Hamilton College and Utica College have been jointly awarded a $46,000 three-year grant through the Center for Intergenerational Learning at Temple University to help older immigrants and refugees in the Mohawk Valley become more actively engaged in their community and pursue U.S. citizenship.
This funding will support the combined efforts of the two colleges to replicate Project SHINE (Students Helping in the Naturalization of Elders) in the greater Utica area. Project SHINE is a national service learning initiative that partners college students with older immigrants and refugees who are seeking to learn English and civics in preparation for the citizen examination.
Beginning in August 2004, students at Hamilton College and Utica College will provide 1,200 hours of service each year working with older immigrants and refugees at a number of community sites including The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees in Utica. College students will provide tutoring in the English, U.S. history and civics needed to pass the citizenship examination. Students can participate for academic credit, through federal work-study or on a volunteer basis.
"Hamilton College encourages students to participate in the community in meaningful ways that relate to their areas of study and provide real-life application of their new skills and knowledge," says Judith Owens-Manley, associate director for community research in the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College. "We are looking forward to the opportunity to work with a number of community agencies and our community's newest members from many different parts of the world."
The project will afford benefits to all parties involved, namely the adult learners and student tutors. The older immigrants and refugees will have the opportunity to acquire knowledge that will allow them to adapt to and participate more fully in American society. The college students, in turn, will gain experience from putting into practice knowledge in a broad range of disciplines, including urban studies, anthropology, English as a second language, sociology, political science and history. Project SHINE also provides opportunities for faculty to incorporate service learning into the academic curriculum.
Robert Halliday, professor of philosophy and assistant vice president for academic affairs at Utica College, believes the SHINE initiative is consistent with Utica College's mission and builds upon the institution's record of engaging students in service learning projects.
"This is part of what Utica College is all about: students working and learning and giving something important back to the community," Halliday says.
Owens-Manley, Halliday and Cora Bruns, academic fieldwork coordinator at Utica College, will serve as the project coordinators at their respective institutions. Owens-Manley, who is president of the board of the Mohawk Resource Center for Refugees and has been involved with refugee research, particularly Bosnian, for many years, will provide overall direction and supervision of the project.
Several area agencies, including MVRCR, ElderLife, The Neighborhood Center and Madison-Oneida BOCES, assisted with the grant preparation and will continue to help during the first-year planning process.
About Project SHINE -- Established at Temple University in 1997 in response to legislation that jeopardized the public benefits of legal immigrants, Project SHINE is designed to build partnerships among higher education institutions and community-based organizations while addressing the urgent need for naturalization among older immigrants and refugees.
