This semester, students created a new club at Park University dedicated to volunteering.

The club was created from a project for the LE100 class students. Their professor, Glenn Lester, asked students to identify a barrier to student success at Park, compose a report, then make a proposal for how to address the problem.

Students Mary Johnson, Iris Hernandez, Asmira Husic and Debora Rodriguez identified the problem that there is no clear and easy way to do volunteer work as a Park student. The students’ solution was to create the Volunteer Club.

After completing the assignment explaining the proposed solution, Johnson and her roommate Tiera Smith decided to make the plan a reality and actually create the Volunteer Club.

“Myself and Tiera were both very involved in high school and volunteered at many places,” Johnson said. “This semester we would like to volunteer at animal shelters, food kitchens and the Synergy house. We try and have as many volunteer opportunities as possible!”

The real-life application of the plan created for the project shows that the new LE100 curriculum is meaningful and effective, according to Lester.

“It was a great example of what we’re always striving for in teaching, which is that what students are doing in the classroom actually reaches beyond the classroom and has some real-life application,” Lester said.