Because of the upcoming introduction of a new University website design, existing Service Stories on the site are being migrated to our Service Learning Blog so that they will remain in our archive.
This article was originally published in 2020.
SPREAD AWARENESS, NOT DISEASE
SPREADING AWARENESS OF VARIOUS INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND METHODS OF DISEASE CONTROL.
Students in Dr. Ginny Webb’s Microbiology course (BIOL 330) aim to spread awareness of various infectious diseases and methods of disease control. They regularly partner with Oakland Elementary School where microbiology students teach hands-on lessons to kindergarten students about disease transmission and hand washing. The kindergarten students immediately see how well they wash their hands and how easily microbes transfer with the help of special lotion under glowing lights.
During Spring 2020, microbiology students were given the additional opportunity to design their own service learning project. Students formed research team, chose an infectious disease impacting our community, and designed a service initiative around combating the affliction, developing a plan to help combat this community health problem. Topics chosen included vaccines, antibiotic resistance, the Flu, and STDs. While all teams encountered chaos as a new infectious disease interrupted their incipient plans, students adroitly shifted from planned in-person service to virtual outreach and reported heightened awareness of the impact of COVID-19 on immunocompromised people.
One group focused on STD rates in SC and specifically among college students. This student group had planned a week of activities during STD awareness week and also collaborated with graphic design students to produce an informative pamphlet about STDs. Before COVID interrupted, students worked with health services to plan a “testing” day to encourage students to utilize the STD testing services offered to students. Shifting plans, the STD team used the STD informative pamphlet they had created to start a social media campaign. They posted the pamphlet online and also provided it to local health clinics for patient access. The group also created a GoFundMe page to raise money for a local health clinic that tests and treats STDs.
Student Voice:
Overall, we had some minor bumps in the road, but this project enabled us to reach out to the campus community and become more involved, which is the main purpose of Service Learning. It truly is a feeling like no other when you get to work with leaders and faculty on campus towards a common goal that you are both passionate about. I truly encourage students to utilize this class, not only as a way to learn about Microbiology, but to become aware of growing issues in our community and how you can work to spread awareness.
Please also visit the bottom of this page for a version of this story written by two students on the STD team!
Faculty Voice:
Dr. Ginny Webb observes, “this project is a wonderful opportunity for Biology students to serve the community while reinforcing infectious disease content learned in class. Students take ownership of their projects and I see them passionately work on their project and become invested in making a difference.”
Community Voice:
Mary Bucher, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Public Health & COVID-19 Response, worked with the STD awareness group and reports being impressed with the group’s approach to working with the content in these dynamic times. She also noted that this story showcases “our Spartan Strength and our amazing students as we face this challenge and support our community together.”
Read the pamphlet students prepared
Photos:
A kindergarten student checking out germs under a glow light
STD Prevalence pamphlet in rack (top, center)
A student reading the pamphlet in the clinic office
SPREAD AWARENESS – NOT STDS
Authors: Cassandra D’Amico & Tina Fadel
STDs are scary, and scarily common in South Carolina, so when asked by our professor, Dr. Ginny Webb, to choose an infectious disease to research in Spring 2020 (before COVID), we chose to focus on STDs But we didn’t stop with research. Our main purpose was to spread awareness to college students regarding the growing STD rates on college campuses while also educating the student population on local health clinics, such as the one here on campus, that are available for quick and easy screening. We had various plans in place including a booth with Student Life on our campus during STD Awareness Week, an STD seminar with guests, and a movie night to raise funds for Piedmont Care, a local STD clinic in the Upstate area. We also reached out to and met with Mary Bucher, the Director of Health Services at Upstate, to plan a free screening day during this week where students could confidentially go to get checked and screened at the Student Health Center.
All our carefully laid plans were abruptly canceled in the wake of COVID-19, but we quickly transitioned our outreach online and spread our message to the younger generation online through social media. We worked with Bridget Kirkland, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, and advisor for The Studio, a student-run graphic design agency on campus, to create a pamphlet we distributed to students through various social media pages on campus. We also arranged for hard copies of the pamphlets to be provided in lobbies of various local free health clinics in the area. Finally, we started a GoFundMe page to raise awareness of STDs and raise funds for the Piedmont Care clinic. As COVID-19 is particularly harmful to immunocompromised people, such as those with STDs, raising awareness is even more important now than when we began.
Overall, despite bumps in the road, the service learning element in our course enabled us to reach out to our campus community and become more involved. It truly is a feeling like no other when you get to work with leaders and faculty on campus towards a common goal with shared passion. We strongly encourage students consider Dr. Webb’s course as not only as a way to learn about microbiology, but to also become aware of growing issues in our community as you work to confront those issues.
Read a related story about microbiology service students introducing kindergarten students to germs and handwashing.
ABOUT CASSANDRA
 | Cassandra D’Amico is a Junior Biology major with a concentration in Pre-Medicine and minor in Psychology. She as worked as an Emergency Room Medical Scribe at Spartanburg Regional for the past two years and it was her work there that sparked her concern for the growing STD prevalence in our community. Cassandra considers herself fortunate to have been a part of the Dr. Webb’s Service-Learning Microbiology class last semester with the opportunity to spread awareness and prevention on this topic to the USC Upstate community. |
ABOUT TINA
 | Tina Fadel is an international student from Beirut, Lebanon. She is a senior majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. She is a pre-dental student and hopes to start dental school as soon as she graduates. Tina would be happy to recommend several courses for any pre-health or nursing student to take, and firmly places Microbiology at top of the list, largely because of the opportunity if provided her to not only learn but also to gain an opportunity to spread awareness to the Upstate community. |