Pierce College offers a way to earn college credit while helping out people in society every day. Students at Pierce are volunteering their time to help many different people in their community. Not only do students get to work with others in need and gain experience in their fieldwork of choice, they also earn one CSU transferable unit. Jim Dawson has been teaching the Service Learning 1 and 2 courses for the past four years at Pierce. He also teaches Political Science 1 and 2. “As of last week, 577 students have enrolled in our two [Service Learning] sections that we offer,” Dawson said. “Our enrollment is higher than it ever has been.” The Service Learning 1 class is an introduction to community service and mainly focuses on social responsibility, promoting critical, reflective thinking and learning about the surrounding community. There are several class meetings, and each student must perform 18 hours of community service at a place of the student’s choice that meets course requirements. The Service Learning 2 class comprises 48 hours of field work and only one class meeting. Both classes require one report, due by the end of the semester, which must reflect on what was learned and how the students can apply it to their lives and other classes.The courses meet requirements on most California university applications in the area of community service. SL1 can be taken only once for credit, but SL2 can be taken up to four times. “It looks good on all CSU and UC applications, and it also builds up your resume for jobs in the future,” Dawson said. Stephanie Townsley is a nursing student at Moorpark College. She attended classes at Pierce that were needed to be accepted in a nursing program. While at Pierce, she took SL1 with Dawson. “Being able to work with patients, and to be next to the nurses while they were doing their daily duties, really helped me see what I was getting myself into by choosing a career in nursing,” Townsley said. Townsley volunteered at Northridge Hospital and students are always welcome to donate their time to the nurses and other staff members there. Gaby Evans is in charge of student volunteers at Northridge Hospital. “A lot of the volunteering is becoming an extra pair of legs for the nurses. Taking specimens to the lab, helping discharge patients, even stuffing envelopes and folding flyers are all jobs that students can do. We always appreciate student volunteers,” said Evans. The Student Learning Office has a list of opportunities for service, including job descriptions, posted by community agencies seeking volunteers. Some Pierce instructors include a service learning option as part of their curriculum or as extra credit. Students can also pitch their own ideas for service learning projects to the Service Learning Office and ask if it is something that could qualify as community service. Four years ago, only several dozen people were enrolled in service learning classes. There are now close to 50 times that number of students taking the courses. The classes are increasing quickly in popularity and many old students are returning to take SL2 again. “It’s overwhelming, the amount of students that come back that come back and volunteer,” Dawson said. “Their general feedback is very positive.”A lot of law and medical students come back to volunteer at different places and it’s not uncommon for students to volunteer at two or three places at a time.” The class is offered every semester and Dawson is the only teacher. He is excited to see the impact the class is making on the students enrolled in it. “We encourage students to come by the office and see what the program is all about,” Dawson said. “We have a big bowl of candy and we are located in Library 306. We’re always happy to have students come by and inquire, so don’t hesitate to drop by the office and see what we are all about.”