Student Leadership Teaches
For the past two years, SLJC, in partnership with Mercer University and the Johns Creek Historical Society, successfully secured three externally funded grants to support student community service projects. The first project, funded by the Georgia Humanities for $2500, focused on students’ research about the Macedonia Cemetery and resulted in the production of four documentary films on the Cemetery’s history and future preservation plans. The second project, funded by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant for $25000 and a Mercer University Office of the Provost Humanities seed grant for $3000, involved students’ research of archival sources and collection of original primary sources to document diverse experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Johns Creek. This project resulted in a traveling exhibit and printed companion book about the students’ research process. Upon concluding the aforementioned project, students shared that they had ideas for the next research project. Among the ideas included investigating the immigrant experience in Johns Creek and to develop programming to teach about topics in local history to elementary children in the community. According to the Georgia DOE CTAE Career Clusters and Pathways, the education and training track engages high school students in learning about early childhood education, contemporary issues in education, and examining what is involved in the teaching profession. By aligning to these CTAE guidelines, this proposed project will support SLJC students and Ambassadors in identifying topics of local history interest to Johns Creek to develop, teach, and reflect after implementing community programming to elementary students.