International Service-Learning
Program Overview | 2005 Slide Show | 2006 Slide Show
EVC International Service-Learning is a two year pilot initiative designed to provide outstanding SJECC students who have participated in Service-Learning or community service with the opportunity to enhance their global and inter-cultural understanding while serving in marginalized communities in poor underdeveloped countries. The initiative is rooted in theories of experiential education and social justice. Our primary objectives are to:
- Provide students who traditionally do not receive opportunities for international travel, and who are "at-risk" from the effects of marginalization in education to participate in grassroots hands-on learning.
- Educate and motivate students through direct personal experience with disadvantaged, oppressed, and marginalized individuals in order to foster cross-cultural awareness, understanding, compassion, and respect for diverse cultural expressions, as well as an appreciation for global interconnectedness.
- To apply what the students learned aboard to our local community. Each International trip is followed by a local community project which is designed to put the new knowledge to use in our community.
- To promote critical thinking, intellectual inquiry, moral reflection, and commitment to social justice.
Funding for this initiative is the result of dynamic partnership between students, the colleges and the community.
January 2005 Intersession trip was funded by SJECCD Foundation, EVC Associated Students, SJCC Associated Students, Abrazos and Books, and Human Agenda.