Buies Creek, N.C.—Before Martin Luther King was the world’s most acclaimed civil rights leader, he was a human being. With extreme clarity and insight, Campbell University’s VISTA member, Sara Acosta, delves into the kind of man Martin Luther King, Jr. really was on her blog “Service Learning @ Campbell.” The profile, a lead-up to a campus project the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service, was so compelling that Campus Compact, a national service organization that helps sponsor the Americorps VISTA program at colleges, asked to feature it on their Facebook page.
Acosta said the blog is her way of promoting interest and ownership in Campbell’s service learning projects like MLK Day, the 9/11 Day of Service, Operation Inasmuch, Operation Christmas Child and others. Service projects for MLK Day, for example will include a blood drive, park cleanup, visiting nursing homes, participating in a science fair buddy program for the Baptist Fellowship of Angier and others, Acosta explained.
“I think people my age don’t really know a lot about Martin Luther King,” Acosta said. “I think it’s more interesting to learn about the man rather than viewing him as a stranger in history.”
Acosta said she uses the blog to advertise anything that comes out of the Campus Minister’s Office.
“I honestly don’t track how many people have viewed the blog. I just use it in case anyone wants to read about what is coming up in Campbell’s Service Learning area and to keep a record of what the Campus Minister’s Office has done in the way of service learning projects in the past,” she said.
Acosta’s job as a VISTA member is to act as a liaison between Campbell University and the community to identify and create sustainable service projects for residents in need. North Carolina Campus Compact helps to sponsor the AmeriCorps VISTA program which provides campus members like Acosta.
Acosta, a 2010 Campbell Communication graduate, was selected out of 400 applicants applying for 30 VISTA positions in the state. Her minor in Spanish also helps her as a VISTA member to communicate with Harnett County’s growing Hispanic population.
“For Campus Compact to recognize the potential of my blog and want to offer it to other universities is certainly flattering,” Acosta said. “I hope it helps other VISTA members and other universities.”
To read more about service learning projects at Campbell, visit Sara Acosta’s blog at http://whereserviceexcels.blogspot.com/.