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Summer Service Learning Program 2009
PLEASE NOTE: The application period is now closed. Applications for Summer 2010 will be available on November 2, 2009 as rolling admission and the deadline to apply for the program is March 1, 2010. If you have any questions or concerns about your application, please contact Nicole Bourbon.
Please read through the following information about the SSLP and continue on to the application through the link at the bottom of the page.
The goals of the Summer Service Learning Program (SSLP) are:
1. To allow Notre Dame students to serve people in need in cities of Notre Dame Alumni Clubs.
2. To create an opportunity for discussion of social concerns and the Catholic social tradition between students, alumni and alumnae, and community partners.
3. To engage students in the integration of service experience with academic readings, reflections and writing.
The SSLP is an 8-week experience within a 3-credit Theology course (S/U). The Center invites Notre Dame Alumni Clubs to sponsor a student(s) to work in an agency or parish in the local community of the Club. The Center recruits Notre Dame students who are interested in expanding their education by working with and learning from persons who are marginalized in society. We are looking for students who want to explore the meaning of service in the context of human relationships and faith. The course consists of orientation in April, reading and writing during the 8 weeks and a follow-up requirement in the fall. This course does not fulfill the University’s required theology courses, it counts as an elective.
The Notre Dame Alumni Clubs, the James F. Andrews Scholarship Fund and other special scholarship funds provide a $2300 Social Concerns Scholarship to students at the completion of this eight week summer experience and the academic requirements. Room and board are provided by the Clubs or by the site. The AmeriCorps Educational Award of $1000 is also available to SSLP students at some sites who complete additional paper work and reports for this voucher. The AmeriCorps Award is not recommended for those considering a 2 year service program in the United States such as ACE or Teach for America.
In 2008, 113 Notre Dame Alumni Clubs sponsored 210 Notre Dame students in sites across the country. The SSLP is designed for the majority of students to serve in communities other than their own. The project sites include homeless shelters, AIDS programs, children's programs, medical clinics, etc. The SSLP Directory is available online. The directories categorize the projects by geographical location as well as by type of project and list the students who participated last year. We strongly encourage you to talk with the student who was at the site last year.
Since the program is sponsored by Notre Dame Alumni Clubs, the Clubs give preference to Notre Dame students. Applications from St. Mary’s students will be accepted after April 1. The process of selection begins with students submitting an online application and signing up for an interview. The interviews will be 20 minutes in length and will be with one of the SSLP graduate student assistants, Sofia Barbato or Margaret Bouffard.
If you are invited into the program, you will then sign up for a placement meeting with Felicia Johnson O’Brien, assistant program manager for the SSLP. These meetings are conducted with a group of four or five students at a time. It is best to come to this session with openness to many sites. Site placement is done on a rolling basis that often takes a few weeks to finalize. Keep in mind that students pay for transportation to the city of the site, but a limited amount of funds are available for travel assistance, based on financial need. The living arrangements are made by the Alumni Clubs, students do not find their own housing unless they serve in their home city and live at home.
Students can apply for a second SSLP, but more is expected in terms of initiative, accountability, leadership and academic requirements. These students need to complete the application and interview process stating their case of how a second SSLP will build upon their first experience. Some sites are specifically designated for second-time students because they involve advocacy, policy or community organizing. The academic requirements for students doing a second SSLP are research- based and thus, students are strongly encouraged to take the Directed Readings option or Prof. Pfeil’s course on Discipleship.
We are looking for students who possess the following qualities:
flexibility
initiative
openness to new experiences – you may be out of your comfort zone
interest in integrating experiential and traditional academic learning
enthusiastic willingness to meet with alumni and alumnae when invited
good manners and graciousness toward host families or hosts on site
accountability to complete all course requirements on time
whole-hearted participation in the experience, readiness to give and learn
desire to share information with the Alumni Club about your project
exemplary representation of the University of Notre Dame
The academic requirements for THEO 33936: Confronting Social Issues are:
Attend the site preparation orientation - April 14 OR April 15. (6-7:30 pm, DeBartolo Hall, Room 101)
Attend the academic Orientation – April 21 OR April 22. (6-9 pm, DeBartolo Hall, Room 101)
2nd Year (repeating) SSLP Participants will attend just one Orientation session to be held on Monday, April 27th 6-8:30 pm in DeBartolo Hall, Room 117)
Read the site preparation readings before the start of the summer.
Write reflections on the experience and the readings twice each week.
Write a 6-8 page integration paper. Turn in 2 copies at the CSC and send copies to your site supervisor and your alumni contact.
Choose one of the follow-up sessions :
- SSLP workshop – the first non-football weekend of the fall semester
- 3 small group meetings with a facilitator
- THEO 20625 – Discipleship, taught by Prof. Margaret Pfeil, an additional 3-credit theology course that counts as a second theology requirement
Attend the SSLP Celebration the first Monday after returning to campus.
Complete a 20-minute one-on-one debriefing session.
When all requirements are satisfied you will have earned three Theology credits (S/U) and a $2300.00 Social Concerns Tuition Scholarship. The scholarship may impact the type of loans you have, subsidized to unsubsidized. Please contact Jeff Pethick in the Financial Aid office with questions, Pethick.4@nd.edu.
For more information, contact Nicole Bourbon via email at: nbourbon@nd.edu, or by phone at: 574-631-9403
Following your submission of your application, you will need to sign up for an interview time (the end of the application prompts you to do so). If you log out and need to return to schedule an interview, please visit the following link:
