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CST 361: Final Paper

What did you do at your service site?

My service site was the Beale Memorial Library in Kern County. At this service site my position

was their computer coach and I spent the majority of my time on the second floor in the

computer lab. My main purpose at this site was to help the library’s customers with any and all

technology related questions. Though my title was “computer coach”, I answered questions

about cell phones, tablets, and even audio questions like bluetooth. The majority of the questions

I dealt with were related to email, Microsoft Word, and general resume questions. One of the

main perks of booking an appointment with me was the one-on-one time that I would provide.

This allowed me to cater the session to the needs of the individuals and make sure that all of their

questions were answered without any unnecessary information, often found in class settings.

How did your service contribute to your partner’s organization?

When I first applied to volunteer for this organization they were thrilled that I could provide

them with technical support. The Beale branch was in desperate need of computer coaches and

they quickly approved my application and started me the very next week. In general, this branch

is very understaffed, and this is especially true when it comes to the technical side. After my first

day at the service learning site this point became painfully obvious. While they did have a fairly

new computer lab, there was only ever 1 staff member attending the lab and at least half of the

time the staff member was not computer literate. This is mostly due to the very limited number

of full time staff members at the library. Unfortunately, the main computer lab staff member was
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a part time employee still attending college, so he was only on site about 20-30 hours a week.

With my assistance, we were able to respond to more tickets and questions then before, and this

also allowed the staff member to respond to some of the company needs while I assisted the

customers. My service greatly benefited the company by providing another line of contact to the

customers without the need to hire and train a new employee.

How did the service help the community?

Since this site was a community library, all of the customers that came through the doors were

Kern County residents. The majority of customers that sought out my assistance were not

technologically inclined and had trouble navigating the basics of their smartphones, the internet,

and basic applications such as Microsoft Word. With my help, the lives of these people were

enhanced significantly. Customers were now able to understand the technology terms, the way

their smartphones functioned, how to send emails and attach files, basic troubleshooting

techniques, and how to navigate and take advantage of the Microsoft suite. In addition to these

basic skills, I assisted customers in creating resumes for new employment opportunities. This

service was provided, like the rest of my services, completely free of charge and arguably had

the biggest immediate impact on the community. Customers now not only knew the necessary

skills to succeed in a technology based world, but also had the resume to set them apart from the

competition and highlight their accomplishments for employers to see.

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Whom did you interact with?

On the business side, I interacted with the head of the community outreach program, who also

doubled as the volunteer coordinator, and the computer lab staff members. The customers at the

library that I dealt with were from a variety of backgrounds. On average, however, the majority

of the customers were from low income households and often enough were homeless and trying

to get off the streets by learning skills and creating a resume to obtain a job. This information

was disclosed to me on my first day at the service learning site, in an attempt to acclomate me to

the new role. Kern County has a very bad homeless problem and since this particular library

branch is located in the heart of downtown Bakersfield, they had the highest percentage of

homeless and low income families utilizing the resources available.

Much of the discussion around “diversity,” “community,” and “service” centers around

questions of power, privilege, and access in the public sphere. How did the process of

building relationships with the people in your service organization or in your service

community go? What has been challenging about developing good working relationships if

any?

Building relationships within my service organization was easy without any issues. We were all

a collection of working professionals and come from similar social backgrounds. On the other

hand, relating to the members of the community who were utilizing the library’s resources was a

challenge at first. I did not have much experience interacting with homeless citizens or people in

large households living off the state. I quickly learned that I needed to have patience and

compassion in order to ensure that my communication was effective and that I could resonate
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with their issues and needs. In the end I found it much easier to get along with these individuals

and treat them with the respect they deserve.

Reflect upon how your major learning, for example, classes you have taken, might have

impacted the community in POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ways?

Being a computer science major, my skills were perfectly suited for this community service

learning project. I believe that with my course history and self learning history that I had a range

of skills that positively affected the community by passing on this knowledge to those who

desperately needed them. In other areas, like my job for example, these skills are again valued

highly as I am able to perform many tasks with little to no supervision. In addition, being

technologically inclined allows me to learn new skills and software easily with very little

learning curve. My skills and university studies have negatively affected my community by

constantly raising the bar on desired skills. At first, this may seem like a silly statement, but

when you consider Kern County as a whole and how consistently the county is ranked as one of

the most undereducated counties in the country, it becomes apparent that only a fraction of the

people in this area possess the skills and training that I do. As a result, when I leave a job or

apply for a job, employers will use my background and skill set as the new standard for

employment. This will consistently weed average people out of the running for similar positions

and creating a larger gap in the workforce.

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How has your service affected your understanding of the social, cultural and civic aspects

of your personal and professional identity?

My service with the community has made me realize our duty to the general public in helping

advance our society as a whole in providing them the necessary skills and training to keep up

with the technology movement. In the next 20 years we will see a drastically different work

environment, heavily centered around technology and computers. Those who do not possess the

skills necessary to utilize and navigate this new technology will be left in the dust. It is our duty

as software engineers and as future employees to make sure that everyone has access to our

software and the skills required to use it.

What personal strategy have you formed or thought about that will lead you to be part of

building a more just, equitable, and sustainable community around you through your

future profession in communication design or computer science?

My approach will be to always lend a hand to any and everyone in their pursuit to understanding

computers and software. I already do this as a family member and friend to those who do not

have as strong a grasp as I do with computers, but I will make this a priority in the workforce as

well. Instead of overlooking people who are struggling with new software and computer related

tasks, I will actively offer help and go out of my way to explain the solution in a way that they

can understand. This will not only benefit their lives, but mine as well; especially if their work

has an impact on the work I am doing. This train of thought and methodological approach will

help bridge the technological divide in our society and improve the lives of those willing to

learn.
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What would you recommend the next group of service learners to do if they pursue similar

projects?

My recommendation is to go into this site with an open mind and patience. It takes a lot of

patience and understanding to relate to individuals from such a drastic lifestyle difference. All

people deserve respect and empathy and it is your job as a volunteer and educator to treat

everyone equally and pass on your knowledge in a respectful and easy to understand way. If you

do this, you will be rewarded with a new sense of purpose and truly feel good about your impact

on the community.