The Honors Engaged program partners with the Lowcountry Maritime Society to teach school children how to plan and build a wooden boat using math skills.
Each year, more than 200 freshmen in the Honors College at the College of Charleston participate in a unique community outreach program called Honors Engaged that provides more than 5,000 combined hours of service to the Charleston community.
Founded in 2010 as a unique aspect of the Honors First Year Experience, the Honors Engaged program is for the first time extending past the first-semester experience to provide students and partners with a year-long engagement.
Through partnerships with local educational outreach organizations, the program engages students in social issues such as illiteracy, poverty and poor nutrition. Current community partnerships include the Chucktown Squash Scholars, CofC REACH Program, Communities in Schools of Charleston, East Cooper Habitat for Humanity, the Green Heart Project, the Lowcountry Maritime Society, Metanoia Community Development Corporation, Reading Partners, St. Matthew’s ESL and GED Program, and the Trident Literacy Association.
The Honors Engaged program is currently seeking additional partners for the 2016-2017 academic year. For more information about possible partnerships, contact the program at honorsengaged@cofc.edu or 843.953.7154.
Prior to the start of their engagement, students actively research their project partner’s goals and objectives, said Honors College Dean Trisha Folds-Bennett. “The program seeks to place students with a project where they can thrive independently and best serve the community according to their individual skills, interests, and experiences,” she said.
Honors College students work with school children on farm-to-school initiatives as part of the Green Heart Project.
Some students engage with the community through the construction of boats with the Lowcountry Maritime Society, while others tutor young students between squash matches with Chucktown Squash Scholars. Other students get their hands dirty in community gardens with the Green Heart Project, while still others serve as lunch buddies at Memminger and Mitchell Elementary schools through the Communities in Schools of Charleston partnership.
Honors Engaged also develops undergraduate leadership and professional skills by involving students in the management and coordination of the program. For example, the program is co-directed by two students, junior Morgan Larimer and senior Ellie Flock. In addition, students also serve as project liaisons for each community partnership. The current project liaisons are Brandon Blackwell, Kelty Carson, Emily Coleman, Meredith Grant, Allie Harrill, Jolie Hiers, Sierra Small, Kerry Wischusen and Audrey Owensby. For more information about Honors Engaged, visit the Honors Engaged website.
