If your student group, class or organization is looking to learn more about public service or the different ways you can get involved in the community, the Campus Outreach Intern at the Morgridge Center for Public Service is here to lend a helping hand.
Our Campus Outreach Intern Anna Walther specializes in presentations for student groups, organizations, housing residents, classes, prospective students and many more. What’s great is the length and the topic of the presentation can be completely up to you.
“What’s so cool about these presentations is that they are completely personalized to the event or interests of the group,” Walther said. “I not only relate things going on at the Morgridge Center to the interests of the group, but can talk about service opportunities beyond the campus or Madison community as well.”
Walther can provide major-specific presentations or board discussions on popular topics such as: “How to find a volunteer opportunity,” “Integrating service into your major” or “Service opportunities beyond college.” If these topics don’t match the needs or interests of your group, feel free to request a different presentation idea.
“I’m actually talking to a pre-health student organization in a couple weeks about the concept of voluntourism in relation to avoiding the “white savior complex,” so I’m making sure students consider the ethical implications if they do choose to volunteer abroad. ” Walther said. “It’s really cool to be able to go in and promote public service in anyway that I can.”
In the past, our Campus Outreach Intern has presented at events such as Sustain-a-Bash, SOAR, various leadership conferences and to learning communities and first year interest groups (FIGs). A large piece of her time, however, is spent presenting to prospective UW students at various university events around the state.
“I actually had a girl come up to me at one of these prospective student events and tell me she was picking a school based on its public service opportunities,” Walther said. “I think it is so important to try and get younger students interested because then they are more likely to stay involved and make it a priority.”
To request a presentation for your group, go to the Morgridge Center website and fill out the form or email Anna Walther at outreach@morgridge.wisc.edu to learn more.
The Morgridge Center for Public Service also offers presentations to faculty, with topics including Morgridge Center resources, community-based learning and community-based research. To schedule a presentation at your next faculty meeting, contact Beth Tryon at etryon@wisc.edu.