EVC International Service-Learning is 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 appreciated for global interconnectedness.
To apply what the students learned abroad 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 community.