groups on various legal and business topics. Professor Tanna also serves on numerous nonprofit boards and is a current appointee of the Hawaii Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In 2005, professor Tanna was appointed by the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury to a three year term (2006 – 2008) to the national IRS Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. He also is the director (pro bono) of a federally funded Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.
In recognition of his service to the community professor Tanna has received numerous recognitions, including the Hawaii State Bar Association’s Justice Award and the American Bar Association/National Association of Pro Bono Coordinators’ William Reese Smith Jr. Special Services to Pro Bono Award. Professor Tanna has twice been awarded The President’s Volunteer Service Award (presented by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, this national award recognizes exemplary volunteer service to the community and country).

Tom Caswell is an Open Education Policy Associate at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). Tom’s current projects include running the Open Course Library, piloting a community college Open Learning Initiative (OLI) in Washington, and supporting the OPEN initiative for Department of Labor C3T grantees. Prior to working for the State Board, Tom was Strategic Outreach Manager for the OpenCourseWare Consortium. He holds an Ed.S. in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences from Utah State University.

Jimena Mascaro moved here 4 years ago after completing high school in Lima, Peru. Her passion is traveling, which provides the opportunity to learn about different cultures and diverse groups of people. This interest influenced her decision to pursue a BA in sociology with a minor in Women’s Studies, while her desire to help others led her to become a Peer Navigator at Green River Community College. She enjoys helping other students navigate the school system, as she herself was helped. One of her biggest goals is to “leave the place that I’m in a little better than when I came”. She has enriched her meaning of diversity and confirmed her passion for people by being part of several organizations including: Student Government, Latino Student Union, Queer and Allies, and Black Student Union. She will be graduating spring quarter and looks forward to transferring to a four year university.

By Suzanne Roig, Published by The Honolulu Advertiser

Chaminade University students yesterday toiled in streams and at schools, and aided the elderly and the homeless as part of the school’s annual community service day.

Starting at 8:15 yesterday morning, about 150 students, faculty and staff came together and went to seven different locations on Oahu. They cleaned up at the Halawa Valley Heiau, they baked cookies and delivered them to the Institute for Human Services. They cleaned up the grounds of Palolo Elementary School, the Palolo Stream, repainted railings at the Palolo Chinese Home, organized a learning center and helped at the IHS shelter.

It was part of a class for new freshman, said Allison Jerome, Chaminade University associate dean of students. The class is a requirement for all incoming freshmen and is designed to teach students about giving back to the community.

“A lot of students made connections today,” Jerome said. “They said they wanted to go back and help or come out and tutor at Palolo Elementary. Ideally what we want out of this day is for them to have enjoyed making a difference in their community.”

Chardonnay Pao, a new freshman and basketball player, is no stranger to community service. Still, she had a great time at the Palolo Chinese Home, a place she never knew existed before yesterday. Still, she had a great time painting railings and washing cars at the elderly home at the back of Palolo Valley.

“It wasn’t very hard work at all,” Pao said. “I am thinking of contacting them to do my community service hours at.”

Pao is required to put in a set amount of time in doing community service as part of a scholarship she received.

This is the second year in a row that the school has organized a day-long community service day as a real world application of the seminar class they are required to take, Jerome said.

“It’s turned out to be a good thing,” she said. “The best part of the day for me is when I hear that the students have enjoyed their work. That’s ultimately the results that we want. The students worked hard today.”