Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Students Dedicate Time through Praxis and Center for Civic Engagement

Jacqueline Quinones, Senior Electronic Media major at UTEP, is excited to continue volunteering with Latinitas this Spring. Quinones is one of several UTEP and EPCC students who chose Latinitas as her Service Learning project for the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) and Praxis- campus programs that aim to enhance student learning through community involvement.

So far, 20 students have been connected to Latinitas through these programs, contributing a total of 400 hours of volunteerism to Club Latinitas, Saturday workshops and other special events. Not only do CCE and Praxis allow students to receive class credit for their work, these community network programs also serve as link tfor students to gain a positive volunteer experience.

Students who sign up for these programs have the ability to practice their leadership skills, act as mentors and accompany young Latinas through an empowering process.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Quinones. “As a volunteer my task was to help with the day’s activities and to converse with the girls about anything they had on their minds. We talked about school, elections and how we are portrayed as Latinas."

Students who volunteer through the Center for Civic Engagement must complete a 1.5 hour training session and can choose from a flexible schedule to complete their volunteer hours with Latinitas. Although 20 hours is the minimum, other students like Quinones have decided to stay on board as volunteers with the organization.

“Joining Latinitas was one of the best decisions I've made with a rewarding experience. Actually, I'll be volunteering again this semester and encouraging other students to join as well,” added Quinones.

No comments: