Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 3.10 Education and Activism
Presentation #1 Title
Using Community Service to Build Paths Back to East Kentucky for Robinson Scholars
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Robinson Scholars have always completed community service as part of their scholarship terms at the University of Kentucky. However, this requirement was only for college Scholars and had not been fully utilized as a regional outreach and personal development tool during the first 12 years of the program's existence. In 2010, the program began requiring community service for high school students and also expanded the number of required hours for college students. Now, the program is seeing significant impact on the development of our scholars and our profile in the service region. Our goal is to stem the brain drain of youth leaving eastern Kentucky after they obtain college degrees. One objective of this emphasis on service is that we can create pathways for students to return to the region upon completion of their college degrees. A secondary objective is to give back to the communities that produce our Robinson Scholars. Our panel presentation will present administrative data on service conducted by Scholars since 2009 and highlight some of the projects initiated by both high school and college scholars.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Jeff Spradling is the director of the Robinson Scholars Program at the University of Kentucky and the 2013-14 Chair of the UK Staff Senate. He is a native eastern Kentuckian and holds a BA and MA from Morehead State University.
Using Community Service to Build Paths Back to East Kentucky for Robinson Scholars
Harris Hall 303
Robinson Scholars have always completed community service as part of their scholarship terms at the University of Kentucky. However, this requirement was only for college Scholars and had not been fully utilized as a regional outreach and personal development tool during the first 12 years of the program's existence. In 2010, the program began requiring community service for high school students and also expanded the number of required hours for college students. Now, the program is seeing significant impact on the development of our scholars and our profile in the service region. Our goal is to stem the brain drain of youth leaving eastern Kentucky after they obtain college degrees. One objective of this emphasis on service is that we can create pathways for students to return to the region upon completion of their college degrees. A secondary objective is to give back to the communities that produce our Robinson Scholars. Our panel presentation will present administrative data on service conducted by Scholars since 2009 and highlight some of the projects initiated by both high school and college scholars.
