For many students who already feel bogged down by tests, papers and projects, finding time to scratch their philanthropic itch can be hard to do. But for those of us who aren’t Mother Theresa in training and would still like to do our part in the community, the University has an answer for us.
The Learning in Community program, or LINC, is run through the College of Engineering, though it is open to all students. The program offers students a chance to participate in a project-based course that works to provide some sort of service to the community.
The program is broken up into sections; each section is paired with a nonprofit community partner and is responsible for working towards a goal with these partners. The program has come a long way from its beginning in 2002 when it started with one client, according to LINC project manager Greg Seymour, junior in Engineering.
Now students can choose from over twenty different sections within the LINC program. Something more astounding then the growing number of sections is the variety of sections offered. There is variety in the type of partners students work with, including the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club and Habitat for Humanity in Champaign. But there is also variety in the locations of these partners and communities that need service, like providing access to clean water in the West African country of Mali or creating solar energy cookers for communities in Mexico.
But the community partners aren’t the only ones who stand to profit from the LINC program. Students who enroll in the program, along with a sense of accomplishment at the end of the semester, gain skills in group work and critical thinking through hands-on applications. The added pressure of knowing there are real-world implications to the work being done is something that students say propels them to become even more involved and gives them experience they can use once they graduate.
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“I’m definitely more involved in this course, which is weird because it’s not required,” said Jeff Nagle, junior in LAS, and member of the Bridge to China section of LINC.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I would like it if all my classes were like the LINC class I’m in now,” he said. “We have an end goal in mind, but how we get there can be pretty unpredictable.”
