Community Engagement Opportunities
Our students can participate in community engagement projects with local Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities under the supervision of our faculty and local organizations.
SIGN-UP for Spanish community-based activities: Spanish community sign-up
If you would like to receive regular notifications about our on-going community-based activities, please sign up for our Email listserve here: Spanish Outreach email list
Or contact Professor Danielle Thomas with your WhatsApp # to join a WhatsApp group for notifications: daniellethom@umass.edu
When participating in a community engagement project, students can participate in non-credit activities OR earn between 1 and 3 practicum credits (1 credit per every 3 hours worked per week). These credits will count towards the total number of credits needed for graduation, but may not fulfill any requirement of the major. Students need to sign a contract with the organizaton and be in touch with a faculty sponsor in order to receive practicum credit (SPAN 398 / PORT 398).
You can participate in our community activities in a variety of ways.
- Sporadic volunteerism: participate in one-time language & cultural events in our local community
- Regular volunteerism: commit to a regular # of hours supporting one of our language & cultural initiatives in the local community
- Community Engagement & Service Learning (CESL): participate in a community-based activity as part of your SPAN course curriculum (SEE: CESL program for more information)
- Internships: commit to a leadership role and regular # of hours supporting one of our language & cultural initiatives in the local community
If you have any questions about the community opportunities we have planned for 2020-21, please contact Danielle Thomas: daniellethom@umass.edu
Additional Opportunities
There may be additional opportunities currently under development. You may get in touch with one of our faculty to learn about any forthcoming projects:
- Meghan Armstrong-Abrami, amstrong@umass.edu
- Stephanie Fetta, sfetta@umass.edu
- Luis Marentes, marentes@umass.edu
- Danielle Thomas, daniellethom@umass.edu
