Summer of Service Work Study Program strengthens link between University and Extension to benefit students and communities
Andrea Elmore, a sophomore majoring in Nutritional Sciences, has the distinction of being the first (and so far the only) Cornell student to participate in the new Summer of Service Work Study Program offered by the Cornell University Public Service Center.
The program, which began in 2006, gives work-study eligible students the opportunity to spend the summer working with participating nonprofit community agencies on specific service-related projects that are for the welfare of the nation or community.
"The Summer of Service Work Study Program is structured as a three-way service and learning partnership between the student, the faculty advisor and the participating community agency," wrote Leonardo Vargas-Méndez, executive director of the public service center, in a letter to Cornell Cooperative Extension offices throughout New York State. He also wrote that 75 percent of the students' wages will be subsidized by the Federal Work Study Program.
Andy Fagan, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County, was immediately drawn to that last statement. He and Jennifer Jones, the extension's Nutrition and Wellness Program manager, had been struggling to find a way to afford the extra person needed to provide the USDA Summer Food Service Program for Children in the agency's Waverly Kids Café.
The Summer Food Service Program provides free lunches throughout the summer to children under the age of 18 in areas or locations where a large number of the children participate in the free lunch program during the school year. The school program was started to help children in low-income families get proper nutrition, and the summer program had never been offered in Waverly.
To qualify as a participating agency in the Federal Work Study Program, though, Andy and Jennifer had to show that the specific project would also provide a strong educational benefit to the Cornell student directly related to his or her field of study. Nutritional education programing and evaluation was a large component of the position, and it was accepted by the program.
"The program is designed to be an intense learning experience for the student in addition to being a service to the community," Amy Somchanhmavong, assistant director of Community Programs at the Public Service Center, said. "So, it is not just a summer job, it is an opportunity for the student to get deeply involved with the agencies or issues. It is an opportunity to enrich and reinforce academic knowledge."
Andrea, who is from Tioga County, found the job listed on the center's website ( www.psc.cornell.edu) and immediately applied. "I liked the idea of helping people in my own community," she said, and she immersed herself in the job when she got it.Her primary responsibility was to run the free lunch program. She picked up the lunches in Owego on her way to work in Waverly. She coordinated the schedules of the volunteers who helped serve the lunches, and she cleaned up afterward. In addition, she created press releases and flyers to promote the program, and she distributed the flyers to Waverly schools and youth-related agencies.
She also assisted with the regular operation of the Kids Café, which was open to teens in the afternoons. Andrea prepared and served them snacks and dinners. She talked with them when they just needed someone to listen. She played games with them, and she even tutored one girl in math.
Andrea got dirty, too. The Kids Café staff and members grow vegetables in the Waverly Community Garden to sell at the Waverly Farmers' Market as a fundraising and educational activity for the teens. Andrea regularly weeded, watered and harvested in the garden during the week so she could sell the bounty in the market Friday evenings.
Then there was the nutritional education component of her responsibilities. "One of my greatest challenges was the large gap in the ages of the kids involved in the lunch program. I found out that very different approaches must be taken when presenting nutrition information to these different age groups." she said.
To solve the problem she created two large bulletin boards. One for young children with bold colors that mainly showed large pictures of food. Another for teens that taught by having them answer questions then checking to see if their answer was right.
"I was largely satisfied with the variety of skills and the heightened awareness I acquired of many issues," Andrea said. "I enjoyed my level of independence and ability to work at my own pace. One of my major roles, aside from the obvious aspect of running the program, was evaluating its success. I enjoyed being given free rein and trust in my opinions about the program. In this way I was not just given a task and told to perform it, I was an integral part in the decision-making process."
Sue Travis, a lecturer in the Cornell Division of Nutritional Sciences and Andrea's project advisor, concurs. "Overall, I think it was an
excellent experience for Andrea. She got good field experience. She grew with it and was given good responsibilities. I would be glad to work with more students in the future."Andy Fagan was delighted with Andrea's contribution and the Summer of Service Program. "It's a win win situation. It provides students an opportunity to broaden their skills with real world opportunities, and thanks to the federal funding it gives us at extension the opportunity to do things we simply couldn't afford to do otherwise."
Did it help the community? Jennifer Jones thinks so. "Without Andrea we probably wouldn't have been able to offer the free lunch program," she said. In other words, without Andrea Elmore there probably would have been some kids in Waverly, New York, whose bellies would have gone empty longer than they should have this past summer.
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