Student Leaders in Service: Scholarships for Service is an AmeriCorps Education Award Only program which engages college students as part-time AmeriCorps members. The program is designed to expand opportunities for college students to participate and support service community building. Those enrolled students who successfully complete a minimum of 300 hours receive an education award of $1,000.00, which may be used for educational expenses or to repay loans.

Here is a sample of some of the scholars from last year:

Jessica Wenig worked with the Pines Sorority to implement the Cystic Fibrosis Run. The sorority plans this event every year, Jessica put together a guide to the planning process so that future students interested in setting up Walks for various causes in our area will have a template to follow.

Samantha Cesario worked with SHEAC (Sexual Health Education Advisory Committee), the Reach Foundation and Chrysalis Community to create a comprehensive HIV/AIDS awareness advocacy campaign which strengthens local access to information and HIV/AIDS testing.

Rachel Dayton served on the Board of BFAIR (Berkshire Family and Individual Resources). As part of her Scholarship, she worked to make her position sustainable and supported the appointment of the new MCLA student board member for this upcoming year. Additionally, she analyzed BFAIR's role in the community and how MCLA can best strengthen its partnership with the organization.

Gabriela Rivera worked with the Berkshire Immigrant Center in Pittsfield and assisted them in translation of materials to increase access to social services for the Spanish speaking community . She helped them publicize, plan and coordinate events, and to organize their records. Because the BIC serves a unique need in Berkshire County, it is a good source of information for the Center for Service to help us develop a better understanding of the particular needs of surrounding immigrant communities.

The Write Stuff: MCLA, North Adams Public Schools, the North Adams Transcript newspaper, and Inkberry, an organization devoted to promoting literary arts in the Berkshires, are partnering to offer an on-going reading and writing program focused on enhancing middle school curriculum through creative writing, service learning, mentorship, and public performance. The program offers multi-genre creative writing workshops to 6th and 7th graders at Silvio O. Conte Middle School as part of their exploratory arts curriculum, along with MCAS help centered on reading comprehension. MCLA students majoring in English and education, assigned by the College’s Center for Service and Citizenship, are on hand to assist Inkberry-appointed creative writing instructors and to lead reading comprehension sessions during the school day. Students from Conte Middle School who participate in the program are given the opportunity to read from their work at the North Adams Public Library as part of an annual Student Authors Night, portions of which will be published in The North Adams Transcript. Additionally, these students will visit an MCLA writing class to share their work and to receive literary feedback and support from the college students in the class.

Friends of Foster Families: This program places MCLA students in foster care families to provide support to foster parents. This initiative grew out of a service learning project in which was discovered a glaring need to provide more support to foster parents. Students work as mentors and friends to foster children.

Pathways: The Pathways Program aspires local youth to pursue higher education. It brings these youth onto campus for interactive visits, inspiring students to see the value and enjoyment of college. The program also supports a sustained relationship amongst the college students leading the visit and the visiting students. Boo Bash: Boo Bash is an ongoing tradition that invites local children onto campus for an evening of Halloween-ish events- haunted houses, trick or treating, games, etc. This event is collaborated with RPS and other on-campus organizations. College Community Clean Up Day: In conjunction with the city of North Adams, MCLA sponsors Annual College Community Clean up Day. Members of both the city and College community join together to collect trash that accumulates throughout the winter months. Past Clean Ups have turned out over 150 volunteers and over one ton of trash.

STICS (Student Teacher In-Class Support): Student Teacher In-Class Support, run through the Center for Service, is a tutoring program which places MCLA undergraduates into local elementary school classrooms.  Ideally, the S.T.I.C.S. tutor will assist the students who need the extra help, allowing the teacher to move on with the lessons planned, while still keeping the child in pace with the rest of the class. The program was created as a response to a changing need in the school system.  After the introduction of the “No Child Left Behind” Act, teachers no longer have the time to allow students to exit the classroom environment for one-on-one work with a teacher assistant. MCLA students generally volunteer one to two days per week, completely depending on their personal schedule. The program runs Mondays – Thursdays, and transportation is provided.