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Last fall’s Quest III Showcase

As the Spring 2015 semester comes to a close so do many student projects.

Set for May 8, the Quest III Showcase, which takes place from 5 until 8 p.m. at the UW Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center, will look back at the semester’s community-connected teaching and learning, featuring examples of collaborative projects from Quest III courses from throughout the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. The event is free and open to the public.

Quest III is part of the UW Oshkosh general education program–the University Studies Program (USP). The courses are aimed at extending the campus into the community by providing each student with a meaningful experience with a community partner, said Michael Lueder, civic engagement coordinator for the USP.

The community experience is embedded into the course as a method of allowing students to explore the course content in a real world setting. Through each class, students engage with a community partner for roughly 14-20 hours. As part of their course, the students then do an assignment based on their community experience; those projects make up the Quest III Showcase event.

“The UW Oshkosh students are learning a great deal from their community experiences. They are interacting with clients and guests throughout the Oshkosh community, being exposed to different people and beliefs along the way. By the end of the semester, they are producing something that is beneficial for either the agency or people they interact with,” Lueder said

The students enrolled in Quest III classes during fall 2014 contributed more than 11,600 hours of community impact, Lueder said.

This semester, students will share their experiences through a variety of mediums, including: presentations, skits, videos, posters, small discussions and food.

Last fall’s Quest III Showcase

The popular Humans of Oshkosh project will again be featured at this semester’s showcase event.

Humans of Oshkosh – When the Ends Don’t Meet is a multimedia project that highlights the stories of the women and children, and those living life on the poverty line. The project, which will result in a 150-page book, is a photo story exhibit and a multimedia presentation. It was produced by the students enrolled in the “Telling Stories for Fun, Profit and World Peace” class, a USP course for second-year sophomores from all disciplines.

“While there are many organizations that serve our community’s needs, all most deserving of recognition, we focused on five organizations, which were the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh, the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift & Furniture Store, Day by Day Warming Shelter and Habitat for Humanity of Oshkosh. My students spoke with the staff and volunteers and the people that they serve,” said instructor Grace Lim who leads the class.

“The stories are both heart-breaking and inspirational. They are about the resiliency of the human spirit, how we all share same desires despite our economic status. We want a roof over our heads. We want clothes on our backs. We want a better life for our children,” Lim said.

One UW Oshkosh student said she learned through the project that everyone has a story.

“Everyone has gone through tough living situations and situations that are out of their control,” said Angela Bennett, a sophomore studying kinesiology. “I have learned that you really need to get to know a person and their background before you can go around judging people….Too often I see people being stereotypical toward the poor, but many times people living in poverty may have a college degree or work three different jobs.”

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