Community-Engaged Learning (CEL)
MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ – By Kimberly Burnett
On April 17, Middlesex College hosted CELebration, highlighting the accomplishments and goals of its Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) projects. The event was an opportunity for CEL students to showcase the projects they completed in their class and the impact of their work.
“Community-Engaged Learning is a program where academic courses are partnered with a community organization and, as part of the coursework, students work on a project that benefits the community while also reinforcing course-learning outcomes,” said Kimberly Silverio Diaz, coordinator for Civic Engagement and Experiential Learning at Middlesex College.
Community partners highlighted in the presentations included the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Middlesex County Clean Communities, NJ Pride Center, Perth Amboy Public Library, and many more. Though the projects varied, each presentation incorporated the gratitude that the students felt for the experience of using their education to connect with the community.
Each semester, Middlesex College offers around a dozen CEL courses, spanning English, history and social science, natural sciences, and business and computer science.
This semester’s Social Psychology class, led by Professor Nikki Gonzalez, partnered with Inclusive Creations, a New Jersey nonprofit that provides an encouraging and fun environment for young adults with autism and other cognitive disabilities to learn vocational skills.
“[This] has been my most meaningful service-learning experience,” said Mel Mancheno, a student in the CEL social psychology class. “We’ve supported Inclusive Creation’s work with the autism community while gaining a deep, integrated understanding of autism through a social psychological lens. It’s pushed us to grow, not just as students of psychology, but as advocates in our community.”
Sociology Professor Jennifer Altman and students in her Contemporary Social Problems class visited the nonprofit I-RISE (Interfaith-Refugee and Immigrant Support and Empowerment) in Highland Park to learn about federal changes to programs for refugees and asylum seekers and how the organization works to provide these individuals with case management, employment services, and English language learning, among other assistance.
“Community-Engaged Learning has been instrumental in seamlessly linking class material to timely real-world cases and experiences for my students,” said Altman. “Our trip to I-RISE was embedded into Sociology 131’s curriculum on the connection between the history of immigration and the social construction of race and ethnicity. It also showcased the work of a large and multiservice nonprofit, and the many employment opportunities afforded to students in the social sciences.”
Any Middlesex College student can enroll in a CEL course, which fulfills most general education requirements, benefiting both themselves and those served by the nonprofit community partners.
“Other schools do it, but what makes Middlesex College so unique is that we do this with a community-first approach,” Silverio Diaz said. “We see what the need is in the community and look for interested faculty and classes that can match.”
To learn more about the Community-Engaged Learning Program at Middlesex College, visit middlesexcollege.edu/community-programs/community-engaged-learning/.
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MIDDLESEX COLLEGE, NJ
Middlesex College, established in 1964, is a public, two-year institution of higher education located in the heart of New Jersey. With a main campus in Edison and centers in New Brunswick and Perth Amboy, Middlesex College offers over 85 degree and certificate programs encouraging its more than 10,000 students to explore, grow, and thrive. Middlesex College, through dedicated faculty, state-of-the-art educational facilities, and holistic student supports, is committed to providing a high-quality, affordable college education that provides every student an opportunity for growth and achievement. Middlesex College is Middlesex County’s premier destination for lifelong learning and workforce training. Learn more at middlesexcollege.edu.
