Danielle Klein, Ph.D.

Director of New Student Courses, Division of
Student Success, Department of New
Student Courses

Service Learning Course(s):

• Select Student Success Courses (UNIV 1131) 

“It’s Important to be confronted with something that’s different so that you can grow from it."

Dr. Danielle Klein has been around service learning for many years. At her previous school, Dr. Klein helped build a learning community heavily based in service learning. From this, she was able to gain a lot of experience and saw the importance of treating a community the right way. As the Director of New Student Courses at UTA, Dr. Klein works with the Peer Academic Leaders (PALS) and has developed a curriculum that allows them to implement service learning into their classrooms. She believes that as a society, our sense of community has changed drastically and that service learning will allow people to practice engaging with others who are part of the larger community. The commitment that the PALS have to the curriculum and their devotion to making it a meaningful experience for their students. The PALS who were working with the students of Sarah’s Bag Ladies, a nonprofit organization that converts grocery bags into yarn and then crochets mats into beds for the homeless, were very passionate about building a community with their students, and she found it cool that they wanted to work harder and spend their own money to try and build a community for this group.

Dr. Klein advises faculty interested in service learning that it is ok to be hesitant at first, but the only way to get over that hesitation and grow as an academic is to just go out and start learning about service learning. She understands that it can be daunting at first to build relationships and partnerships, but it is also very enriching to take classroom ideas out of the theoretical and put them into practice.