The Azusa Pacific Blog

Marissa is one of the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research’s returning Service-Learning Advocates. She hails from Spokane, Washington; a middle child with two older sisters and 2 little brothers. Marissa is a Junior in APU’s Nursing program, where she is already involved in nursing duties, including home care and clinical visits, which keeps her quite busy on top of all her other commitments.

One of the aspects of Marissa’s job at the CASLR that she values highly, is being able to be a part of the connection between APU and our community. She loves being instrumental in helping to make these connections happen in ways that benefit both the APU students in their educational goals as well as the needs of the community, which advances reciprocal teaching and learning.

Marissa is blessed by her fellow SLAs, graduate assistants, and permanent CASLR staff. They provide her with the necessary challenge and support needed in order to enable her to do her best in a positive and caring environment. She feels that Christ is evident in their individual lives, and is therefore a strong part of the CASLR. Expectation levels are set high, yet grace is extended when objectives do not go quite as planned, and instead are used as a positive opportunity for learning and growth. Marissa enjoys the CASLR weekly staff meetings, which is a time for collaboration, sharing, and guest speakers, such as the Mayor of Azusa. These have all made a lasting impact on her undergraduate experience.

As a nursing student, Marissa has a unique role at the CASLR, where she is the SLA in charge of most of the APU nursing courses. She is, therefore, distinctively capable of providing insight on streamlining and updating how the service-learning components are run and to strengthen each of the projects as well as the processes. With these courses, Marissa works mostly with local hospitals, clinics, wellness centers, and senior centers. As a nursing student who has been through some of these service-learning courses previously, Marissa sees great value in immersing students in the lives of actual patients from their very first nursing class onward. She is, therefore, committed to continuing the pursuit of excellence in these courses.

Working in the CASLR, Marissa has learned how to better handle blunders, encourage others, find ways to meet others’ needs, and to not be afraid of making mistakes and instead, learn from them. She has also been inspired to take the service-minded and community driven attitude of the CASLR as inspiration in how she interacts with her fellow nursing majors in their program. She is coming to a new realization that this is also a biblical calling.

Marissa’s top strengths are Individualization and Learner. Her teammates at the CASLR would describe her as always willing to help out, scheduled, task oriented, and the epitome of a “country girl.”

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Mary C. Pearce is the Graduate Assistant Coordinator for Student Professional Development and Program Support  at the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, Working on a Masters of Science in College Counseling and Student Development

Charissa is a freshman APU student, studying Psychology, from Torrence, California. She has an older brother who graduated from Azusa Pacific University, who also worked as an SLA in the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research. Charissa feels blessed to be able to be a Service-Learning Advocate, following in her brother’s footsteps.

She has loved getting to know her fellow teammates, creating deep bonds of friendship and support. Charissa has also gained a great deal of professional development as an SLA. At home, she works for her county’s Parks and Recreation office, organizing and supervising children in the summer. Being an SLA has given her a different work experience in a more professional business setting, which has challenged her to grow professionally and is preparing her for future, desired positions. She has also been impacted by the freedom to express her spiritual beliefs in and outside the office. This is something she has not experienced in past positions. When her training started with a devotional by the assistant director of the CASLR, Charissa felt an immediate and positive difference.

Charissa is in charge of most of the Physical Education Service-Learning courses, as well as two new Service-Learning courses, all involving partnerships with Azusa Unified School District (AUSD). Prospective teachers get the chance to be involved in classrooms from elementary to high school classes, teaching lessons and tutoring. Charissa’s goals for this semester are to continue to develop the strength and growth of her two new programs, as well as increasing her personal professional development.

Charissa has always dreamed of being a teacher, which has been reinforced by her opportunities as an SLA, facilitating discussion periods with APU students during evaluations. She is always encouraged by their sharing of life-changing experiences. Charissa’s top strengths are Empathy, Woo, Solver, Individualism, and Developer. She loves being able to solve problems that arise and is learning how to work best with people who are different than herself.

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Mary C. Pearce is the Graduate Assistant Coordinator for Student Professional Development and Program Support  at the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, Working on a Masters of Science in College Counseling and Student Development

Nikki is a returning SLA, and is a native Californian from Orange County.  She is a Sophomore, studying Communications and Marketing. Heavily involved in many aspects of APU life, Nikki can always be counted on to exude life and excitement. Her bold and outgoing personality suits her well in her role as the undergraduate SLA in charge of the Fall 2011 semester’s C.H.A.M.P. program, which stands for College Headed and Mighty Proud.

Each year, the College Headed and Mighty Proud (C.H.A.M.P.) semester-long program introduces the idea of college to around 700 fourth graders from six local schools in the Azusa Unified School District through various activities. The C.H.A.M.P. program is a service-learning experience for APU students enrolled in EDLS 405 Diversity in the Classroom. This education course is designed to engage prospective teachers with issues such as race and culture in the educational setting. Each semester, APU partners with three elementary schools from the Azusa Unified School District. APU students are assigned to classrooms at the designated school sites to serve as college mentors to groups of five to seven fourth grade students. The APU students facilitate activities that correspond to the C.H.A.M.P. curriculum, covering such topics as college admission, financial aid, and career exploration.

Nikki and Amanda, the graduate assistant in charge of C.H.A.M.P., work with the professors, APU students, and school partners to make sure everything runs smoothly. They also run Visit Days, where they take the fourth grade students around campus, showing them places such as the cafeteria, dorms, classrooms, and other locations, in order to give them a feel for what college life is really like. At the end of the semester, they host a graduation ceremony where all the fourth grade participating students come to graduate from the program and declare to their parents, teachers, and fellow classmates what major and career they desire to pursue.

Visit Days are Nikki’s favorite event. Having to contact the different school departments and schedule all the different components has helped to enhance her professional development within the realms of her own career goals. Nikki hopes to continue learning how to plan and implement effective programming as well as working with children. She has a heart for reaching out to others and keeping a focus on God at the center of all her endeavors.

This spring, Nikki will be spending a semester abroad in South Africa. She will be facilitating the Service-Learning component for all the APU students who are a part of this South Africa semester abroad program. She hopes to continue her professional development, giving life and energy wherever she is placed. Nikki’s top strengths are Woo, Positivity, Activator, Includer, and Communication. With this combination of strengths, it is easy to see what a great asset she is to the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, as well as a vibrant and active APU student.

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Mary C. Pearce is the Graduate Assistant Coordinator for Student Professional Development and Program Support  at the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, Working on a Masters of Science in College Counseling and Student Development