Group Perspectives Service Experience

The Group Perspectives service experience engages those who are currently pursuing a LeadNow: Group Perspectives Certification in a longer-term, meaningful service-learning. Currently approved options include: Participation in a semester with Campus Service Commission, a Fall or Spring Break trip with Justice Journeys or Habitat for Humanity (cmc@cord.edu), working for one semester with the America Reads Program, or taking a course with a service-learning component.

All students participating in one of these options must Register their Service Experience with the LeadNow program. If you would like LeadNow staff to consider another option, please read through the following criteria and then submit your potential experience for approval.

Group Perspectives Service Experience Criteria
The LeadNow: Group Perspectives service experience, if not already listed as an approved activity, must be approved prior to student’s participation by the LeadNow staff. The staff will review the activity to determine whether or not it meets the following criteria:

        Timing

  • The service experience for the LeadNow: Group Perspectives certification must occur simultaneous with a student’s involvement in the Group Perspectives sessions. Students must have completed at least two Group Perspectives sessions prior to the onset of the Group Perspectives service experience.

          Program sponsorship

  • The program offering the service experience must be sponsored by Concordia College.

          Transition to understanding community change

  • The service experience must be part of a program which illuminates social issues and community change strategies.

          The experience must require a longer-term and/or a more intensive time commitment

  • This requires that a student make a commitment to either service throughout the semester or a shorter, more intensive experience.

          Value of engaging differences

  • The experience must give students the opportunity to engage with people from backgrounds different than their own.

          Must include a strong reflective component

  • Initiated and led by trained facilitators (LeadNow, CSC, Justice Journeys) or faculty members.
  • Enhance the learning occurring through the service by illuminating the complexity of social issues
  • Include both critical and creative thinking elements
  • Occur continuously throughout the experience with formalized reflection sessions occurring at least twice
  • Connect the experience to possible options for action within the context of vocation

         Approval Procedure 

  • In order to satisfy the service requirement for the LeadNow: Group Perspectives certification, a student must first register their experience by filling out the online "pre-service registration" form. This form must be completed regardless of whether the service experience has already been approved by LeadNow.
  • If not already listed as an approved activity, this form will then be reviewed and approved by the LeadNow staff according to the criteria listed below.
  • After completion of the service experience, students must fill out the online reflection form.

Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students