Community Engagement and Service- Learning as Perceived by Graduating Seniors

The strength of a well-sustained community lies in its citizens' hands and the ways they participate in public and civic life within their community. Community engagement (CE) activities make it possible to provide people with the expertise they need by collaborating with higher education institutes nearby. Students' participation in community engagement activities through service-learning (SL) classes helps students gain hands-on experience in the business environment based on real-life situations. Simultaneously, it gives the students a chance to reach out with hands-on expertise to support local community partners. This study will explore the effect of students' participation in community engagement activities on students' development and the impact on the community. Data is gathered from the exit surveys of graduating seniors from different college departments in a large Midwestern public university. The students' responses will help develop emerging themes for the outcomes of CE and SL activities and their impact on students' development and community. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the research findings and recommendations for future research avenues.