Pictured
here are students from the Youth, Community, and Higher Education
class at USM/L-A along with some of the area youth they assisted
as part of their service project. In the back row from left:
Amy St. Pierre, Mike Farnham, Jonathan Caldwell, Seth Warren,
Tricia Alexander, Sam Hill. 3rd row from left: Doug LaLonde,
Jama Ahmed, Patrick Caldwell, Jeff Alexander, Joel Foster,
Joshua Roy, Monica Lee, Laurie Paradis. 2nd row from left:
Jennifer Scott, Jessica Doughty, Nicole Doucette, Joanna Cambron,
Trisha Roy, Richelle Ramsey, Alyssa Fillion, Chanda Johnson.
In the front row from left: instructor Michelle Vazquez Jacobus,
Lindsey Gaumont, Hanan Ahmed. (Absent was Matt Reed).
January 2006
The Lewiston Youth Empowerment Program (LYEP), a collaborative
effort of the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn
College and Empower Lewiston, has just completed another successful
semester.
LYEP is the program portion of a service-learning class (Youth,
Community and Higher Education) offered at USM’s Lewiston
Auburn College and taught by assistant professor Michelle
Vazquez Jacobus. The program helps to empower youth by providing
resiliency-building activities that support self-esteem, alternatives
to negative peer influences, and foster the youths’
higher education aspirations. “The familiarity with
college that the LYEP program affords these youth, as well
as the positive enriching connections they build with their
college –student mentors can be amongst the teens’
most sustaining experiences” says Vazquez Jacobus.
Service-learning, or public service education at USM/L-A
integrates community service with academic study to enrich
learning, encourage civic engagement, and strengthen communities.
Service-learning allows students to participate in a thoughtfully
organized service activity that meets identified real-world
issues and social needs. Service-learning includes reflection
on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding
of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline,
and an enhanced relationship with the community and its needs.
TheYouth, Community, and Higher Education Class engages students
in the process of community involvement, which enhances students’
learning experience.
LYEP is made possible through a grant from Empower Lewiston,
a non-profit organization, which connects downtown Lewiston
community members to programs, initiatives, and city planning
efforts with the goal of empowering downtown residents. The
program is also generously supported by the donations of time,
materials and facilities provided by a number of different
community organizations and individuals.
When asked about the future of LYEP, Professor Vazquez Jacobus
said “This program faces the challenge of not having
a consistent funding source to draw from.” Professor
Vazquez Jacobus further states that “Among the possibilities
being explored are collaboration with other institutions of
higher education, as well as community organizations and agencies
to develop a consistent, sustainable collaboration.”
