Fall camp builds Co-op momentum
Too often, new public service efforts discharge fireworks upon launch, followed by cricket songs rather than programming and progress. We join hands, stand awkwardly behind a podium, and boast of grandiose vision and innovative partnerships. We cut ribbons or ceremoniously shovel dirt. Then, not that much happens.
Arizona State University’s College of Public Service and Community Solutions aims to change that by getting students engaged in hands-on activities from day one. The Community Solutions Cooperative (Co-op), launched this fall, brings together students, faculty, staff and community in a collective effort to tackle real-world problems.
For new students in the college, their introduction to the Co-op came in the form of an innovative fall welcome, SERVECON, and Community Solutions Camp.
The message from Jonathan Koppell, dean of the College: the time for our students to be stewards of their community is right now. They possess the skills to make a difference and will only learn to better serve by stepping up now. Set-backs from inexperience hold greater value that sitting back until someone with a funny hat hands you an expensive piece of paper.
With some of the semester under their belts, students were brought up to Tonto Creek in Payson, Arizona for Community Solutions Camp where they tackled a full weekend of group and individual activities, designed to educate them on the basics of public engagement and community advocacy.
While the Co-op is focused on service to the public and work that drives toward the solutions of community problems, not much of that can get done without self-knowledge of the public servants. Camp included many activities directing students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, their unique personalities and how they can work best on teams of diverse people.
Sessions focused on different sets of community concerns like emergencies and natural disasters. The toughest part for many students was that they hadn’t encountered a situation where they needed these types of resiliency. Starting at Camp, they will expand the scope of their public service tool belt. Thrown into a new situation, they’ll be able to evaluate, set goals, and execute like veterans.
“The most challenging parts of camp were the low ropes course and scavenger hunt. During these two events, I had to do something I normally don’t do. I learned how to ask for help from my peers,” said Savannah Walters, a freshman in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “Without my team, it would have been extremely difficult to swing myself from platform to platform and it would have been close to impossible to make it through the ropes maze.”
But it isn’t just the new students gaining skills. Upperclassmen, themselves part of the Co-op, led in planning and execution of Camp gaining valuable leadership skills.
As the buses idled to transport the students back to campus, they completed worksheets guiding them through a mental checklist: What did you learn about your leadership style? What activity did you find to be the most challenging to communicate to your team and why? In which activity was your team the most successful communicating?
Students finished by crafting their unique recipe for Public Service Leadership. Like the s’more with three necessary ingredients, what did they need given what they learned at Camp, about themselves, their goals, and the chaotic dynamics of communities in need.
“Camp was a great place to reevaluate why I chose public service and why I decided to pursue a career in law enforcement in the first place. It truly was an experience of a lifetime being surrounded by incredible people who contributed greatly to the special memories I made,” Walters said.
Read more about the Co-op on medium.