Joining hands between theory and practice – benefiting students and the global community.

No “ivory tower” here!

Daemen College sees to it – through our core curriculum and philosophy of 21st century education – that students strike a healthy balance between in-class instruction and hands-on experiential learning outside of the classroom. In doing so, students fulfill the civic responsibility competency of the core curriculum, and become more engaged learners, as well as informed, responsible citizens.

Our innovative program has been named, for seven consecutive years, to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary efforts in service-learning and addressing critical community needs. The program has also been recognized with the U.S. Thousand Points of Light National Service Award.

Through the three-credit, 60 hour service learning requirement, all Daemen undergraduate students participate in some form of service learning. This mandate may find our students actively engaged in service or outreach work with refugee and international populations, in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, helping out at a nursing home, boys and girls club, environmental agency, health clinic, or after-school tutoring and enrichment program in an urban school setting. Many students even participate in community gardening, weatherization, and neighborhood clean-up projects during spring break.

Whether a local or global experience, short- or long-term project, as an individual or part of a group, students from every field of academic study and class level reap the benefits of service-learning. And while there are many benefits, most important is how their contribution of time and effort benefits people in need. Each year, nearly 400 Daemen students contribute more than 25,000 volunteer service hours

Service learning is mutually beneficial. As students assist their fellow citizens in need, they gain leadership, cross-cultural, civic awareness, and critical thinking skills, and develop values that will guide them throughout their lives. It’s a priceless opportunity to apply classroom learning in real-world contexts, and through thoughtful, structured reflection activities, experience a more integrated and richer understanding of academic course materials and objectives.

Service Learning provides students

• Hands-on, real world experiences and the opportunity to develop a global service perspective;
• Preparation for civic participation in a democratic society;
• Opportunities to better understand academic course content and make connections between educational and community service goals;
• Opportunities to grow as learners and citizens and become partners with faculty and service recipients in the teaching-learning process;
• Opportunities to develop critical thinking and leadership skills while bonding with their peers and assisting those less fortunate.