One of the coolest things, in my opinion, that we have on campus is the Moreau Center of Service and Leadership. Last year I had the pleasure of being a Service and Justice Coordinator. Service and Justice Coordinators (SJCs) are liaisons between the Moreau Center and the Residence Halls. SJCs put on service events and educational events on social justice topics and basically try to get residents involved in service! During my time I got to work with one of my good friends, Brian Carter, who has been way more involved in the Moreau Center then me. I asked him to talk about the Moreau Center and what it has to offer for students!
In addition to SJCs in the dorms the Moreau Center offers service immersion trips. Immersion trips are trips that take placing during our school breaks. These trips offer students a way to do service and learn about social justice issues. I have heard nothing but great things about these programs! Brian has done 3! Brian said that his favorite part of the immersions are that immersions give you the opportunity to do something good with your break and you get to learn about worldly topics that you wouldn’t learn about in the classroom. Also, the Moreau Center does a great job at making sure you know the whole story of issues and you get to learn about both sides of issues. Brian says, “[Through the immersion experiences] you learn not which side is better or which side wins the argument, but more the fact that each side has it’s own story and each side contributes to a larger story in which conflict arises. So, you learn to see the picture for what it is and people for who they are as opposed to merely the actions themselves.”
One other opportunity that is open to business majors is the East Africa Internship program. Brian also did the East Africa Internship. The East Africa Internship is a program through the Moreau Center that takes people from all majors and especially tries to take people from business majors. An exciting aspect for business majors is that the program gives you the opportunity to work on economic development in a developing nation. Brian said that as a non-business major the experience helped him learn a lot about business and social entrepreneurship. Students in the program live in Kenya and take a week to get adjusted to the culture. From there students work with the Foundation for Sustainable Development and learn about avenues by which they can make a lasting impact on the people of Kenya. Once researching the needs of the local people students are free to work on whatever projects they feel will make the best impact.
Now, for a special treat Brian shared some of the photos from his immersion into East Africa with me.
(Brian in Kenya hanging out with some Zebras)
(His fellow co-workers)
(The program isn’t all work and no play! He got to play with local kids!)