Taking the Learning from Service Learning into the Postcollege World

Abstract

For 10 years, Virginia Wesleyan College (VWC) hosted a week-long on-campus emergency homeless shelter during the College’s short Winter Session. The mission of the extracurricular student-initiated, student-run project was to serve the homeless, raise awareness, dispel myths about homelessness, and reflect VWC’s mission. This research is a qualitative assessment of transferable-skill development and attitudinal change of alumni who, as students, held Shelter Manager positions. Results show that all former managers who responded to the survey think about the Shelter with some regularity, and each has continued their involvement with Shelter postcollege. Reported outcomes include changed stereotypes and broader worldviews, as well as the development of transferable skills, including interpersonal and communication skills, leadership, and teamwork. Respondents reported specific examples of ongoing impacts of Shelter in both their personal and professional lives. Research findings provide an assessment of this unique engaged learning experience specifically and contribute to the literature on postcollege outcomes of service learning more broadly.