At the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution located in the region of the Lumbee Tribe, raising Indigenous student engagement and belonging is an institutional priority. Geography offers a natural framework for connecting place, identity, community and education. This poster describes a service-learning initiative in an introductory Principles of Geography course designed to strengthen student learning while building meaningful community relationships.

Undergraduate students in Dr. Jerry Griffith's GGY 1010 class partnered with a local sixth-grade classroom at CIS Academy (Communities In Schools) in Pembroke, North Carolina, serving predominantly Lumbee students. Across three structured visits, university students worked one-on-one or in small mentoring groups to teach geography concepts through hands-on activities, including map reading and latitude/longitude determination, GIS-based exploration of Indigenous lands from historical to present contexts and Google Earth/remote sensing activities emphasizing place-based learning.

The project positioned university students as near-peer mentors, allowing them to reinforce their own understanding of geographic concepts through teaching while developing communication, leadership, and civic engagement skills. For younger students, the experience provided exposure to geospatial technologies, interaction with college students, and increased familiarity with higher education pathways. Informal reflections suggested that both groups benefited from the reciprocal learning environment, with teaching becoming a mechanism for building confidence, developing academic identity and connecting to the community.

This project demonstrates how introductory geography or earth science courses can serve as platforms for culturally relevant, place-based service learning that supports Indigenous student success while strengthening university-community relationships. The model is adaptable to other minority-serving institutions and geoscience programs seeking meaningful outreach partnerships, mentorship opportunities and inclusive approaches to student engagement.