Over the summer, the office formerly known as Student Leadership and Service (SLS) transitioned into the brand new Center for Social Change and Community Involvement.
Associate Dean of Students and Executive Director Dr. Kayleigh McCauley-Sayer. She formerly served as the Director of Student Support Services before transitioning to her new position in May. This year, the Center seeks to expand on the programming and relationships fostered by SLS, while focusing even more on developing relationships in the community.
“With anything that we do programming and events wise, I’m trying my best to partner with other offices on campus, other departments, community partners,” McCauley-Sayer said. “All of the work that we do, we’re focusing on different ways that we can impact and influence social change.”
The Center’s values are built on four pillars: the LC Volunteers Program, leadership development, alternative breaks and immersion programs. The Center uses each of the four pillars to further LC students’ experience in immersive service learning as well as developing marketable leadership skills.
Graduate Assistant for Leadership Development Erin Khong ’21 leads efforts under the second pillar, leadership development.
“Our leadership development program is going to be a course/workshop type format that will allow students to acquire skills that will make them marketable for employers and on their resume,” Khong said.
While the Center has not yet received approval to develop full courses, their first workshop is set to be held on Oct. 18. A collaboration with the Career Center, this first workshop will focus on how to network and build a resume at a liberal arts college.
“We want our office to be a starting point to get students acquainted with where they can go if they want to get these leadership skills,” Khong said. “If you’re at this level, we can help you build more skills to get to this level, and then align their skills with potential employers so that they can send their resume over.”
The Center will also be resuming the alternative break programs, New Student Trips (NSTs) and immersion programs that started under the SLS office, but were forced to take a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McCauley-Sayer emphasized that these trips will not only be returning, but will be better than ever.
“Instead of just offering alternative spring breaks, our plan is to offer alternative spring breaks, summer breaks, fall breaks and winter breaks,” McCauley-Sayer said.
The Center has partnered with a company called Breakaway to plan the logistics of the trips. Breakaway leads service learning trips with schools and businesses worldwide with the mission of educating their participants about the salient social issues in their own communities, as well as the communities they visit.
According to their website, Breakaway is “ proud to partner with diverse students and communities, universities and organizations to spark the personal transformations that can make a lasting difference for individuals, organizations, and communities.”
Finally, the Center plans to continue to pay special attention to SLS’ flagship program L&C Volunteers by encouraging more students to participate. The program’s goal is to promote a culture of service, and get as many LC students out into the greater Portland community as possible.
“(We want to focus on) providing an incentive for completing volunteer hours,” McCauley-Sayer said. “The idea is to provide recognition at graduation for students who complete volunteer hours over the course of their time here at Lewis & Clark.”
Gabriel Huerta ’22, former project leader in the SLS office, hopes to see the Center’s volunteerism take a turn towards racial justice as he applies to join the team again this year.
“I’m hoping that the office this year prioritizes racial justice, because I don’t feel that SLS was particularly outward about that,” Huerta said. “Dr. Kay (McCauley-Sayer) is a white person themselves. Many of our community leaders are white people, but I’m going to possibly bring that up as a space … to be more outwardly vocal about our specific focus on racial justice.”
The Center is sponsoring multiple events around campus and in the greater Portland community. On Oct. 9, the Center is helping to host the Cully festival, an event in Northeast Portland which seeks to celebrate the Cully neighborhood, the most racially and ethnically diverse neighborhood in Portland.
The Center is also hosting a river cleanup in High Rocks Park, as well as an event on campus in celebration for National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. At this event, students will collaborate in the painting of a rainbow on a sidewalk on campus.
According to the Center’s webpage there are no plans for transportation to and from off campus events at this time, but in the past transportation for students has been provided.
“I think social change ties to our students … and the community that they’re involved in here at Lewis & Clark,” Khong said. “And we want to be a central hub for a student to come to us with a grand idea, and we give them the tools and appropriate resources to help them make that idea come to life.”
The Center is located in lower Templeton Campus Center.
Illustration by Sofia Reeves
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