From working with children, to serving as a translator at a medical center, to walking dogs, Butler’s Indianapolis Community Requirement (ICR) helps serve the Indianapolis community—and the students themselves—in a variety of ways. The ICR is part of every student’s Core Curriculum and goes beyond just volunteering; it’s about connecting experiences outside of the classroom to academic learning goals within the classroom.
Junior Biology and Psychology double major Sam Lineweaver took Lifespan and Development with Assistant Professor Dr. Karina Hamamouche ’14. Lineweaver completed his service hours at the Martin Luther King (MLK) Center’s after-school program working weekly with a second-grade class.
When Lineweaver started the volunteering requirement he thought he was just going to be checking off another box required for graduation; he didn’t expect the students would have such an impact on him as well.
“It’s been really special to bond with the kids,” Lineweaver says. “They’re coming from all sorts of different schools and all kinds of different backgrounds. For some of those kids, the dinner the Center serves is the only food they’re getting that evening. I think that learning about that sort of thing was eye-opening for me.”
Hanako Gavia ’21, Assistant Director of the Center for Citizenship and Community at Butler, says the ICR fosters holistic learning. “The ICR helps you to find your purpose in life, not just paying your bills, but really going out and becoming a productive person who knows what’s going on in your community as well,” she says.
Lineweaver experienced this connection in his Lifespan and Development course. “You learn a lot about all the different cognitive, social, and physical changes that people go through their entire lives. Applying that to the kids enhanced my understanding of the course material and also allowed me to give back to the community in that meaningful way,” he says.
Additionally, the ICR helps to broaden students’ cultural awareness of societal issues and find ways to connect these issues to academic interests.
“I see students making dramatic impact through the relationships they’re building with our young students,” says Leintz Belony, Community Engagement Coordinator at the MLK Center. “I see them reading books to the kids. I see them helping with their homework. Having those positive relationships is really key to the health and development of our young people and Butler’s students are great at doing that. They’re also consistent in showing up and being there when they say they will, and we’ve grown to rely on their support and their presence.”
Students like Lineweaver credit the ICR with pushing them to volunteer in the community when they otherwise thought they wouldn’t have the time. Junior Health Sciences major Sarah Mangan agrees.
“I really do appreciate Butler requiring the ICR because I think if they didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity or the push to go out into the community and volunteer, Mangan says. “Butler is really good about offering a large variety of opportunities to go out into the community.”
Mangan worked with Near West Clinic as a translator to complete her ICR service hours, and she wants to be a PA after she graduates. She found that volunteering was a networking opportunity to meet other students and current PAs she may be working with in the future.
“I think if I was just taking the Medical Spanish courses without actually going out into the community, I would not be where I’m at today,” Mangan says. “ I always feel really good after leaving the clinic because I know I did something I didn’t have to do but also enjoyed it.”
Not only does this requirement help integrate student learning with real-life experiences, it also helps increase community awareness and engagement in a way that simultaneously benefits the community and the students.
“I see students benefiting from their time at the MLK by just raising their community awareness,” Belony says. “It’s important that students know about what is going on in their community, how their community is being impacted, learn about the history of their community, learn about the needs in their communities, learn about ways they can develop their community involvement, and even benefit from being in that community.”
Butler’s ICR provides opportunities for students within their major, but students can also take ICR courses to fill other Core requirements or even electives. Junior Psychology major Manveet Kaur took Wagging, Walking, and Wellness to fulfill the Physical Well-Being Core Requirement.
“I think it’s nice to experience firsthand the impact that you can make in your community,” Kaur says. “It’s a small impact, but it’s a meaningful one. It’s also a way for us to connect and give back to the community.”
Kaur takes the time to get to know each animal that she works with to make sure they are comfortable with her before she takes them outside. Not only did she feel like she was making an impact, but Kaur says that this class also helped her physical and mental health.
“When I was taking care of these animals, it really reduced my stress level because I kind of forgot about my problems,” Kaur says.
Assistant Professor Dr. Alexander Roehrkasse began teaching ICR classes this year. He says some students claimed in their final assignment that this was the most meaningful course they have taken at Butler.
“Classes like this invite students to go out into the community to interact with people they wouldn’t otherwise interact with, to learn the stories of people who have had very different life chances,” Roehrkasse says. “It helps us see that our learning is not just for ourselves, but ultimately, it is in the service of caring for, supporting, and advocating less fortunate people in our community.”