A Beacon on the Point: Leaders Present Service Learning 2002 Projects

By Jeanne Wallace-Buckley

On May 13, the 2002 Beacon Leadership Project (BLP) cohort presented their semester-long service learning projects at the Harbor Art Gallery.

“The Beacon Leadership Project is really a microcosm of UMass Boston,” said Joyce Morgan, director of student life and member of the BLP Advisory Board. “We have a traditional sophomore, and we have a grandmother.”
This year’s projects reflected the diversity of interests and passions of its students.

The cohort’s work this year helped bring the domestic violence play “The Yellow Dress” to campus, recruit volunteers for the Ross Center, educate the university community about American freedoms, and form the International Student Organization for graduates and undergraduates.

The program also extended into surrounding communities, with students helping to launch a parish nursing program in Quincy, create a trauma indicators brochure for grade school teachers, and market the MBTA Arborway Restoration project to impacted communities. In addition, they made a presentation to youth about the reality of college life and created activities on the Beta Five ward for terminally ill children.

“This year’s projects were excellent,” said Donna Neal, associate director of student life and co-founder of the BLP. “They were more varied, and the students worked together very well.”

The Beacon Leadership Project, a two-semester service learning experience, was originally founded seven years ago to help develop leadership skills in student government officials and campus activity organizers. The program now provides 25 students with opportunities to develop and enhance their potential and leadership skills. The first semester consists of self-contained workshops on leadership skill-building topics including group dynamics, public speaking, dispute resolution, and cultural diversity. During the second semester the students develop their projects and a relationship with a professional mentor.

Always, the goal of the program is to foster leadership skills. One testament to its success is that all Fulbright Scholars also have been Beacon Leadership Project alumni.

“I love this project—this is service learning at its best,” said Morgan. “They leave with a new group of friends and the ability to take skills they learn, such as communication and motivational skills, into professional or leadership roles.”

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