Running head: SERVICE-LEARNING CAPSTONE PAPER 1

Service-Learning Capstone Paper

Lauren A. Toomey

Louisiana State University

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Service-Learning Capstone Paper

Introduction

The national rate of postsecondary degree attainment in 2017 was 47 percent; in

Louisiana, the state degree attainment that same year was 42 percent (Lumina Foundation, 2019).

Louisiana is making progress toward post-secondary degree attainment, but still lags compared

to the degree attainment rate of the nation. A noteworthy component of the state’s 42 percent

attainment statistic is that certificates are included within this number, totaling to 13 percent

(Lumina Foundation, 2019). When broken down to remove the credentialing certificate

component, only 16 percent of Louisiana residents were reported as having a bachelor’s degree

in 2017 (Lumina Foundation, 2019). Therefore, there are glaring gaps in education that college

access professionals strive to close. Many of these gaps can be attributed to student

demographics, such as race and ethnicity, which make these populations more susceptible to

remaining underserved in the college choice and access process (Daun-Barnett, Behrend, &

Bezek, 2014; Lumina Foundation, 2019). Daun-Barnett et al. (2014) identified four groups of

college access professionals who collectively are responsible for closing the college access gap:

admissions professionals, high school counselors, pre-college outreach providers, and

independent consultants. Beyond these four roles, however, higher education and student affairs

practitioners are all equally responsible for contributing to closing this gap. It is one thing to

study the college access problem; it is a whole other experience to apply this knowledge through

service. Through the service-learning component of this course, I was able to do just that. Thus,

this paper will serve as a reflection of my service-learning experience, using applications of

course readings to support the student experiences I observed while volunteering.

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Over the course of three events, I participated in 15 hours of service through the

Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) College Application and Access

Month (LCAAM). The first event was two hours of assisting in set up at the Financial Literacy

for You (FLY) Tour, which was held in the Union Ballroom at the Louisiana State University

(LSU) campus. I chose to volunteer at this event because I could conveniently participate, as it

was located on campus, and because I was already set to attend shortly after the volunteer hours

ended through my Graduate Assistantship with the Office of Community-University

Partnerships. My other two full-day volunteer experiences were at Woodlawn High School, a

low-income high school located in the East Baton Rouge (EBR) Parish school district. My

reason for choosing this location was again two-fold: first, because it was only a half hour from

the LSU campus, and second, I had already been to Woodlawn for a Capital Area Promise event

through my Graduate Assistantship, so I was familiar with the campus. I spent two back-to-back

days volunteering with LCAAM at Woodlawn.

Service-Learning Activities

Financial Literacy for You (FLY) Tour

My first service-learning experience was volunteering at the Financial Literacy for You

(FLY) Tour hosted by the LOSFA office in September, in preparation for the upcoming LCAAM

programming scheduled to take place in the month of October. As the name indicates, the FLY

Tour program was designed to educate high school juniors and seniors from five local high

schools about the financial aid options available to them. Going into the event, this is all I knew

about the FLY Tour, and over the course of the morning, this program greatly exceeded my

expectations. The professionals and staff from the LOSFA team have wonderful methods for

engaging students in their presentation to effectively communicate financial aid information in a

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meaningful way. Upon arrival in the Louisiana State University (LSU) Union Ballroom,

volunteers were asked to walk around and place FLY pamphlets on every chair for the expected

600 high school students. When I entered the space, I immediately noticed the intricate lighting

and props. There was colored lighting illuminating the stage, pillars, and walls. There was a

photo booth set up for students to take photos with FLY tour and LOSFA paraphernalia, the

stage was set with a background, and there was current pop music playing over the speakers. The

staff had successfully created an environment that would feel welcoming and comfortable for

their intended audience.

Everything was intricately planned and executed. Even the brochure we placed on the

chairs didn’t go to waste; the staff utilized it to ask questions about financial aid from, using t-

shirts as an incentive. The students got very passionate about this, and it quickly became a

competition for both the t-shirt prize and bragging rights among each other. It amazed me that

they got students so excited over financial literacy, and it was a joy to witness. As we learned

throughout the semester, cost of attendance is one of the primary barriers standing between many

underrepresented students and attending college, and therefore continues to contribute to the

college access gap (Perna & Jones, 2013). Events such as the FLY Tour are working to bridge

that gap, through providing high school students in the capital area with financial literacy

through engaging activities.

The second part of my engagement with this volunteer opportunity was not as a

volunteer, but through my Graduate Assistant (GA) role with the Capital Area Promise. We built

a partnership with the LOSFA office through the Capital Area Promise in the Spring of this year,

which provides more opportunities to educate middle and high school students about the college

and career pathways available to them. Although staying for the entire FLY Tour event was not
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required for our volunteer opportunity, as this exceeded the two hours, the presentation my

coworker and I gave for the Capital Area Promise took place near the end of the event, so as a

result I got to see all the programming. At the FLY event, the other GA and I gave a short

presentation on the Capital Area Promise student poster, which every student received on their

way in. The student poster is designed to be personalized with the student’s career or college

goals and aspirations, and is compact enough to fold up to be kept in a binder to serve as a

reminder of the people encouraging them to achieve those goals.

The FLY tour was an incredible experience for both the high school students and

volunteers. In addition, the LOSFA office representatives involved in the event displayed passion

and enthusiasm from start to finish, which demonstrates the level of commitment Louisiana

policymakers have for closing the college access gap. Although a short volunteer experience as

compared to the full-day site visits at high schools, I was able to connect this volunteer

opportunity to what we had covered in the course within the first three weeks, and it gave me the

perfect introduction for what to expect in my upcoming volunteer opportunities at Woodlawn

High School.

Woodlawn High School

The remainder of my service-learning hours were completed over the course of two back-

to-back full-day volunteer opportunities at Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,

assisting senior high school students with Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

and college application completion. My two volunteer days were on Thursday and Friday,

October 24th and 25th in participation with the LOSFA initiative for Louisiana College

Application and Access Month (LCAAM). Upon arrival, I signed in at the front office, where

two female students overheard me introduce my affiliation with LSU. They approached me to
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excitedly ask about my experience at LSU, expressing that for both, LSU is their dream school.

After indicating that they are both seniors, I asked if they would be at the LOSFA application

event later that day. They replied that they would, so I promised I would find them at the event

later to continue our discussion on LSU, as well as help them with their college and scholarship

application processes. This was such a wonderful way to start the day, as I had only just entered

the school and was greeted by eager students who were excited to attend college.

From the front office, I went to the library, where I met the LOSFA representative, Ms.

Charlie, and the Woodlawn High site coordinator, Ms. Hawkins. I took a mental note that

although Woodlawn is part of a low-SES community, the resources at the school seemed

abundant; the library was very nice and there was technology available for every student. We

were stationed in the computer lab for the day, where the seniors would be called in waves to

stay for the duration of one class period. There was an abundance of volunteers on the first day,

nearly double the amount that arrived for the second day. On the first day, there were student

volunteers such as myself, Monica, and Genesis volunteering on behalf of class. Additionally,

there were admissions professionals from both LSU and Northeastern University, and finally,

two extra volunteers from the LOSFA office. Including Ms. Charlie and the site coordinator Ms.

Hawkins, that made eight of us, which was plenty to serve the number of students in the

computer lab at one time. Additionally, it was surprising to me that many students did not need

help, as they were already near the concluding stages in the application processes, either waiting

on parent information or payment to submit. On the second day, the only two volunteers they had

outside of the LOSFA employees were myself and Monica. We made it work on the second day,

however, because we served most of the senior class on day one.

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One theme I noticed while volunteering at Woodlawn was that many low-income

students were unable to submit their college application simply because of the application fee.

We would spend an entire class period filling out an application together, only to get to the end

for them to say, “I can’t pay $40 right now.” Some would even call up their parent, ask for their

debit card information, and we could hear the disappointment in the students’ voice on our end

as the parent undoubtedly said they, too, could not afford to pay it at that time. This emphasized

the barrier that low-income students face daily; although some institutions waived the application

fees for the month of October, that does not remove the financial barriers that low-income

students would continue to face as they transition from high school to college, even with

financial aid assistance.

Finally, I noticed an overarching theme of a lack of confidence in these students. From

my time serving with City Year, I am experienced in navigating conversations with students

regarding self-confidence and helping empower them to believe in themselves. Although this

time was dedicated to filling out college applications or the FAFSA, many students I initiated

conversations with did not have a plan to even apply, as they did not believe they could succeed

in college, which is entirely different than believing college is right for them. These are students

who want to attend college, but simply have not been empowered enough yet to believe they can

get there and persist to graduation. One male student that I interacted with reminded me a lot of

myself in that sense; he was extremely self-deprecating, and I spent half of the class period

listening to his story. He shared with me his complicated family history, that his paycheck

contributes to the family income, and even where his partner planned to attend college. I

confided in him that I had a similar experience of a lack of confidence, one that I still struggle

with to this day. Once we formed that connection, he was more willing to discuss college and
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career pathway options with me, and even began an application. Interactions like these remind

me of why I serve students; I believe it is about empowering students with the tools necessary to

succeed, and for some, that means first believing in themselves. Sometimes, all a student needs is

simply to be heard.

Connection to Course Readings

To connect what I have learned over the course of the semester to the experiences

outlined previously, I have chosen four readings that relate most closely to the themes I observed

while engaging in those two service-learning opportunities. First, as mentioned briefly in the

FLY tour experience, Chapter 2 in The State of College Access and Completion by Perna and

Jones (2013); second, Perna’s (2006) proposed model of social capital; Toutkoushian, Stollberg,

and Slaton (2018) on defining the First-Generation student experience; and finally,

Understanding the College Choice Process by Cabrera and La Nasa (2000).

Financial Predictors of College Access

The focus of Chapter 2 by Perna and Jones (2013) is on identifying the sources of

information from which high school students learn about their college access and financial aid

options. Perna and Jones (2013) have identified and go on to explain four categories of predictors

that influence college access and choice: financial resources, academic preparation and

achievement, support from significant others, and knowledge and information about college and

financial aid. The first and fourth categories are centered on financial literacy, which was the

focus of my first service-learning experience. Perna and Jones (2013) assert that, within the

financial influence of the college decision-making process, college enrollment rates increase with

family income. Additionally, one of the primary barriers faced by underserved students today is

lack of financial literacy and aid (Perna & Jones, 2013). The student population that the FLY
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Tour was intended to serve is high school students from local low-income schools within the

East Baton Rouge Parish school district. Furthermore, Woodlawn High school is a part of a low-

socioeconomic part of the school district. Therefore, the interventions provided by the FLY Tour

and one-on-one volunteer application assistance are successful efforts contributing toward

closing the college access gap, as they strive to meet low-income students where they are at,

providing the resources and information they need to navigate the college and financial aid

application processes.

I observed more financial implications from Perna’s (2006) proposed model of social

capital present within the low-socioeconomic communities I volunteered in. In constructing the

proposal of her model, Perna (2006) first examines the existing theories behind college choice:

the economic model of human capital and the sociological model of status attainment. In doing

so, she also mentions the three-phase model of the college choice process (Perna, 2006). My

takeaway from the analysis of the economic model is that although some research asserts that

students make their college decisions based on a lack of information, other research still points to

the fact that students and their parents are provided with the financial information needed. The

problem, then, is not a lack of information, but that many students overestimate the costs

associated with college, and therefore choose to opt out of attending altogether (Perna, 2006).

This is present in the concrete examples of students at Woodlawn High School who were waiting

for their parents to pay the application fee; not only did these parents likely not have the funds to

pay it at that time, they also didn’t believe it was worth the payment, as they believed the cost of

attending college was far out of their budget, and therefore unattainable. Thus, Perna’s (2006)

literature review in preparation for her proposed model of social capital is still present in low-

income communities today, further contributing to the college access gap.

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First-Generation Student Experience

While abundant research exists around first-generation student status, little research

attempts to define a universal term for first-generation student status. Toutkoushian et al. (2018)

cross-examined the abundance of research literature of this nature to construct eight different

definitions of “first-generation,” and determine whether the definition affects the outcome of the

student’s college access and choice process. Toutkoushian et al. (2018) examined each of the

eight definitions to determine how first-generation status, combined with other social capital

factors, were associated with whether a student took a college entrance exam, applied to college,

and finally, enrolled in college. In addition to the low-income status of the high schools our

service-learning opportunities took place in, many students attending these high schools can also

identify with at least one of these eight first-generation student definitions. For example, many of

the students I interacted with at Woodlawn High School were raised by a single parent who did

not attend college; others were raised by both parents, one who attended some college but did not

complete a degree, and the other parent attended no college. With the varying populations

served, the Toutkoushian et al. (2018) study is important for examining how the differing

definition of “first-generation” can impact the student college search and choice experience.

The findings of this study indicate that students with parents who have no college

education were 4.4% less likely than students with two college educated parents to plan on

taking a college placement exam (Toutkoushian et al., 2018). These students were also 9% less

likely to apply to any college and 9.6% less likely to enroll in a postsecondary institution

(Toutkoushian et al., 2018). Further, “the deficits faced by students with one college-educated

parent were smaller than those with no college-educated parents regardless of how a college-

educated parent was defined” (Toutkoushian et al., 2018, p. 21). The results clearly indicate
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significant variances in the defined outcomes based on how FGCS was defined. These results

imply that students with one college-educated parent may need just as much assistance in

applying to college as students with no college-educated parents. Therefore, through service-

learning opportunities, volunteers should intentionally provide equal assistance to every student,

no matter how confident the students may seem in their college search process. For example, the

student who approached me in the office and expressed interest in LSU had one college-educated

parent, and was able to complete her college application, but needed help filling out the FAFSA

and scholarship applications as these processes had changed since her parent was enrolled.

Understanding the College-Choice Process

Cabrera and La Nasa (2000) analyze the three-stage model of college choice:

predispositions, search, and choice. They take a slightly different approach from the original

model outlined by Hossler and Gallagher (1987), by applying the framework of parental

encouragement to the model. In doing so, Cabrera and La Nasa (2000) further underscore the

importance of financial literacy among differing student populations. The authors assert that

parental encouragement is the strongest among the predicting factors behind students’ early

educational plans, and explain that the two dimensions of parental encouragement are

maintaining high expectations as motivational parents, and becoming involved in school matters

as proactive parents (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000). Cabrera and La Nasa (2000) go on to break

down the factors behind each of the three stages and examine parental encouragement or parental

influence on each. For example, when discussing the role parents take in knowledge of financial

aid, the authors analyze existing research to inform us that “Overall, upper-income families are

more knowledgeable” about financial aid (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000, p. 10). In addition, the level

of parental involvement in their students’ financial planning experience is reflective of their own
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collegiate financial experiences (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000). These points were all evident in the

students I served through both service-learning opportunities. They were primarily evident in the

one-on-one interactions I had with the Woodlawn High School students; for example, those who

were from more affluent households had already completed the FAFSA and many scholarship

applications, because their parents were able to educate them on these processes. Furthermore,

these parents who were more involved in the application processes were ones who had already

attended some college or engaged with the process in some way during their own college-going

experience, whereas the students who identified as first-generation had not been prompted on

financial aid applications by their parents.

Conclusion

In all, the service-learning experience greatly exceeded my expectations. I have an

existing passion for working with underserved youth from my service year with City Year

AmeriCorps. When I read about the service-learning opportunity in the syllabus, I was thrilled to

have the opportunity to engage in service once again. Furthermore, the experience perfectly

paralleled the course topics. When completing this capstone paper, I struggled to narrow my

course reading selection down to just four readings. During class each week, it was a joy to hear

everyone’s service-learning experiences and to share my own. Throughout this experience,

combined with the course readings and discussions, I learned that the college access and choice

problem is deeply rooted in financial, personal, and academic barriers, and that every student’s

unique story involves a combination of these barriers which may prevent them from applying to

college. Moreover, for some students, these barriers may not be the true problem; some students

simply need the mentor figure to encourage them that they are capable of success. Finally,
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participating in service-learning hours emphasized for me that it is one thing to discuss the

college access gap; it is another, altogether more meaningful step, to put academia into practice.
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References

Cabrera, A. F., & La Nasa, S. M. (2000). Understanding the college-choice process. New

directions for institutional research, 2000(107), 5-22.

Daun-Barnett, N., Behrend, C., & Bezek, C. (2014). College counseling for admissions

professionals: Improving access and retention. New York, NY: Routledge.

Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. S. (1987). Studying student college choice: A three-phase model

and the implications for policymakers. College and university, 62(3), 207-21.

Lumina Foundation (2019). A stronger nation through higher education. Retrieved from

http://strongernation.luminafoundation.org/report/

Perna, L. W. (2006). Studying college access and choice: A proposed conceptual model. In J. C.

Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, 21 (pp. 99–157).

Dordrecht, NL: Springer.

Perna, L. W., & Jones, A. P (Eds.). (2013). The state of college access and completion:

Improving college success for students from underrepresented groups. New York, NY:

Routledge.

Toutkoushian, R. K., Stollberg, R. S., & Slaton, K. A. (2018). Talking 'bout my generation:

Defining "first-generation college students" in higher education research. Teachers

College Record, 120(4), 1-38.