Are you someone who wants to change the world for the better? If so, a community services course in community services might be right up your alley. A career in this industry can be incredibly rewarding, as you will help individuals who face significant challenges live their best life possible.
You can expect to learn a broad range of skills, including how to provide direct support to individuals or groups, how to collaborate with diverse people and work in response to crisis situations. You will also learn how to develop effective community programs and maintain accurate records of client needs, including reporting and data analysis.
Navigating Community Services Courses
For example, PIA’s ‘Service Learning and Community Service’ course covers topics like resume writing and US workplace communication before connecting students with local nonprofit organisations for an extended volunteering assignment. In this case, Drexel students partner with UESF, a Philadelphia-based organisation that provides housing and support for families facing financial crises. Students are encouraged to use their newfound skills to address the community’s pressing concerns and write reflectively to analyse their own experience.
You can also find courses that focus on the impact of specific social issues, such as the course ‘Memoir, Life and Dying’. In this course, students are paired with hospice patients to co-create their life stories. The process helps students to reflect on their own experiences of death and dying, while also developing important interviewing and writing skills. In the future, they may be able to apply these skills in a health care setting.