Service learning connects students to senior communities

Students in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) and gerontology classes got the chance to put their studies into practice through service learning this semester at St. Cloud area senior communities.

Seventeen CSD students each volunteered 15 hours at St. Benedict or Good Shepherd to work with residents there.

They applied concepts they learned in class about different communication characteristics shared by people with cognitive communication disorders, dementia, traumatic brain injuries, right-hemisphere damage and more. The students applied speech characteristics, assessment practices and treatment options during their volunteer hours.

Rachel Peterson and Cassie Krenz were among the CSD students presenting on their service learning experience at the St. Cloud State University Community Engagement Celebration.

“I definitely learned a lot of empathy skills,” Krenz said of the experience. “Dementia can be a really sad disorder — seeing how these people can go from being bright, bubbly personalities to not fully able to access all the information that they used to.”

Peterson added that while it was sad to see the effects of diseases of aging, it was also interesting going from learning about typical characteristics of these diseases in the classroom to seeing them in person.

Students in the gerontology housing class spent 30 hours volunteering with seniors at — St. Benedict, Good Shepherd, St. Croix Hospice, Great River Faith in Action, Country Manor, Whitney Senior Center and more — by doing activities such as bingo and manicures with seniors, said Emily Rathbun, who together with classmates Upasana Shrestha and Nisha Khanal presented on the project at the Engagement Celebration.

“It was kind of fun interacting with the older adults because in class we just get to get some knowledge about how it feels to be in the community for older adults,” Khanal said. “But from this service learning we actually get a chance to interact with them, so it was like a technical experience for us.”

Service learning is a part of several gerontology classes. This semester 84 gerontology students from four classes did a total of 1,740 volunteer service hours, said Rona Karasik, gerontology professor.