CST462S - Final Week

Service Learning Journal Reflections

This marks the final week of our Service Learning experience. Our team successfully completed the final presentation for our MVP and is now awaiting feedback from the professor. Throughout this journey, the Service Learning lectures provided essential knowledge about entrepreneurship and clearly explained key terms we used during the entire process.

Joining Track 2 was definitely the right choice for me. The course facilitated an opportunity to explore the alternative energy industry and engage with real stakeholders and beneficiaries to solve real-world problems. The most impactful part of the experience was the weekly lectures and how the learned materials are applied to the service learning activities in the same week. Modules offered a wealth of context and helped us draw strong connections between what we learned in class and how we applied it during interviews and research.

The biggest challenge I faced was securing interviews with stakeholders and beneficiaries. At first, it was a bit discouraging, especially with all the research involved. But once the team began to understand the MVP more clearly, the team gained momentum and things started to fall into place. We also opened a communication channel with our service learning site supervisor, which led to additional support and valuable mentorship.

Advice for Future SL Students

To future Service Learning students—especially those doing team-based research—use your time wisely and take full advantage of all available resources. In addition to the mandatory class presentations, our team scheduled one or two sessions each week to brainstorm and work on assignments together. I highly recommend creating a clear learning strategy and weekly schedule from the beginning. Read the syllabus carefully to understand the course learning outcomes and try to actively connect those goals with the work you are doing in your service project. Good luck all!