“Getting Students Into Your Organization” offered insight and clarification about recruiting Elon students to participate in local nonprofit organizations and agencies.
Three Elon University employees – staff members Tammy Cobb and Debby Wall, and human service studies lecturer Phil Miller – recently shared information with the Community Council of Alamance on ways for local agencies to effectively incorporate student volunteers into their workplaces.
The presentation, “Getting Students Into Your Organization,” outlined ways for nonprofits to find students: field placements through academic departments such as Human Service Studies, internships through the Student Professional Development Center, and service-learning opportunities through the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement.
Miller spoke about the Internship and practica experiences required of human services studies students. He detailed the process for placement selection and how emphasis is given to integrate classroom material with the field experience.
“The field experience is one of the most important aspects to the Human Service Studies major,” Miller said. “We strive to create a win-win situation between the student and agency.”
Debby Wall, the Student Professional Development Center’s director of internships, explained that Elon’s internship program offers a breadth of opportunities where employers can use student interns from all disciplines, and that internships can benefit both students and the organizations they serve. She gave suggestions and guidelines on how to create a meaningful and quality internship experiences.
“Students who have internship experiences are more marketable to future employers and graduate schools,” Wall said. “Employers provide rich, professional work experiences for students, and student interns have the opportunity to try on a career and earn academic credit.”
The processes for accessing Academic Service Learning faculty and courses, how to attain student volunteers for one-time and ongoing needs and finding federal work study students was shared by Tammy Cobb, assistant director for community partnerships in the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement.
“We thank you for helping our students complete more than 100,000 documented hours of volunteer service this past year,” she said. “We depend on the relationships and the numerous opportunities you provide that support how we educate our students and enrich their learning at Elon University.”