From March through December, students practice regenerative agricultural techniques at Western’s Gibbs House Sustainability Research and Demonstration Site.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Whether trekking to remote communities in Alaska to complete tax returns, growing food for students in need or mentoring middle school students, Broncos are volunteering their time and talents and learning through their experiences. In addition to personal fulfillment, Western students say these experiences allowed them to apply skills and make contacts for future careers. These experience-driven learning opportunities also taught them valuable lessons about managing time, communication and even compassion.
Aiding economic empowerment in Alaska
Four remote villages in Alaska received some much-needed support when 10 students and alumni and Dr. Fritz Allhoff, professor of philosophy, arrived to complete about 450 tax returns in 10 days—the most accomplished during the volunteer program’s 10 years.
“This is a great resume builder that students have been able to leverage into future employment opportunities,” says Allhoff.
The program, a collaboration with the Alaska Business Development Center, is also an important economic driver for the region. Across the eight university partners and more than 150 villages served, volunteers generated over $5 million in returns for rural Alaskans. To prepare, student volunteers passed exams to be certified through the Internal Revenue Service, completing training before the trip as well as when they arrived in Anchorage.
Broncos provided services in the villages of Napaskiak, Oscarville and Quinhagak in the southwest as well as Elim and White Mountain in the northwest. Spending time in these rural communities, the volunteers set up their tax centers and worked up to 14-hour days.
Recent Haworth College of Business graduate Will Roosien, BBA ‘24, says the experience was enlightening.
“Visiting the area was very eye opening,” says Roosien. “By traveling across the barren tundra and seeing how another community lives, I was able to comprehend how we take simple things for granted like access to mail delivery, tax preparation and even health care.”
Creating a culture of kindness IN KZOO
Closer to home, Broncos volunteered at Linden Grove Middle School in Kalamazoo, encouraging young students to normalize random acts of kindness. Western students organized activities and mentored sixth graders about spreading cheer and positivity.
“The value of the program is immeasurable. Volunteers get experience, Linden Grove gets to hold fun events at their school, and their students get to have fun and learn at the same time,” says Litu Kinanti, a digital marketing and eCommerce student from Indonesia.
“It was a dream to have college students with service learning embedded intentionally within their college experience. I overwhelmingly believe that the benefits of service-learning connections are mutual for WMU and Kalamazoo Public Schools students,” Tamica Frison, Linden Grove assistant principal, says.
Junior Karly Bundon, a psychology major who plans to work as a pediatric psychiatrist, says the experience was valuable.
“For my career, working with children and getting as much experience with them as possible is very helpful. Spreading kindness and making someone smile are all things that can support the mental health of a community,” says Bundon of Monroe, Michigan.
“We have the fortune of having this treasure chest of intelligent young adults who are seeking opportunities to learn and grow literally in our backyard.” —Tamica Frison, Linden Grove assistant principal
Western students dove into helping the middle school students, says Kelsey Westafer, a sixth-grade special education teacher at Linden Grove.
“Considering some of their degrees were not in education, they were so natural working with kids. They shared similar interests and experiences with the students and were just as happy to participate,” she says.
Food for thought
Cultivating sustainable gardens while discouraging waste is the mission of volunteer efforts at Western’s Gibbs House Sustainability Research and Demonstration Site. For the past seven years, up to 20 students each year practiced regenerative agricultural techniques weekly from March through December on the two-acre property on Western’s Parkview Campus, says Brianna McCann, program manager for the Office for Sustainability.
“By actively participating in the growing process, students develop a profound respect for the labor of love that goes into growing food,” she says. “The program also fosters a strong sense of community, allowing volunteers to learn from our team and to support the initiatives that we have on site.”
One acre of the property is a maturing “food forest” with perennial crops like fruits, nuts, berries, hops and grapes. The other acre is an annual production space focusing on vegetable gardening and composting by using food waste from WMU’s Valley Dining Center prep kitchens. The food that is grown benefits the Essential Needs program at Western.
During just the 2024 spring semester, the program helped divert over 4,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill. And this summer, volunteers are gearing up to partner with WMU Student Center Dining on a similar effort.
Rising junior Gillian Goldthe says volunteering helps hone skills she’ll need in her future career in digital marketing and eCommerce as well as in life.
“When you’re working with people to reach a goal, you have to communicate, collaborate,” the Wixom native says. “And the volunteer paths put out there by Western are directed toward people my age, our interests and passions.”
“They get exposure outside of class to learn skills that will help them in life, and we are all about having them learn through their experiences,” adds McCann.
Devin Tully, BSE ’23, said he returned to his alma mater to volunteer after learning more about the Gibbs House after graduation. The mechanical engineer for Pourter LLC in Grand Rapids admitted, “it makes me feel happy that I am doing something good.” ■