Student Reflections on the Summer Institute

This is the last in this summer's SENCER from a Student's Perspective series, written by Shanna Dell. We plan to continue to feature pieces by students and about incorporating student development in course and project design in the coming year.

Last week was SSI 2010 at the University of North Carolina in Asheville and the culmination of my internship. I really enjoyed meeting everyone who attended and found the posters, sessions, and conversations very interesting. SENCER is a unique organization, and I have had a wonderful summer as the DC summer intern.

It was amazing to see so much student involvement at SSI. There were twenty students at the institute, many of whom brought posters and participated actively in sessions. We had two student breakfasts, enabling the students to connect and discuss SENCER related issues at their institutions. There was also a student plenary lead by Ellen Goldey and Byron McCain in which eleven students (including myself) from seven institutions discussed three main questions: How did you as students enhance the course or project? How did the experience change you? What happens when power is shared? The plenary was a good opportunity for the students to share our experiences in collaborating with our professors and a good chance for professors to hear how students got involved. I hope that the professors who attended this session have started thinking about furthering student involvement in their own projects.

I was fortunate to participate in this plenary. The experiences I discussed ranged from helping Marion Fass on a new global health text book, participating in a class project to educate the Beloit campus about HIV/AIDS in Botswana in preparation for a visit from Sheila Tlou, and organizing the annual Beloit College Girls and Women in Science conference. Other students discussed how they had collaborated with faculty to develop a first year biology curriculum (Abbey Ellison, Patrick Harbour, James Mills, Arsalaan Salehani-all from Wofford College; Alexandra Van Milligen and Peter VandenBerg-both from Calvin College), develop an organic agriculture plot on campus (Kendall Gilbert from Grand Valley State University), develop and help implement a class in which students partnered with Bad River Watershed Association volunteers (Alex Bruns from Northland College), develop a program to help community high school students prepare for college (Chris Cecil from Ohio University Southern Campus), and develop communications initiatives for SENCER at Indiana State University as part of the SENCER Student Leadership Team(Elise Hobbs).

After we discussed our activities, Ellen and Byron opened the floor for questions from the audience. One of the frequent questions concerned how professors get students involved in collaborative projects, especially around SENCER topics. While many professors seemed to worry that students lack the assertiveness or motivation to participate actively in collaborative projects, I find this hard to image. As Ellen introduced in a quote during the plenary:

"There are three ways to win the young. There is persuasion. There is compulsion and there is attraction. You can preach at them; that is a hook without a worm. You can say "you must volunteer." That is the devil. And you can tell them, 'you are needed.' That appeal hardly ever fails." (Kurt Hahn, 1960 Address at the Outward Bound Trust)

Many students are probably interested in pursuing collaborative projects with their professors but may not know that it is even an option. Another obstacle for student involvement, particularly in STEM disciplines, may be that students do not see ties between what they are studying and their community. If professors ask students to get involved or make it otherwise apparent that they welcome student collaboration, then these professors are sure to see a rise in student participation on their campuses. The great thing about SENCER is that this organization strives to show students how the STEM disciplines are embedded in community issues. This plenary has now challenged SENCER participants to not only recognize these connections, but also involve students in actively affecting change, whether it be through curriculum development or community projects.

This is my last article for the SENCER newsletter, as my time here is at an end. I am happy that I had the opportunity to work with SENCER this summer. It has put a name to an idea that I have always had, that scientists and those in the STEM field should be expected to participate both in the scientific and the greater community. I hope to continue to promote SENCER in the world around me in whatever I do. Thank you to all of those I have met and talked with during my time with SENCER, I look forward to continuing to collaborate with this organization and the people involved with it.