What are we doing?

USD’s Honors Program will be hosting a service-learning trip to Memphis, TN during the 2019-20 winter break for a group of eleven first-year Honors students. Students on the trip will engage in a number of service opportunities including: sports and after school programming, construction projects, serving at local food banks, working directly with refugee and immigrants within the Memphis community, and urban farming. Additionally, students will engage in various educational and cultural activities such as admission to the National Civil Rights Museum. 

Why this Trip?

Recent research into how students learn has often focused upon high-impact practices, or HIPS. These types of teaching strategies generally center on active learning and providing students with the opportunity to directly apply the materials that they first encounter in the classroom to real-world situations. When done well, they can provide truly transformative experiences for young adults who are forced to confront their own beliefs and assumptions, while also deepening their appreciation for community engagement. The Honors service-learning trip to Memphis is one of these types of opportunities that all students in college should have the opportunity to experience.

One of the problems with high impact practices is that they can be expensive and time consuming, which makes it essential that we find ways to provide equal access to them for all students. The Honors service-learning trip to Memphis is designed to provide this type of academic enrichment experience to students from all backgrounds, regardless of their financial resources. For the individuals who travel to Memphis and work with the local community partners, the experiences that they have will literally be life-changing; opening their eyes to people from different backgrounds and cultures, while letting them make a positive impact upon their lives. Through their work in Memphis, these students will learn more about themselves and will also allow them to serve as ambassadors for USD to the area. In short, this trip will change lives for the better—those of the students, as well as those who are touched by their work in the larger community—and the success of the trip will be measured by what these students bring back to USD as they move forward with their careers and lives.

Where will the money go?

All funding that we raise through these efforts will cover the expenses of the students who are participating in this trip.  This includes travel to and from Memphis, food, accommodations, and entrance fees to the Civil Rights Museum.  

To break this down, your donation of

• $36 could pay for one student's meals on this trip; 
• $83 could pay for one student's travel expenses;
• $200 could pay for one student's program fees;

Images and video

Check out these videos of Honors students talking about their experiences with service-learning:

Allie Logan: Impact of Service Learning 

Ashmita Ghosh: Education from a Different Perspective

Josie Galles: Bringing Ideas Back to Our Community

Michaela Ahrenholtz: Learning About Social Issues

Find us here

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: @USDHonors

Twitter: @USDHonorsProg

Instagram: @USDHonors

Help us succeed!

You don't need to give money to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, etc.