Appalachia-Science in the Public Interest has been welcoming service learning groups to Rockcastle County since nearly its inception. The University of Notre Dame has been a crucial partner in this effort, sending cohorts of students to Mount Vernon since the late 1970's as a part of its Appalachia Seminar, a program that offers students not only an opportunity for service but greater exposure to the Appalachia region in all its richness. Like many other nonprofit programs, ASPI had to halt in-person experiences such as this one due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notre Dame has happily returned to Mount Vernon & ASPI in the post-shutdown world, though, starting right back up and sending groups annually since 2021.
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What is service learning?
Service learning is an experiential learning pedagogy that integrates academic coursework with community service to enhance participants' civic engagement and personal growth. This typically involves partnering with a particular organization to address real-world needs and interact within a community. Oftentimes, articles and other academic materials are explored pre-departure, allowing students a foundation to which they can connect their experiences. Structured reflection is also an important aspect of service learning trips, occurring usually at the end of each day. Students have noted deeply beneficial aspects of service learning, such as increased senses of social responsibility, touching encounters with a particular cause, and expansions of perspective and worldview.
What might a typical ASPI service learning trip look like?
At ASPI, there is deep focus both on service work and community engagement - exploring harmonies, diversities, and disparities in the Southeastern Kentucky area through multiple lenses. At Notre Dame students participate in a weekly class focused on Appalachia, History, Culture, and Music. The group meets during those classes to establish a bond ahead of going into the immersion experience during Notre Dames week-long fall break. Here is a glimpse of a Notre Dame week at ASPI!
Notre Dame Cohort, October 2024 Schedule
Sunday - Arrival & Climax Spring: On Sunday, the cohort arrives after driving from their respective college. For Notre Dame, that means about a 5-hour drive down through Indiana. Their experience began with a trip to Climax Springs and a hike up to it's watershed, explaining to the students the kindness of Climax for providing free spring water access to the community. After a long travel day, students ease into their time in Rockcastle, and their home for the next week at the ASPI office, as well as prepare for their week of service work and community engagement ahead.
| Monday - Work at the Rockcastle River Wilderness site: Much work is needed at ASPI's river property, and students work in the morning to clear out an overfilled shed, creating space for a future inhabitant. Afterwards, they join herbalist Andrew Ozinskas in a meditation and nature hike on ASPI's Zalla Memorial trail, where they learn about local plant life. The cohort ends the night with hotdogs and s'mores with river property caretakers River & Loki under the stars, enjoying one another's company and sharing stories!  |   |
Tuesday - Trash Cleanup around Rockcastle County: Partnering with Rockcastle County Waste Management director James Renner, the cohort completes roadside cleanup at two sites in Livingston, KY. Authentic conversations reveal the sometimes tough reality of life in rural Appalachia, but highlight the resilience of incredibly hardworking people. Topics of the day include rampant addiction, generational poverty, and faith. The day was topped off with a home cooked meal at one of Mt Vernon's farm to fork restaurants, Marcella's. James always springs for dinner for the cohort after a hard days work for the county.
 | Wednesday - Berea Travel Day: Previous cohorts have continually advocated for a little more free time built into the week. So, on a mid-week "day off," students have the opportunity to explore nearby Berea, learning about the rich history of the college. Beginning at Big Rock in the Berea College Forestry Watershed and ending with a sunset Pinnacles hike, the group explored the city's shops, campus, and nearby Owsley Fork reservoir, a part of Berea College's 13,000 acres of protected space. A great day to build community within the cohort, the students said this was a major highlight! |
| Thursday - ASPI Office work: Work around the office included an in-depth review with Josh Bills and Jerry Bogie of ASPI's impressive solar panel system, as well as gardening in the hi-tunnel and raised beds (picking goji berries, too). The day ended with a beautiful performance by artist and musician Mitch Barrett, where he played songs and discussed his life journey.  |  |
 | Friday - Farm Day! A certified favorite of all service learning cohorts, ASPI partners with local Rockcastle farmers to provide an in-the-field day of labor and service. Some groups might relax, eat, and play more than others, but whatever kind of farm day awaits students, they are sure to gain some thing from it.  |
Saturday - Departure: After what is hopefully an impactful week filled with authentic conversations and new perspectives, students return back to Notre Dame to finish out the academic year. The 'Appalachia Seminar' program involves a reflective paper to be completed by all students as they look to carry this experience into their daily lives.
Student Testimonials
| "ASPI is a place where you are welcomed like an old friend, into an unfamiliar place that soon settles into a true home, one filled with much joy, conversations, and lasting memories. I had the privilege of doing the ‘Appalachia Seminar’ three times, each including Fall Break at ASPI. This past October was bittersweet, knowing it would be my last Seminar trip, but it was so very sweetened by new and old friends and the comfort of knowing that ASPI will remain a place where I am welcome, like so many other lucky souls will be in the years to come. From conversations with Timi on real matters of the heart, mind, and world, to churning butter and rolling through the grass with the Ruff kids, to being graced with Mitch Barrett’s magnificent songwriting, that week, like the others, was filled with magic. Even in moments that were less objectively magical, like the hours spent doing trash pickup around town, the time was energized by a will, an understanding, and a recognition of the chance to grow. No thank you could ever be enough for everyone who has played a part in these trips and made it possible for Notre Dame’s visits to ASPI to continue for so many years. I will forever be honored to have been part of three of them." - Leah Perila, 2022-2024 cohorts |
| "Over the course of a week, we worked together to clear trash from the roadside, plant new gardens, assist neighbors with roofing, clear an abandoned shed for ASPI to use, and educate the area’s students and residents about solar power. All of our communal efforts brought joy to the work since we were all engaged and driven by ASPI’s mission. Although we had little prior knowledge about sustainability in Appalachia, our service led us to learning about the region while simultaneously making an impact." - Mary Williams, 2024 cohort |
| "Thinking back to last October, I was so excited to go on this trip. I’m one to take up a service opportunity, as many Notre Dame students are, and this experience had the added benefit of being in a region of the country I didn’t know much about. I kept expectations low, knowing that the service we do, although brief, would positively support this organization, and I would learn at least a little about Appalachia. But boy, were my expectations exceeded! At ASPI, life lessons come in unique forms. For me, it was a guided meditation in nature where I swear the birds spoke to us, a trip to a spring where I tasted watercress for the first time, trash pick up that felt insurmountable but was incredibly beneficial, and a farm day that reminded me of the importance of labor. I left Rockcastle County with a deeper understanding of how one can situate oneself both in the world and in relationship to it. I learned how small organizations like ASPI promote growth and deep integration in a community. I was impassioned by people who were knowledgeable in so many areas, not as a result of years of education, but of years of lived experience and attention to the world around them. I think that week in October lit a fire in me; it got me thinking about sustainability, engineering, my future career, the future of the world, and much more. I had questions and a lot of intrigue, so much so that I came back next summer. I came back, yes, to serve, but more importantly, to learn, live, and experience, in true ASPI fashion." - Blayne Schwarz, 2024 cohort |
A Rich Service Learning History |
Students that attend this experience are often beautifully impacted, and share such kind words with ASPI about their week-long journeys. Here are just a few of their letters from past years <3
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ASPI has been hosting Notre Dame service learning cohorts as far back as 1979. We value and appreciate this relationship and look to strengthen and continue building this partnership. Pre-covid, ASPI had collaborated with many service learning groups from colleges and universities like Gannon University, University of Texas, Loyola of Chicago, and Furman. We hope to regain momentum from the pre-covid era by welcoming additional cohorts in the fall and spring semesters.
Thank you for reading along!
Thank you for reading along!
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