2015 Service Learning

Among all the rigorous classwork and other commitments our Honors students are involved in around campus, many of them make time to give back to the community. Our Honors students are fully utilizing the service opportunities Merrimack offers through the Stevens Service Learning Center, and by searching for opportunities on their own in the community. This year, our students are involved in all different kinds of service in many different surrounding towns, covering many different disciplines.

Amy Byrnes ’17, a Civil Engineering student, has used this service opportunity to widen her experiences outside of her field of study. Rather than choosing to volunteer as a math or science tutor, Amy is currently volunteering at Ashland Farms, an assisted living home located in North Andover. At Ashland, she reads to the residents and entertains them when the nurses’ hands are full.

Other students have taken this service opportunity to become more experienced in their field of study, while also giving back to the community. James Buckley ‘17, Criminology major, volunteers for the North Andover Police Department every week. James does paperwork for the department and enters data in to the computer systems. James also goes on ride-alongs where he is able to obtain some insight on what the officers do on a daily basis.

Some of our Honors students volunteer in schools, allowing low budget school systems to have an assistant teacher. Skylah Forend ’17 is part of Jumpstart, which is a yearlong commitment that focuses on service in these low budget schools. Forend volunteers at the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council (GLCAC), where she teaches students from ages two to three. Sophomore Joanna Haswell ’17 also participates in Jumpstart and does her service at the Lawrence YMCA which is a program established through AmeriCorps. She works with three to five year olds on developing language and literacy skills that they will need for Kindergarten.