By Corum Ketchum

The Community Service Center was my window to the outside world during my undergraduate career. I began my time with the CSC taking a risk: enrolling in an unknown, unverified course, Real World Eugene, that had the audacity to trust undergrads with the responsibility of doing “real” work. I was rewarded for my gambit with some of the most meaningful opportunities I have had in my time at the University of Oregon.

The CSC shows not tells. So much of the college experience is purely academic; high ideas that are never applied. My work in the CSC’s Real World Eugene and Community Planning Workshop gave me an outlet to test my mettle, a platform to use my education to make a difference. I was taught best practices and new ways of approaching problems. I was emboldened to create change beyond the university bubble.

To me, the CSC embodies trust and hope. It engages young minds with the nitty-gritty problems that Oregon faces daily, knowing that the passion and drive of its pupils can propel our community into a better tomorrow.  More importantly, it enables its students to do work that stands up on its own, beyond the classroom. I would not have the confidence and skills that I have today without the CSC.

Thank you, CSC, I would not be who I am without the help of all the great people that believed in me.

-Corum Ketchum

Corum graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Planning, Public Policy and Management.