For students at Sam Houston State University, community engagement is more than volunteerism, but a way of learning. The Center for Community Engagement works with professors who wish to incorporate community engagement into their classes.
Brandon Strubberg, assistant professor of technical communication and graduate coordinator, has worked with the CCE since starting his role at SHSU in 2018. Inspired by his mentor, a fellow ACE course instructor, Strubberg decided to provide his students with a way to turn their assignments into work experience.
With a background working with outside business clients to produce technical documents from his time as a doctoral student, Strubberg understood the benefit.
The undergraduate technical writing course Strubberg teaches is required by numerous degree plans, including criminal justice.
Part of this initiative included partnering with the Houston Police Department to develop key organizational documents for their Geographic Information Systems Unit in its fledgling months. His students were able to write the standard operating procedures and a report on the unit’s successes and services.
The graduate students were later granted access to the system’s applications and produced instructional documents for officers who were new to the system. In 2020, their work was recognized by the HPD Chief of Police for their collaborative efforts.
