After volunteering for a children’s organization in her home country of Nigeria, Christiana Ibiwoye knew she wanted to pursue a career working with children. Her experience in service-learning helped her land her dream job even before graduating from UW-Milwaukee in May 2024.
“I know no matter what you want to do, I think service-learning is really important, and it also opens your eyes to other things going on out there,” Ibiwoye said.
Ibiwoye came to UWM to pursue a master’s degree in communication after graduating from the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2021. She shared her career goals with her academic advisor, who then connected her with Ben Trager, director of community engagement and experiential learning at the Center for Student Experience and Talent. Trager was a resource for Ibiwoye and introduced her to service-learning.
Service-learning is a component of a college course that connects students with community projects that are related to the course content. It provides a structured opportunity for reflection on the experience in class discussion or written work. For Ibiwoye, service-learning is a way to see firsthand how “what we talked about in class plays out in real life.”
Read the full story on UWM Report.
By Amanda Kienow, Marketing & Communications