Scholars in Service to PA

Application deadline: The last day of final exams in May. Applications are to be completed in Adobe Acrobat and emailed to community@brandywine.psu.edu

Are you a student who has a significant commitment to community service? 

Then you should consider becoming a Scholar in Service to Pennsylvania! Scholars in Service to PA is part of the prestigious AmeriCorps Education Award Only program.  This means that you would be an AmeriCorps member on a part-time basis and receive a partial Education Award at the end of your one-year term.  Students who complete 450 hours of service in one year (including service during the summer) earn an award of $1,250.00!  The award can be used to pay for any legitimate educational expense at Penn State Brandywine or to pay for future educational expenses. 

Term of service begins August 22 and runs through the academic year and summer until August 21.

To learn more about AmeriCorps, view their website.

A detailed overview

Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania is an initiative at Penn State Brandywine that recognizes, trains, and supports students who are civically engaged. Selected students will pledge to complete 450 hours of service in a one-year period. In exchange for that commitment, students will receive leadership and organizing training, support from Dr. Guertin (co-coordinator for the minor in Civic and Community Engagement (CIVCM)) as well as fellow Scholars. Scholars will be required to participate in ongoing supervision and reflection activities.

Each Scholar in Service is expected to work in a community organization 8-10 hours per week and attend bi-weekly supervision/reflection sessions with all campus Scholars. In addition, Scholars will collaborate on group service and activism projects and programming for the rest of campus.

Scholars in Service to PA is an AmeriCorps Education Award Only program. Participating students enroll as AmeriCorps members on a part-time basis. Students who enroll in this program and successfully complete the 450 hours of service will receive an AmeriCorps Ed-Only Award of $1,250.00.

Qualifications

An applicant of the Scholras in Service to PA program must:

• Be an undergraduate student at Penn State Brandywine
• Not be graduating in the next academic year or sooner
• Be a citizen of the United States, a United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien
• Be at least 17 years old
• Pledge to complete 450 hours of service work during a one-year period
• Not receive payment or academic credit for the 450 hours of service work
• Have an interest in, commitment to, and knowledge of community service, activism, and/or social justice
• Have good organization and time management skills
• Be responsible and dependable
• If accepted as a Scholar, be cleared through a Criminal Record Check, National Sex Offender Registry, and Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance

Responsibilities

Once selected, a participant in the Scholras in Service to PA program must:

• Work with the Center for Civic and Community Engagement and the Office of Student Life to develop and implement activities that foster student participation in community service
• Recruit and coordinate students working in community service programs
• Participate in leadership development opportunities and programs as required, including the annual PA Campus Compact conference
• Maintain weekly records of hours and activities
• Keep track of volunteering hours and participate in virtual discussions through the ANGEL group for Scholars in Service to PA

Penn State Brandywine values diversity and strives to include students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds in this program.

 

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Laura Guertin for additional information at community@brandywine.psu.edu before filling out the campus application (PDF file).

Note that you will need the full version of Adobe Acrobat (NOT Adobe Reader) to fill out and save your application material. On campus, you may use the computers in the front of the Vairo Library, as they have the full version of Adobe. Be sure you double-check that your responses have been saved in the file before emailing the application.