The Impact of Community-Engaged Learning
By Sky Lingo ’23
As a senior, I have been reflecting on my four years in Ithaca and it has become evident to me that I have been most impacted by the community-engaged learning (CEL) course led by Professor Jane Juffer, Refugees and the Politics of Vulnerability: Intersections of Feminist Theory and Practice. Through the CEL class I took, I was able to work with the broader upstate New York community and see how academics can have direct implications in public service. In my opinion, involving academics in service allows for the intersection between theory and practice to take place. This intersection allowed my class to take an educational approach to understanding the socio-political conditions of asylum seekers in the United States, in turn, furthering our ability to assist them in their individualized needs. This class changed my educational trajectory as I learned about the concept of collective responsibility and how to divorce the idea of passivity with the concept of vulnerability. In simpler terms, I came to understand that all humans are vulnerable as we are all susceptible to loss, harm, sickness, and grief. However, certain groups and identities are more prone to harm as cultural norms render them erased and excluded from social, political, and cultural spaces. As we are all vulnerable, although some are more than others, I saw the importance of taking care of each other because we will all need some sort of help at some point in our lives.
This [community-engaged learning] class changed my educational trajectory as I learned about the concept of collective responsibility …
Not only did this CEL course teach me about the concept of vulnerability as a tool for agency but it also offered me many avenues to quench my newfound curiosity and passion for immigration advocacy. Rather than mandating a typical final exam for this course, my professor allowed us to spend that time and energy to launch a campaign to end immigrant detention, focusing on Ingrid, a Salvadoran woman who fled LGBT persecution in her homeland. The #freeingrid social media campaign that my class initiated actually resulted in her release from ICE detention. After seeing that I personally could work towards tangible change, I quickly became involved in a leadership role for the Cornell Anti-Detention Alliance (CADA), founded with support from an Engaged Curriculum Grant from the Cornell David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.
In the past three years of my term as Vice President for this alliance, I have tirelessly worked to provide justice for asylum-seekers who are wrongfully incarcerated in ICE’S Buffalo Federal Detention Facility, the largest immigration detention facility in the Northeast. While pen-pal letter writing, social media campaigns, and protests have all proven to be effective ways that CADA has enacted change within the U.S. detention system, I have realized that love and compassion have made the greatest difference. Through the relationships that I have developed with individuals wrongfully detained in the Buffalo Federal Detention center, I have witnessed the power of interpersonal connections. While I cannot be of legal assistance to detainees, I have seen the importance of conversation and friendship to get through hardship — an important lesson that I will bring to the rest of my public service work.
Additionally, this CEL class has encouraged me to take greater educational leaps and prompted me to apply to the Humanities Scholars Program here at Cornell. Once I was accepted to the program, I began planning for my senior capstone project in which I aim to show that immigration detention compounds vulnerabilities and prevents individuals from receiving adequate health care.
An ambassador for community-engaged learning
The community-engaged learning class, along with my volunteer experience with CADA, prompted me to apply to the Engaged Ambassador program at the Einhorn Center. I wanted to work for the Einhorn Center because I want to share my experience combining academics and service with my fellow students. In fall 2022, I joined a passionate group of Engaged Ambassadors (EAs) that are all actively helping to facilitate a community culture focused on creating a better world.
I’m part of the cohort of EAs — along with Emmanuel Daudu ’23, Zohar Grinvald ’25, Katherine Kim ’25, and Karl Lam ’24 — who help to support fellow students in pursuing community-engaged leadership opportunities and encouraging them to engage with their own interests in a manner that honors differences and embraces togetherness. (There are also Engaged Ambassadors who work at the front desk in the Engaged Cornell Hub in Kennedy Hall, supporting visitors and staff in that space.)
Each of us brings unique community service experiences, diverse educational backgrounds, and varying community-oriented passions. As an intersectional group of students, we are focused on prioritizing the goals of the center: using community-engaged learning to understand each other’s point of view and find common ground through listening and service.
Starting this semester, Spring 2023, the Engaged Ambassadors are also quite excited to offer all students the opportunity to meet with us one-on-one to discuss their community-engaged interests. During our office hours, we are happy to help our peers find funding opportunities, explore their social identities, and find resources to support them in community-engaged leadership opportunities such as volunteering with organizations on campus and in the greater Ithaca community. While each EA has specific passions, we are able to help with any and all community service projects, regardless of our area of expertise. We look forward to working with you all!
Office hours occur every week in the living room of the Engaged Cornell Hub, which is on the third floor of Kennedy Hall for the rest of the semester. Office hours are completely drop-in and will serve as a casual time to ask any questions you may have about starting your own community service work or staying informed on the opportunities that are offered on campus.
Emmanuel Daudu ’23
- Weekly office hours: Thursday 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Public issue Emmanuel is passionate about: the American criminal justice system which has been weaponized to unjustly take away the life, liberty, and self-determination of the innocent.
- Learn more or get in touch with Emmanuel.
Zohar Grinvald ’25
- Weekly office hours: Friday 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Public issue Zohar is passionate about: empowering people especially around authentic connection to each other and to the environment. Specifically, Zohar cares about food justice, equity, and creating tangible change in her local community.
- Learn more or get in touch with Zohar.
Katherine Kim ’25
- Public issue Katherine is passionate about: creating equal opportunities for marginalized communities in the world, especially immigrant communities.
- Learn more or get in touch with Katherine.
Karl Lam ’24
- Weekly office hours: Monday 4–6 p.m.
- Public issue Karl is passionate about: food insecurity and education.
- Learn more or get in touch with Karl.
Sky Lingo ’23
- Weekly office hours: Tuesday 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Public issue Sky is passionate about: Immigration advocacy. Specifically, I feel strongly about providing direct support for individuals detained in ICE detention centers by connecting them with legal aid, documenting conditions in the center, and helping put each individual’s personal experience into a shareable format that maintains the integrity of their experiences.
- Learn more or get in touch with Sky.
