When Esm\u00e9 Barniskis, a 51ÁÔÆæ English undergraduate, entered a foreclosed house as part of her service learning experience, she didn\u2019t expect to rethink poverty.<\/p>\n
The house was going to be remodeled by ACTS Housing, an organization that helps Milwaukeeans own homes. The previous tenants had been evicted, but Barniskis did not expect to find their belongings in the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never expected a piano to be in a foreclosed house, because I saw it as a status symbol,\u201d Barniskis said. \u201cThe family photos, the children\u2019s toys and the piano made me question my notions of who can get evicted. It made me consider the people who had lost their home. It\u2019s made me a better researcher, but it\u2019s also made me a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barniskis and other service learners shared community-impact stories at \u201cBuilding Bridges for a Better Milwaukee.\u201d 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research and Ex Fabula, a Milwaukee-based organization that produces storytelling events, hosted the event to celebrate the 66,000 hours of community-based scholarship, partnerships with community organizations and volunteer work logged at the university during the 2016-\u201917 school year.<\/p>\n
In September, Chancellor Mark Mone challenged 51ÁÔÆæ students, alumni, faculty and staff to complete 60,000 hours of community engagement to commemorate 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s 60th<\/sup> anniversary. At the ceremony, the university received a congratulatory mayoral proclamation for accomplishing its goal.<\/p>\n Tomi Vandergriff, a program assistant at the International Institute of Wisconsin, recalled two 51ÁÔÆæ service learners who worked with a family from Myanmar that the institute had resettled in Milwaukee. Normally, the institute would not have assigned service learners to the family, because one family member was a blind man.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, the students were really frustrated,\u201d Vandergriff remembered. \u201cIt was difficult for them to teach him English, because of his visual impairment. But when we checked in with them each week, they were making progress.\u201d<\/p>\n The man learned English quickly, because of the students\u2019 frequent visits.<\/p>\n \u201cNow when we have special cases like that, we make sure to assign service learners for extra help,\u201d Vandergriff said.<\/p>\n In recognition of individual contributions to the challenge, the university gave awards to mobile application developer J. Dietenberger; Paula Lucey, a nursing clinical instructor; nursing student Alyssa Recknagel and the athletics department.<\/p>\n Between stories, Megan McGee, Ex Fabula\u2019s executive director, observed, \u201cThese stories remind us that each hour of service is a very real, unique experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Esm\u00e9 Barniskis, a 51ÁÔÆæ English undergraduate, entered a foreclosed house as part of her service learning experience, she didn\u2019t expect to rethink poverty. The house was going to be remodeled by ACTS Housing, an organization that helps Milwaukeeans own homes. The previous tenants had been evicted, but Barniskis did not expect to find their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,200],"tags":[249,250],"section":[122,123],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[260],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-48157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-news-in-brief","tag-community-engagement","tag-student-success","section-campus-community","section-campus-partnerships","related-coverage-community-engagement"],"yoast_head":"\n