Students Building Community, One Partnership at a Time
Service Leadership Work-Study participants discuss the relationships, lessons, and insights that shape their connection to 51³Ō¹Ļ.
51³Ō¹Ļās (SLWS) bridges the distanceāreal and perceivedābetween campus and community. Through this unique model, students are employed by the College but embedded directly with community partners in volunteer positions across Poweshiek County, as well as in Des Moines and Marshalltown. Their service work spans the local community, public policy, economic development, food security, senior engagement, and tax assistance, deepening the Collegeās long-standing commitment to the 51³Ō¹Ļ community and building meaningful, reciprocal relationships across town.
These student leaders offer meaningful perspectives on community engagement, bringing their lived experience, their academic interests, and their identities to the work of strengthening community through service, leadership, and collaboration.
This commitment is rooted in the mission of , a team within 51³Ō¹Ļās Center for Careers, Life, and Service that provides hands-on, community-centered learning experiences. āAt 51³Ō¹Ļ, we are committed to providing students with opportunities to explore meaningful ways to positively impact their communitiesāpersonally, professionally, and civically,ā said , director of civic education and innovation. āWe help students reflect on their civic roles and understand how their unique contributions fit within broader systemic change.ā
These themes were the focus of a November 4 panel discussion in the Katherine Howell Weingart ā61 Civic Innovation Pavilion, a new space designed for civic entrepreneurship, dialogue, and community engagement. There, five Service Leadership students shared their motivations, reflections, and hopes for the futureāand offered a compelling portrait of what civic learning looks like at 51³Ō¹Ļ today.
Learning Beyond the āCampus Bubbleā
Every student described the moment when community engagement opened up an entirely new understanding of 51³Ō¹Ļāand of rural Iowa more broadly.
For Sheilla Muligande ā27, who works with the 51³Ō¹Ļ Area Chamber of Commerce, community engagement quickly challenged her expectations.
āWhen I first thought about Iowa, I assumed farming was the main story. But downtown businesses showed me just how much creativity and passion also shape this community. It really broadened my understanding of what life in rural Iowa can look like.ā
Working in the community offered lessons that couldnāt be found in textbooks.
āBeing in the community gives you knowledge the College canāt possibly offer you,ā said Maya Flynn ā26, a leader in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. āItās easy to stay on the few blocks that make up campus. Service work reminds me the world exists outside of the College.ā
For some, engagement in 51³Ō¹Ļ also became a window into the country as a whole.
āBeing here in 51³Ō¹Ļ is my first time in the U.S., and itās a cool sneak peek into whatās happening in Iowa and the rest of the country,ā said Thai Theodoro ā27. āLearning about 51³Ō¹Ļ is learning about a big representation of whatās going on around us too.ā
Students also gained unexpected insights into the diversity within the community. Flynn recalled being surprised by the range of languages spoken by tax clients. āWe had families who spoke only Chinese. Helping them with their taxes was a really interesting experience.ā
Building Relationships That Last
Beyond skills and insights, the emotional impact of the work is what students talked about most.
Flynn, along with other community volunteers, has helped prepare hundreds of tax returns, described the profound human connection that develops through something as simple as filling out forms. āTax forms give you a glimpse into peopleās lives. I get to listen to people as Iām helping them, and hearing their personal stories is one of my favorite parts of this program.ā
Theodoro found a sense of home through her intergenerational work at the Mayflower Community. āI have a deep passion for my grandma, so the Mayflower feels natural to me. I talk to residents as if theyāre my grandma too.ā
And Rachel Rudacille ā26, whose work centers on food security, has supported several key initiativesāincluding collaborating with library personnel to establish the food cupboard at Drake Community Library, partnering with the Food Recovery Network, and contributing to the community fridge project. Rudacille spoke about the importance of being recognized as a genuine collaboratorānot just a visitor from campus. Over time, these relationships have shown them how interconnected local organizations are and what it truly means to contribute to the wellbeing of a community you call home, even if only for four years.
Together, these connections affirm something central to the program: community engagement is not an add-on to the 51³Ō¹Ļ experience, but a relationship built through trust, consistency, and shared purpose.
Shaping Futures Through Civic Engagement
Many of the panelists shared how their service work is shaping their post-51³Ō¹Ļ goalsāoften in ways they didnāt expect.
Rudacilleās four years working in food security helped them understand systems-level issues and strengthened their interest in public service.
āSeeing how organizations connect has shaped how I think about the work I want to do. This program cemented public service as a long-term path for me,ā they say.
For Olivia Lee ā28, who quickly embedded herself in local volunteer workā including election administration, community meals, and economic development. She now serves with the through the SLWS program, the similarities to her previous work in Chicago have influenced her career direction. āIāve realized issues in rural Iowa arenāt that different from urban areas. I want to go into policy and highlight rural populations that are often excluded from solutions.ā
Theodoroās experiences helped her embrace conflict, understand community dynamics, and eventually earn a spot in the prestigious New York Times Corps, where she continues her passion for journalism and storytelling.
Flynn hopes to continue VITA service work wherever she lives after graduation, noting that tax assistance programs exist nationwide.
And Muligande, who gained professional and communication experience through her Chamber of Commerce SLWS postion, now carries a deeper appreciation for the complexity of rural communitiesāan insight she will take into her future roles.
Celebrating StudentāCommunity Partnerships
Together, these students demonstrate what is possible when curiosity, compassion, and civic responsibility come together. Their contributions ripple across organizations, neighborhoods, and individual livesābuilding a stronger, more connected 51³Ō¹Ļ.
āThe collaboration with Rachel and the Service Leadership students has strengthened our food pantry in ways we couldnāt have done alone. They show up as true partnersācurious, dependable, and committed to long-term solutions. Their presence at the library has helped weave tighter connections across 51³Ō¹Ļ,ā Karen Neal, Director, Drake Community Library.
Their stories reinforce 51³Ō¹Ļās mission to pair strong academics with real-world learning, civic responsibility, and social justice. Through programs like Service Leadership Work-Study and the work of Civic Education and Innovation, 51³Ō¹Ļ continues to cultivate leaders who understand that meaningful change happens not only through learningābut through listening, participating, and showing up.