“You have to learn before you serve,” reflected Julia (Fello
A simple concept. Yet a hard one to master.
On July 1, we will mark 5 years of serving as Directors of LearnServe International. Every day, through our international and social entrepreneurship programs, we work to facilitate such “a-ha” moments for our students. The difference between “doing for” and “doing with.” The acknowledgement that innovation starts with understanding. That you must learn before you can serve.
We knew then, and we know now, that these lessons don’t sink in immediately. Each year, our team plants the seeds of social innovation and civic engagement that take root over time. Indeed, Julia herself is a graduate of the 2011 LearnServe Fellows Program — the first set of students to complete the program after we began as directors. In her reflections earlier this month, Julia shared that this humility, “this less-glamorous, less entitled understanding of civic engagement began at LearnServe.”
Julia concluded, “This is yet another example of the way LearnServe stays with us and grows with us and continues to make us more conscious citizens long after the program officially ends.”
(In case you missed it in our last email, our recently completed long-term impact assessment sheds light on the insights and opportunities LearnServe has opened forJulia and students like her over the last 10 years.)
Learning before serving does not only capture our programmatic philosophy. It also frames how we have approached our own work as leaders of the organization over the past 5 years. We are grateful for the students, teachers, families, colleagues, volunteers, and friends who have taught us so much along the way:
- Your insights are reflected in the lesson plans and mentorship model that guides our Fellows as they launch their social ventures.
- They are reflected in the introduction to international development our students receive before they board the plane to travel overseas.
- They helped shape our new LearnServe Incubator, an opportunity for Fellows to continue their formal social entrepreneurship training, and further their ventures.
- And they guide us as we seek opportunities to deepen our impact within partner schools, and strengthen LearnServe’s sustainability, by bringing our approach to social innovation education into the classroom.
Thank you for teaching us so much these past five years, and we are excited to serve alongside you as we welcome our new classes of LearnServe students in the fall.
Wishing you a restful summer,
Scott Rechler Sabine Keinath