Learning through service
Make a difference while gaining professional experience.
Drake Bulldogs have a strong drive to make a difference, whether its leading the creation of a health clinic in Uganda or volunteering with refugees in Des Moines. At Drake you can serve through your classes, student organizations, athletics teams, fraternities and sororities, residence life, or a final capstone experience. You can also earn academic credit through a service-learning project, in which you lend professional skills an organization or nonprofit.
This not only gives you a life-changing opportunity to learn about the world, ignite a passion for service, and effect change, but it brings you solid leadership skills and leads to better employment prospects.
What makes it possible
- Community connections: Drake has partnerships with more than 100 nonprofit organizations and schools.
- A culture of service: Some 80% of Drake undergraduates engage in community service by the time they graduate.
- A track record of success: Drake was named to the Peace Corps’ Top Volunteer Producing Colleges and Universities list in 2016.
Career benefits
- Getting noticed in the job market: Participation in service-learning leads to higher likelihood of employment, according to a study conducted at University of Indiana—Bloomington.
- Success in your field: 81 percent of employers said an internship or service project that ties real-world experience with classroom learning helps prepare students for success (Association of American Colleges & Universities study).
