In my four years at San Francisco State University, I have not had direct experience with service learning. The one instance in which I interned with Mayor Ed Lee under the Department of Communications it was not directly tied to any class in my Political Science major. However, after studying service learning as a Fellow through the Institute of Civic and Community Engagement I have been able to gain an understanding of how necessary it is for students to have a combination of learning, service, and reflection tied together in a class setting. In my completion of readings in Service Learning Essentials by Barbara Jacoby I took time to reflect on my internship at the Mayor's Office and it was in this reflection that I realized how much I enjoyed my work, but in no way felt it connected to anything I was learning in the class room. This disconnect between my service and my education made me think more deeply about what kind of education I was receiving, it was through a conversation with Professor Kassiola of the Political Science Department that I came to understand how my major is centered upon theory based learning. Now, my intention of writing this reflection of service and practice is not to discredit a theory based learning style. The goal is primarily to address that to have a well rounded academic background complementary service and reflection is necessary. Since becoming a Fellow with ICCE my ideas on service have grown exponentially because before becoming a Fellow I had never taken into consideration that service and learning were interconnected. Prior to becoming a Fellow I had a small understanding of how knowledge is gained out of service but I had not thought of that knowledge as being academically charged. In my own experience of having a major that focuses on theory as the primary basis for its classes; not using service learning as a tool in addition to the foundation of theory based knowledge creates a gap in a student's learning experience. This gap mentioned is where the service experience a student gains independently of their academic careers does not reach the in-class teachings in which a student can dedicate time to reflecting on their service work. The in-class reflection period where a student is able to reflect on their work is important as they are able to see how their work has an impact on the community in which they are working in. To expand on the idea of how closely service and the community are connected I have taken an excerpt from the first chapter of Jacoby's book where she discusses the critique of service-learning when done poorly.

"When service-learning experiences are not based firmly in its fundamental principles and best practices, students' stereotypes can be reinforced and the community can be misused as a learning laboratory. Service-learning without the root causes of the social issues that underlie the need for service can actually encourage dependency and perpetuate, rather than challenge, the status quo. Such conversations also invoke a wide range of views about the ultimate purpose of service-learning, inciting us to seriously grapple with the extent to which service-learning is, and should be, about social justice" (Jabcoby, p.17)

When reading this passage it made me ponder how internships are explained to students at the university level. I have felt that the way in which the University and the Professors discuss internships with students is flawed. The defective manner in which students are told they need the experience is how the conversation is centered upon a student's needs, not taking into account that the student will be doing service in a community. By leaving the community out of the conversation in discussing where a student will be completing their service, whether that be through interning, volunteering etc..., then the service site within that community falls risk to becoming a "learning laboratory". Therefore, I advocate for service-learning as a necessity to a student's educational experience as it provides them with a more in depth understanding of their impact on the community in which they are doing the service and it also allows for a student to reflect on how the service they do within the community has an affect on them.