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Served Through Service: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences In Community Engaged Learning At A Catholic And Marianist University, Elizabeth M. Fogle, Savio D. Franco, Ph.D., Edel M. Jesse, Brent Kondritz, Lindsay Maxam, Heidi Much-Mcgrew, Cody Mcmillen, Carolyn S. Ridenour, Ph.D., Daniel J. Trunk

Journal of Catholic Education

Students participating in sustained community service at an urban Catholic and Marianist university were volunteer informants in this qualitative exploration of the meaning they make of their service experiences. A PhD student research team (nine members) interviewed fourteen undergraduate students (eleven of whom were seniors). Findings were organized as themes constructed within three domains: background, experience, and meaning. Within “background,” students who had prior work in faith-based service before college deepened their meaning of service. Within “experience,” there were social and cultural dynamics of navigating on and off campus life, including the roles students played as well as the challenge …