OGDEN - when a Davis County farmer worried that 4,000 pounds of potatoes would rot and go to waste, he turned to the Weber State University Community Involvement Center.
“In a communications class, their task was to solve a real problem in the community,” said center director Brenda Kowalewski.
The students mobilized and found a way to transport the spuds to the Catholic Community Services Food Bank in Ogden, which serves a variety of food pantries, she said.
Community involvement and service learning by students and faculty is promoted as part of the educational experience at Weber State University.
“About 31 percent of students are involved in service learning, are actively involved in the community,” said WSU President F. Ann Millner in a recent interview with the Clipper/Islander.
Faculty are engaged in community activities at an even higher level Р about 75 percent, compared to an average of 50 percent for public universities, she said.
The Pioneer Adult Rehabilitation Center (PARC), which serves mentally and physically disabled students, is another recipient of a different sort of assistance from WSU students.
Different groups of students from an electrical engineering class developed two processes that have helped provide ways for PARC students to be more efficient and productive in completing work-related tasks, Kowalewski said.
A precise scale was developed to weigh military packets prepared for Hill AFB, for example. The packets can be weighed throughout the packaging process to determine if something was left out.
With the scale, that can be easily corrected. Otherwise, staff would have to wait until the packet is completed and compare it to a master checklist, she said.
“Since the PARC students are paid by the piece, it made them actually increase their wages” by being able to catch errors sooner, Kowalewski said.
For more information check out the August 30 edition of Davis Clipper.
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