I'm jealous!

After talking with more than thirty organizations in the greater Lexington area during the past year, I am excited for all CIS 112 students to go out and work with these organizations this fall. I also am jealous since I have learned so much about them, and I wish I had the time to work with them.

I know each of your experiences will be different, and I look forward to reading about them on your blogs and essays and also hearing about them during class discussions.

In preparation for your service learning experience, you all visited the database that we put together with information about the various service learning organizations. If you're curious about what organizations your classmates are working with this fall, you can visit the database here: CIS 112 Service Learning Database

I'll briefly write about one of the service learning organizations our students worked with last year. We had about 10 students each semester work with Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge in Nicholasville, KY.  For 30 years, Wolf Run has fostered and rehabilitated many different animals so that they can be reintroduced to their natural habitats in the wild. Those not able to be released remain happily at Wolf Run and are involved in programs to spread awareness and education about wildlife and its preservation.

Wolf dog ambassadors from Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge and Savannah Massey, director of the refuge and volunteer coordinator, visited classes in the School of Library and Information Science last fall.

The wolf dogs made a visit to our classroom last fall, and it was a unique experience. UKNOW also wrote an article about it.

Nayeli, a wolf dog who wasn't even one year old yet, visited a CIS 112 class last fall.

I will be blogging this semester just like each of you, and from time to time, I might share some of your experiences, photos, videos, etc. on this blog. I think it's a great way for all of us to learn more about these organizations and the experiences you will have this semester.