#CapturingCommunity is a series where we, in the Service-Learning community, are able to sit down with staff from our community partners, faculty at Northeastern, and students to hear about their experiences with Northeastern’s Service Learning program. A member from the Boston Housing Authority Community, Shela Carew, answers some questions!
Name: Sheyla Carew
Role within Service-Learning: Volunteer Interpreters Program Coordinator at Boston Housing Authority
How are your values expressed through your community engagement and Service-Learning work?
The Center for Community Engagement and Civil Rights started the Volunteer Interpreters Program as an initiative “from the community to the community”. Students assist Boston Housing’s clients who speak limited English to get access to our services while at the same time use this opportunity to reconnect to their culture and practice their language skills.
Did you find Service-Learning or did Service-Learning find you?
We participated in Volunteer Recruitment Events at NEU, and we were looking for other opportunities to reach out to students and be able to create a more formal connection with the school. Service-Learning was the first partnership we started with the school, and it opened many doors to other programs within the Center of Community Service. We have hosted approximately 30+ NEU students in the 3 years we have worked together and the experience have been great! NEU students are able to understand the population we serve and they assist with enthusiasm and a lot of heart.
If Service-Learning were a song, what would it be and why?
Anything by Beyoncé!
Adapted from S-LOG post published on April 9, 2018.