Service Learning & Community Engagement @ USC Upstate.
Show me, and I will forget. Teach me, and I will remember. Involve me, and I will learn.
Chinese proverb
For Instructors: Celebrations & awards, Learn service learning strategies, and Sign Up to collaborate with community partners
For Students: Find opportunities, Get Involved with activities, Learn about internships for good, and more.
Service Stories: Learn more about the powerful work of Spartans in our community.
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Engage Upstate Spotlight: ASL Interpreting
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is an important part of communication and inclusivity, and our Upstate students in ASL Interpreting courses have been working to build a stronger bond with the Deaf community. Students in Dr. Lana Cromeenes’s ASL interpreting courses work with the School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg to present plays…
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Recapping a Successful Fall 2025 ENGAGE GREEN Initiative
As we wrap up 2025, let’s look back on the impact ENGAGE GREEN has made this fall. Our mission to cultivate environmental awareness and promote sustainable practices has brought together students, community members, and local organizations in an incredible effort toward ecological stewardship. In its third year, our partnership with Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE) is…
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Engage Upstate Spotlight: Marketing Your Community!
Reaching out to a community and spreading awareness about the work they do is vital for any non-profit or small business, and effective marketing is the key. Whether it is advertising a service or showing what has been achieved, marketing can bring the work of the community to the forefront. Kimberly Land, an Instructor in…
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Register for the Spartanburg Certified Volunteer Program
Looking for an opportunity to give back to our community? Need to build up service hours for your club, organization, or resume? Want to encourage yourself and/or others to get more involved in our community? The Spartanburg Certified Volunteer Program makes it easy to get involved and give back. Our database connects participants with volunteer…
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Enroll in Spring 2026 Service-Learning Courses
This Spring, lots of new and exciting service learning opportunities will be available! Below faculty and students can find a list of Service Learning and Community Engagement (SL/CE) courses. These courses give students an opportunity to work with their communities and learn hands-on skills that they can apply to their careers. Find more information on…
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Engage Upstate Spotlight: Bringing Local History to Life
Tammy Pike, senior instructor of history, has woven South Carolina women’s history into her Service Learning courses in a way that brings local history to life. Pike has established a significant partnership with Joe Hursey, historian at the Piedmont Historical Preservation Society. In her HIST U325 course, Women in the US Since 1865, students transcribed…
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Engage Upstate Spotlight: Printmaking and Its Impact
Art has always been an important part of the Upstate’s cultural identity, both on and off campus. Statues and murals scattered throughout downtown Spartanburg and pieces throughout Upstate’s campus show this clearly. This especially holds true in Professor Freda Sue’s printmaking classes (ARTS U207 and ARTS U307) where students are reaching out to their communities…
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Community Engagement 2024: A Year in Review
Despite Hurricane Helene imposing her will on Spartanburg and the areas surrounding the Upstate, community engagement events post-storm have been successful and have given a sense of perseverance and resolve. Making landfall September 26th and bringing the region to a halt with countless downed powerlines, incapacitated roads, hundreds of thousands without power for a week,…
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Fall 2025 Courses Engage Students with Non-Profits and Community Partners
This fall, students in 35 courses and 71 unique sections are participating in Service Learning and Community Engagement (SL/CE) opportunities with community partners throughout the Upstate and beyond. Through these courses, students gain hands-on experience applying skills they learn in class to solve problems and meet community needs. Find more information on these courses by…
This blog is run by the Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement.
Learn more about our Engage Upstate initiative and the blog on our About Us page.