UT Gives Back
Everyone can do something
Patrick Clements exemplifies what it means to be a University of Toledo Rocket. By participating in four medical missions and volunteering at free health clinics in northwest Ohio, Patrick has used his UT medical school training to help transform local and international communities. He is one of thousands of UT students who are creating a better future for the region through their involvement in student service projects.
“Our students make enormous contributions toward helping us fulfill our mission of investing and engaging in the community and the world,” says William McMillen, PhD, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at UT. “Many UT programs incorporate service learning, which gives students a way to apply what they are studying.”
Similar to the way Patrick has applied his core medical training to improve the quality of life in the mountains of Tanzania and Honduras, other students are applying skills learned in the classroom to improve the human condition locally and abroad.
Students make a difference
Service learning and volunteer programs are flourishing throughout UT. “Service learning is invaluable to students’ education and the community,” says Dr. McMillen. “Universities have an obligation today to make their communities, regions and states better places to live.”
The number and types of service learning and volunteer programs at UT are vast. Some examples of UT programs making a difference include:
Alternative Spring Break (ASB) – This program presents UT students with an opportunity to spend their spring break volunteering, building bonds and challenging themselves physically and intellectually. Alternative Spring Break works with different locations throughout the United States. Students can get involved with everything from environmental cleanup to helping children from troubled families.
AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) – UT has hosted this national service program since 2001. The year-long program helps address the needs of the underserved and combats poverty throughout America.
Camp Adventure™ Youth Services – This national program organizes and implements programs for children and youth. Camp Adventure students have an opportunity to travel to more than 120 military bases around the world to make a difference in the lives of children who have one or both parents in active duty. UT has the largest Camp Adventure training facility in the country and sends nearly 150 students from UT and other universities and colleges abroad each year.
Engineers Without Borders – This international organization helps communities around the globe improve their quality of life through sustainable engineering. Through their efforts, students are using their engineering skills to build water purification and renewable energy systems. Engineering students from the UT chapter recently completed a water collection system that supplies the 150-person community of Los Sanchez, Honduras, with safe, accessible drinking water.
Students also engage in several local environmental initiatives such as building rain gardens, cleaning rivers and streams in Toledo, and refreshing surrounding neighborhoods by picking up trash and painting houses.
“Whatever your field or interests, you can apply your skills to do good for someone else,” says Patrick. “At some point, we’ve all been helped in some way, and UT is giving students the opportunity to give back.”
Are you ready to make a difference? Call (419) 530-UTUT (8888) or (800) 5TOLEDO to learn how you can become an outstanding UT Rocket.
