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.
A chance to see class learning in real life
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.”
During her time at UWM, Ibiwoye had two service-learning courses and worked with Friendship Circle of Wisconsin and GiGi’s Playhouse, both nonprofits that support individuals with disabilities. The staff were supportive, encouraging and offered an open door to opportunities at their organizations.
Ibiwoye didn’t realize that service-learning could be added to her resume until she was applying for jobs and discovered the similarities between the skills and experience listed in the position announcements and the work she was doing. Curative Care was impressed with her experience with Friendship Circle and GiGi’s Playhouse and offered Ibiwoye a job. She started working there in June.
Giving back
“I want to just I want to give back to my community in any little way I can,” Ibiwoye said.
Ibiwoye said she is excited to stay in Milwaukee as she begins her professional career and is happy with her decision to attend UWM. Service-learning helped her create connections to the Milwaukee community, and her openness to the new experiences provided by service-learning classes led to a full-time job.
Ibiwoye’s advice for future Panthers about service learning: “Just do it and go for it, because you’re going to benefit from it and gain skills that will be useful for your future.”
