What is community engagement?
Community engagement is a broad category that includes:
- Service and volunteering in any community, at home or abroad
- Projects and research in partnership with community members and community organizations
- Addressing issues affecting a community in a way that is mutually beneficial to all participants
Who participates in community engagement at Michigan Tech?
Students in many majors and aspiring to diverse careers choose to engage with communities.
For example:
- Students in pre-health programs get involved in the EMS program at Michigan Tech or volunteer at a local hospice or hospital
- Students interested in youth and STEM education volunteer to work with Tech Tutors, Young Women’s Leadership Program, youth programs abroad, the Western UP MiSTEM Network, or other opportunities
- Students in environmental fields (Forestry, Biology, Sustainability Science and Society, Environmental Engineering, etc.) collaborate with the Keweenaw Land Trust, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, local K-12 schools, rural communities in Panama for iDesign, and the Green Campus Enterprise team
Can I do international community service?
Interested in international service?
- Join Peace Corps Prep, a program that helps you gain technical and cultural skills to be successful working in cross-cultural service
- Students in Peace Corps Prep typically integrate a study abroad and/or community project into their Pavlis experience
- Peace Corps Prep is an official partnership between Michigan Tech and the U.S. Peace Corps. It prepares students to serve in another country in the Peace Corps or other community service opportunities.
- You can earn a certificate from the Peace Corps, a minor at Michigan Tech, and honors recognition from Pavlis by completing Peace Corps Prep
What kinds of work have Pavlis students done?
Here are some stories of Pavlis students who focused on community engagement in their honors program.
- Elise Cheney Makens designed a Science Fair Mentoring Program for 4th and 5th graders, and volunteered at a Ronald McDonald home during a research summer experience at Mayo Clinic. She earned two Michigan Tech awards for Community Service and is now in medical school at Michigan State.
- Addie Saltarelli coached basketball and designed a greenhouse and gardening course at Jeffers High School. She was awarded the Exceptional Community Service Project Leadership Award from Michigan Tech for this work. Also highlighted in this video is Lydia Savatsky, who has managed low-income housing projects with the Appalachian Service Project for two summers. She also has worked extensively with K-12 students, including helping to found a new virtual tutoring group during the pandemic, TechTutors.
- Quite a few students have used the International Senior Design Program in Panama, faculty-led study abroad, and/or European Project Semester for part of their honors experience and Peace Corps Prep.
Who should I contact to learn more?
Kari Henquinet (kbhenqui@mtu.edu) can help you find the right connections for a community-engaged immersion, project, or leadership/mentorship experience. Other Pavlis faculty and
staff also have great connections, such as Dar Slade, Mary Raber, and Vienna Leonarduzzi.