A New Way of Thinking About Service Learning at Saint Joseph’s
Shaily Menon, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, reflects on the Philadelphia Service Immersion Program for Connections, an online magazine published by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
Below is an excerpt of a story written by Shaily Menon, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, that was originally featured in Connections, an online magazine published by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
I learned about the Philadelphia Service Immersion Program (PSIP) soon after I arrived at Saint Joseph’s University in August 2017. PSIP is a four-day optional early move-in experience for incoming Saint Joseph’s freshmen involving community service, intellectual discovery and urban exploration. The goal of the program is to introduce new students immediately and intensely to our Jesuit values of social justice, service to those on the margins, moral discernment and intellectual inquiry. The program is designed to be holistic and includes intellectual, service and cultural components.
I was intrigued by what I heard about the program and interested in participating and supporting it. The goals and activities of PSIP aligned with my passion for liberal education, experiential learning and community engagement. My alma mater is Saint Xavier’s College, Mumbai, India, so Jesuit education is part of my background and Ignatian values of social justice and service learning resonate with me. I wanted to experience PSIP for myself, and see firsthand the impact it made on incoming freshmen.
