Health Sciences students connect with their new community through service learning  

For most health sciences Cougs attending classes in Spokane or Yakima for the first time, the week before classes is typically focused on learning about their new campus, meeting peers, and connecting with resources to help them succeed in the upcoming semester.  

But this year, incoming students also had the opportunity to connect with their community and make a positive impact before classes started, thanks to an afternoon dedicated to service learning during orientation week.  

“It helps open the door to doing more community service and helping out in the community in general,” said Georgia Bohm, an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in pharmaceutical and medical sciences. “After you’ve already done it once, it’s no longer a new thing and isn’t as daunting to start.” 

Service learning is an educational approach that combines community service with educational objectives, enabling students to practice critical skills and apply what they are learning in a real-world setting. At WSU, service learning is an integral part of the university’s land-grant mission, as it emphasizes community engagement and addresses real-world challenges.  

This year, WSU Spokane partnered with 11 community and nonprofit organizations in Spokane and Yakima to engage nearly 180 students in service learning projects. Organizations included Second Harvest Food Bank, Maddie’s Place, the Ronald McDonald House, and Northwest Harvest.  

“Service learning provides our new students the opportunity to engage with their community in a fulfilling and enriching way,” says Andrew Perera, Director of Student Equity, Leadership, and Community at WSU Spokane. “It also provides the opportunity to reflect on the nature of service to the community and its importance in the fields of healthcare and health sciences.”  

For health sciences students, service learning also offers an opportunity to build connections with peers in different health disciplines. Unlike traditional undergraduate programs, where students might take courses outside their major, health sciences programs tend to be more focused and specialized. ‘Interprofessional’ programs, such as service learning, help promote collaboration across different graduate, professional, and undergraduate areas of study.  

“It was also just generally really nice to have a chance to speak to other people studying different parts of healthcare to have them share their perspective and individuality as well, as shared experiences can help us learn,” said a student in their reflective feedback after the event. 

Additionally, some organizations are connected to WSU in different ways, providing students with a chance to see how their research, clinical practice, and community involvement collectively contribute to building healthier communities.    

For example, Spokane-based non-profit Maddie’s Place is just one of the locations where nine students spent their busy afternoon. The nonprofit operates one of two unique transitional care nurseries that provide care and support for drug-exposed babies and moms. Recently, Maddie’s Place partnered with WSU researchers and the Washington Health Care Authority to study the program’s health outcomes. 

Students had the chance to tour Maddie’s Place, learn about the program, and thoroughly clean the facility’s kitchen. 

At WSU Spokane, orientation is just the start of students’ service-learning journey. Moving forward, the campus’s Division of Student Affairs is launching a “co-curricular transcript,” which will let students track activities and competencies outside of their usual coursework.  

“This service-learning opportunity during orientation introduces our students to the structure and purpose of co-curricular activity and launches them into service,” noted Perera. “Building this mindset into their professional development early intrinsically supports them in becoming more effective healthcare providers in the future.”