Service Learning

Birmingham-Southern's service-learning program encourages students to grow personally and spiritually in service to others. During January Interim Term, the Chaplain of the College, two faculty members and a group of students travel abroad to perform service work. Regular stops include Methodist missions in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, Africa, as well as those in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Calcutta, India, and Juiz de Fora, Brazil. On a recent trip to San Pedro Sulas, Honduras, Birmingham-Southern students worked with children of a local orphanage, visited Episcopal medical clinics near the diocesan camp, toured Spanish and Mayan ruins, and visited Roatan Island, the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere.

Students attend weekly meetings of intense orientation during the fall term. They research topics related to the host country, its people, culture, and religion, and engage in training and team-building exercises. Evaluation is based on participation in the orientation sessions, a pre-trip presentation on some aspect of the host civilization, and on-site performance.

Local service-learning opportunities are also offered. This January students will build a house in a local neighborhood with Habitat for Humanity. In another project, students will serve the Woodlawn community in the areas of education, business, and health care.