OUR BACKYARD
English Language Learning Program (ELLP) student Alexandra Stanziola volunteers at Inspiration Corporation with direction from Keith Hillard. PHOTO BY NATALIE BATTAGLIA Language is no barrier International students serve others while improving their English skills / BY ANNA GAYNOR I 24 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
t’s Monday night, and one floor above the corner of Wilson and Broadway in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, a group of students waits for instructions. These seven from Loyola’s English Language Learning Program (ELLP) have come to volunteer at Inspiration Corporation, which pro- vides services and free meals to people who are homeless and poverty-stricken in Chicago. At Inspiration Corporation’s café, they prepare food and serve patrons as part of an ELLP service-learning initiative.
One of the students, Alexandra Stanziola, has volunteered before with Operation Smile and FANLYC, a group that helps children with
cancer and leukemia. And yet, her first time in a soup kitchen came last spring. “I’m from Panama, so in my country we don’t have this type of thing—that people help other people by giving them food,” the 18-year-old says. “For me, it was the first time I saw something like that. So yes, I like it. It’s awesome.” Since 2014, Loyola’s ELLP program has been incorporating a
community outreach component. Steven Fehr, the University’s ESL coordinator, says most students in the program plan to study in bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD programs but first need a few semes- ters to work on their English skills. Once a semester, the students volunteer at soup kitchens, such as A Just Harvest and St. Thomas
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