Sociology Students Get Involved with the York Community

Professor Laura Steck, Ph.D. integrates community-based learning into her sociology courses through offering practical volunteer projects. Her students have the opportunity to work with different organizations in York such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Catholic Harvest Food Pantry, and Communities in Schools. Students also take part in reflection discussions led by the Applied Volunteer Management class. Some students have gone on to accept Program Coordinator positions as community service work-study.

This optional volunteer project involves working with the York City community and requires 10 hours of community service throughout the semester. Students enjoy this hands-on experience that puts them into contact with York nonprofits. Senior Rebecca McQuade (Mount Laurel, NJ), who has volunteered with Communities in Schools at Jackson for two semesters, says, “Without this course, I would never have gotten connected with the Communities in Schools with Jackson. I think this was a great opportunity for me and I’m happy to have started this connection for future students to be able to do the same thing.”

Dixie Weaver ’20 (McSherrystown, PA), another student who has been heavily involved with this volunteer project, has since obtained a position as Program Coordinator. After volunteering with the Catholic Harvest Food Pantry through Professor Steck’s course, Weaver decided she wanted to be a Program Coordinator with the organization. Through this position, she has been involved with families around York and helped manage a range of different volunteers.

No matter what organization they work with, these students are able to connect with the York community and gain real-life experience working with nonprofits.