Changebuilder Community Engagement Certificate
A year-long immersive experience sponsored by Drew’s Center for Civic Engagement and the New Jersey Campus Compact AmeriCorps ChangeBuilder initiative.
Immersive Experiences.
Immersive Experiences
Drew’s focus on experiential learning through the new Launch program means plenty of opportunities for real world experience. Take a Community Based Learning class and make an impact in your local community. Study environmental justice in Appalachia with Alternative Spring Break. Connect your passion for action with your academic interests at Drew.
Community-Based Learning Classes
Community Based Learning courses are like “mini-internships”
Want to build real-world, resume-ready skills? Like to make a difference in your community? Community Based Learning (CBL) classes, also sometimes called Service Learning Classes, foster the ability to connect academic learning with action in the world. At Drew, CBL classes strengthen community partners that serves the common good. They fulfill the immersive experience requirement for general education.
Fall 2021 Community Based Learning Course Listings
Spring 2021 Community Based Learning Course Listings
Fall 2020 Community Based Learning Course Listings
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- Creating powerful stories with high school students from Newark
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- Drew students work in after school programs and the preschool at “Nabe”
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- Students explore Italy and help in local communities
Innovation Action Lab
CE 270: Innovation Action Lab is a 2 credit course that students can enroll in which engages in creative problem solving applied to analyzing and developing a strategy to address a real-world problem that has social impact, is economically viable, and environmentally sustainable. Asks students to act, think, and collaborate across disciplines by drawing from the arts and humanities, as well as social and natural sciences in formulating potential solutions. Students will have the opportunity to connect with activists, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders outside of the university setting as appropriate to their project. Admission to this class requires submission of a project proposal and enrollment of at least two students committed to the project. Permission of instructor required.
Civic Internships
Internships create unique opportunities to practice skills and theories learned in the classroom and see how they are applied in the workplace. Drew University offers internship opportunities with hundreds of companies and organizations close to campus and across the country.
For more information about these opportunities, visit the Launch Social Impact, Education, Law & Government Career Community website and the Center for Internships and Career Development.
Civic Scholar Gabi Bisconti C’16 had five internships in her time at Drew. Gabi interned for Joseph R. Patenaude Theater, New York Women in Film and Television, Night Castle Management, Greater Media NJ and ARTS by the People.
Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps Programs
Drew University and Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps (MVAC) collaborated to create two programs for Drew students interested in assisting our communities and exploring potential careers in the medical and public health fields. Both are semester-long programs and can be completed as Immersive Experiences and/or credit-bearing internships, or in a volunteer capacity.
NOTE: Applications to these programs are on hold through the summer of 2021 because of the limits imposed on MVAC operations because of the pandemic. It is expected that they will begin again for the fall 2021 semester, in a limited capacity. Check back here or contact our Center at engage@drew.edu for further updates.
The Drew MVAC Cadet Program allows students to explore the roles and responsibilities of a member of an emergency services organization. Cadets are trained in CPR and Basic First Aid and then scheduled for shifts with MVAC ambulance crews. They commit to a minimum of 75 hours of training and shifts. Applicants who have a strong desire or intention to register for an EMT Certification program upon completing the Cadet Program will be prioritized. The total number of Cadets accepted to the program in any one semester is determined by MVAC and its capacity to manage the size of the program. Following completion of the Cadet Program, students may enter an EMT certification program and if successful, may apply for full membership with MVAC.
The “Drew Crew” MVAC Program provides the Drew campus with an MVAC ambulance crew, comprised of at least one EMT and one Driver, to respond to medical emergencies on campus during Friday and/or Saturday nights. This coverage will allow MVAC to retain a separate EMT crew to respond to calls in the Borough of Madison, and provide MVAC with the crew from Drew for very urgent Code 4 calls. EMT’s and Drivers who join the program will be sworn in as full members of MVAC and, therefore, will be able to sign up for additional MVAC shifts throughout the week as needed and as their time allows. The Drew Crew may also be asked to cover events on the Drew campus when an on-site ambulance crew is needed to stand by. EMT applicants to the program must be certified in NJ or in a state with reciprocity. Driver applicants will receive CPR and Basic First Aid training and complete their CEVO certification.
Alternative Spring Break
Alternative Spring Break: Environmental Justice
Alternative Spring Break to Kentucky: Environmental Justice
Every year, Drew students travel to Appalachia for a week-long Spring Break trip, to “coal country” in Kentucky and West Virginia. The goals of the trip are to deepen students’ understanding of environmental and social justice issues in Appalachian “coal country,” and to assist in the restoration of area lands.The trip is sponsored by the CCE with generous financial support from Drew Hillel.
On the trip, students learn about the environmental and ecological effects of mountaintop removal of coal and the social, cultural and economic significance of mining in Appalachian communities. The trip includes a civic engagement/community service component. Activities include planting trees on abandoned strip mined lands, visiting a coal mine, participating in local cultural activities, and learning about American life in these unique mountain towns. Students often describe the trip as “life-changing” and “a way to expand my horizons.” Past trip leaders include faculty, staff and graduate students from the Theological School. Applications are announced late fall semester. Check back soon for more information!