USM Center for Community Engagement Helps Students Realize Potential

Tue, 07/11/2023 - 09:05am | By: Van Arnold

Helping students reach their full potential as active citizen leaders remains a foremost principle at The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) Center for Community Engagement (CCE).

The Center coordinates meaningful and mutually beneficial community engagement experiences to address University and community needs, effect positive social change, and cultivate leaders of tomorrow. Through partnerships with faculty, staff, students, and community agencies, CCE facilitates activities that integrate learning, service, and leadership.

Christy Kayser joined the USM family in 2014 as the CCE director. In 2013, the Office of Community Service Learning merged with the Center for Community and Civic Engagement to form the CCE. She notes that the center provides benefits that extend well beyond those gained by students.

“USM is inextricably linked to the City of Hattiesburg and the State of Mississippi,” said Kayser. “Our triumphs and challenges are each other’s triumphs and challenges. As a public institution, we need to do more than just prepare students for the workforce; we should also be preparing students to lead lives of purpose.”

She continued, “The center engages students, faculty, and staff in the work of the community around us because first, we are part of that community, and second, because we all have a role to play in making this world a better place. The work of the center is about helping people at USM identify how their own unique skills, interests, or abilities can contribute to the public good.”

Approximately 1,500 students used the Center’s online platform to sign up for service activities in the previous academic year. They reported about 29,000 community service hours during that period – a number that Kayser suspects is well below the actual figure.

“We know that’s a huge underestimate of how many service hours students are actually doing,” she said. “Our online platform has only been around for about two years, so it’s a case study in patience until we can get everyone at USM to report using the same system. It’s not just about tracking hours, though, the system allows students and faculty to find different community organizations and connect directly with them. Thus, we are really fortunate to have it.”

Hundreds of agencies/organizations in the Pine Belt area have received volunteer services through the CCE. Any time an organization seeks volunteers, the CCE posts the opportunities on social media and through the center’s system. With at least 1,500 students utilizing the system and hundreds of social media followers, Kayser says the CCE serves primarily as a liaison for those interactions.

“We have close relationships with 50 or so organizations here in Hattiesburg that we regularly connect with through student volunteerism or service-learning,” said Kayser. I stay closely connected with the nonprofit community by coordinating the Pine Belt Nonprofit Network, a resource and networking group for nonprofit staff, and learning about community needs through my work with the United Way of Southeast Mississippi. Sometimes, I reach out to community organizations asking if they’d like to partner with an initiative, and sometimes they reach out to me.”

One organization with close ties to the CCE is the Edwards Street Fellowship Center in Hattiesburg. Founded in 1979, the Center is home to a food pantry, free health clinic, thrift store and several other programs which offer assistance to low-income individuals in the greater Hattiesburg area.

Ann McCullen has served as the Edwards Street Fellowship Center’s Executive Director since 2013. In 2014, she served on a committee that interviewed candidates for the CCE Director’s position. McCullen said that Kayser emerged as the clear choice to lead the USM center.

“There were several excellent candidates, but Christy’s passion for ensuring the partnerships between Southern Miss and the nonprofit community would actually be helpful and meaningful really resonated with me,” said McCullen. “She spoke from experience about the importance of careful planning and clear communication so that CCE projects would truly benefit all parties – the students, the University, the local nonprofits, and the Hattiesburg community.”

McCullen notes that an important aspect of Kayser’s leadership is her willingness to seek and accept honest feedback.

“She works hard to adjust future projects based on that feedback,” said McCullen. “Her service-learning class for faculty members has been a particular boost for us at Edwards Street. As more faculty members participate in the class, we have a broader group of academic areas reaching out to us for class projects. We’ve partnered with the Luckyday Scholars program, as well as classes from academic areas like communication, marketing, nursing, nutrition, and psychology. The enthusiasm, creativity, and vision brought by the students is really energizing to our staff.”

In 2020, USM earned the prestigious distinction as a community-engaged institution by the Carnegie Foundation. Kayser notes that only 61 percent of applicants received the designation during the 2020 cycle, because Carnegie sets a significantly high bar for demonstration that an institution is truly committed to mutually beneficial community partnerships.

“To me, it was a confirmation that we are moving in the right direction as a University that understands the public purpose of higher education,” said Kayser.

Last year, Kayser launched the Citizen Scholars program for students which provides a pathway for those passionate about service to be recognized for their work, but also to learn about different ways to serve the community.

“Our students don’t just participate in service activities through my office – they volunteer in their hometowns, with their churches, and with their student organizations,” said Kayser. “Now that we have an online platform for students to track their service activities, we’re learning a lot more about how and where students volunteer. I especially love seeing the service hours from students who volunteer at the same place for their entire college career, or when they have found a volunteer placement that is giving them extensive experience in their chosen career field.”

On its most basic level, the Center for Community Engagement represents an easy-to-find resource for community members who want to connect with the University, and vice versa. McCullen has seen first-hand the transformative effect yielded by all who take advantage of the CCE’s services.

“It is our hope that by being immersed in service-learning at the grass roots level during their college careers, Southern Miss students will realize their ability to bring systemic change, not just to the Pine Belt, but to any community they are calling ‘home’ in the future,” said McCullen.

Visit the Center for Community Engagement at USM's website or call 601.266.6467.