Service Learning
Environmental Studies capstone students working with the JFK neighborhood association in Oklahoma City.
Service learning opportunities allow students to apply classroom theories in partnership with a community. Engaging with communities allows for experiential learning, participatory research and direct services for the benefit of students, faculty and community members.
Service Learning Opportunities
Service learning is a priority of the Environmental Studies program.
- In the Environmental Studies Capstone (ENST 4893) students address a local or regional environmental concern through a team project.
- In the Environmental Studies Learning Community (ENST 3891), students engage in an interdisciplinary community, part of which includes environmentally-related service projects.
Student Experience
In spring 2024, the capstone class continued working with the John F. Kennedy Jr. Neighborhood Association in Oklahoma City to address environmental justice issues.
The JFK neighborhood is located next to industrial recycling plants and asphalt production facilities. Students researched environmental threats to community well-being.
Zoe Sanders said the project showed the consequences environmental negligence has for real people.
“I’ve learned that environmentalism is a super multifaceted issue that includes both social and physical science. This major has given me a lot of exposure to environmental justice,” she said.
Zoe is a Environmental Studies and Political Science double major.
Pictured below: Students from the Spring 2024 Capstone class tested soil in the JFK neighborhood and visited the Oklahoma City Office of Sustainability as part of their research.
