A History of Service-Learning

Written by: Julia Sewell

At seven years old, I was introduced into a world that has now become my source of light, passion and inspiration. Service-Learning entered my life at an early age, when I began to see the many issues that affected my inner city community of north Minneapolis, Minnesota. I noticed the disparities that existed among our inner city youth. I began to volunteer my time and my service and realized these actions were the things that made my heart throb and pump.

Following my heart, I began making lunches for the homeless, volunteering at soup kitchens, and then began writing and performing poetry on these issues and reading about the issues my community faced. From here, I was invited to attend the National Youth Leadership Training in Sandstone, Minnesota, at the age of 14. This training is held every year by the National Youth Leadership Council and is designed to bring the top youth leaders together for a week-long training on youth leadership, service-learning, and prominent social issues. At this camp, I learned the true meanings of service-learning and how I, as a young agent of change, could fully and effectively utilize it.

After attending this training, doors began to open up nationally and internationally. I became involved in an international leadership program called Youth Leaders International (YLI). This program brought together top leaders from across the world to delve into creating effective youth leadership strategies in our home countries. I represented the U.S. and was able to travel to France and Great Britain to discuss major social change and leadership issues with my counterparts. Following this, I was selected to be on the National Youth Leadership Council's Youth Advisory Board, the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, as well as the Youth Partnership Team for America's Promise Alliance. Through my participation with these boards, I had the opportunity to assist in granting $5 million to service-learning projects across the U.S. and Canada, I was able to travel and perform at service-learning conferences, and acted as a consultant to major national organizations. All of this was done before I was 18-years-old. I had found, at a young age, my passion. Working with and for young people was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

At the age of 15, I began motivational speaking and spoken word performing. Through this endeavor, I have traveled the globe, giving engaging and life-changing presentations on a variety of topics (i.e. poverty, service-learning, educational reform, domestic abuse, youth voice). I recently started my own not-for-profit, E.M.P.I.R.E., which is an organization that allows young people from around the country to use their voice and arts as a motivation to their own communities.

Service-learning, to me, is the examining of the issues that affects one's community and then creating a youth led project to address these particular issues. Service-learning has truly transformed my life because it has helped me to realize my specific art and how I can utilize it to truly navigate and more so motivate local, national, and international change.

I am now a 22-year-old college graduate of Augsburg College. I am currently doing a year of service in Detroit through the City Year program. Following this, I have plans to do research on resilience in Jamaica through the Fulbright Program and then to pursue my speaking, performing and training full time. Long term, I have plans to obtain my PhD in educational psychology and urban schooling.

For more information about the work that I do or the services I provide, please feel free to look at my following websites: www.sewellspeaks.com or www.empireproductions.org.

See Julia Sewell’s work below:

Also, for more information about service-learning and available projects including this, please check out www.nylc.org.