Community Impact
Whether it’s tutoring local children in math or helping villagers in Honduras build a clean water system, Lafayette students are passionate about making a difference in communities here and afar. There are many opportunities to serve through weekly programs, certain courses, and trips to other regions and countries over school breaks. Fraternities and sororities, athletic teams, and other student groups also organize service projects.
Community-Based Learning and Research
The CBLR initiative enhances the efforts of faculty across all disciplines whose teaching and research benefit communities. It also allows students to apply what they have learned while helping others solve real-world problems.
Landis Community Outreach Center
The Landis Center coordinates service in weekly programs such as visits to a homeless shelter and creative arts therapy with women prisoners, one-time opportunities like the Pre-Orientation Service Program, and through courses with integrated service components.
Technology Clinic
The Technology Clinic is a two-semester, hands-on course that brings together students from different majors to help solve the real-world problems of a business, nonprofit organization, or government body. Recent projects have ranged from helping a fish-farming operation become more economically and environmentally efficient to working with local groups to increase access to fresh produce.
Economic Empowerment
In the Economic Empowerment and Global Learning Project (EEGLP), teams of students and faculty from every academic division work hand in hand with residents to tackle real-world economic issues locally, nationally, and internationally. Teams have worked in Easton, New Orleans, and Honduras.
Engineers Without Borders
Since 2003, this multidisciplinary group of students has been traveling to Honduras to help build systems for water treatment and distribution in villages lacking close access to clean water. Participants collaborate with agencies, students, and communities on real-life engineering, construction, and education projects from start to finish—an educational experience impossible to duplicate in the classroom.
Alternative School Break
Students travel throughout the U.S. and abroad for community service projects during the winter and spring breaks. Last year’s locations were Haiti, Costa Rica, Tennessee, Virginia, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Malagasy Education
Lafayette Initiative for Malagasy Education (LIME) is a peer mentoring program to help Malagasy students overcome the language barrier and other disadvantages to pursue their dreams of receiving a college education at an American school. Lafayette students travel to Madagascar over the winter break to work with and befriend a select group of participants.
Student Blogs
- Chinese Medicine 101 May 24, 2013Today my study abroad program took us on a field trip to learn about Chinese medicine. It was here that I learned about the Chinese philosophy surrounding yin-yang and traditional Chinese medicine practices. Many Chinese people believe that the yin-yang represents men and women and their inner energy. They think that the yin-yang represents how […]Megan Goodman
- Love requited May 23, 2013One of the wonderful things about going to Lafayette is the love you can find. Sure, I’m in a long-term relationship as I write this post but I’m talking about something a little different. A geekier sort of love in the form of academic pursuits. Since I’ve been here I’ve had the opportunity to really […]Peter Berexa
- Feri bhetaula America! May 21, 2013Standing in line to check in at Qatar Airlines, I already felt out of place. But not in a bad way. I enjoy showing up in a place where I don’t seem to belong. I have always felt that new and different experiences were good for me. I just arrived from Spain about 10 days […]Sarah Walko