Service Opportunities
Leadership
Embracing its mission to educate leaders who will change the world, the University provides a wide array of opportunities for students to incorporate community service into their college experience. Administrators, faculty, and fellow students overtly encourage each other to continually share resources, time, and talent. 85% of Notre Dame students will perform some type of volunteer work during their time here. Service is not a requirement. Rather, it’s a way of life for nearly all Notre Dame students.
Learning
Service experience at Notre Dame is fundamentally supported by the ==Center for Social Concerns==, which houses a variety of experiential learning and discernment courses. Students may participate in one of over 70 community-based learning courses, in which their classroom instruction is enhanced by volunteer work. Such courses include the ==Appalachia Seminar==, the ==Urban Plunge==, and the ==Summer Service Project==, all of which incorporate classroom instruction, experiential learning, and reflection. As President Father Edward Malloy, CSC has said, “Two principles have guided the development of service programs at Notre Dame. First, the service project or program must be meaningful to the community, state or nation. Second, we expect that service be integrated with learning. Meaningful community service must provide opportunities for faculty and students to reflect on their experiences and to explore the root causes of social problems. It is this critical thinking that provides participants with the skills and insights necessary to make real change."
Leaving
It is no surprise, then, that 10% of Notre Dame students go on to perform a year or two of service work following their graduation. Students work in the continental United States, in Alaska, Hawaii, in the South Pacific, Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. “Go Forth and Do Good” is the motto of Notre Dame students as they take leave of their Alma Mater.
