“Si no sirves para la gente, no sirves para nada.” (“If you don’t serve the people, you don’t serve anything/purpose”). This is a phrase that Cristian Lambaren Sanchez has known all his life, and one he shares with his students as an academic specialist in experiential learning in the College of Social Science. He teaches SSC 199 (Community Engagement) and SSC 399 (Service Learning and Civic Engagement).

Lambaren Sanchez’s classes have been working with All of the Above Hip Hop Academy (AOTA) for over a year. His students have been helping the nonprofit raise money for free music education for kids.

“Even though there is work in the class or independently, they feel they are contributing to the mission of the organization, which is hip hop education and to advance artistic expression,” says Lambaren Sanchez.

Students gain firsthand experience researching nonprofit grants, creating a plan for grant writing, and crafting a grant proposal for AOTA. They are also responsible for coming up with fundraising ideas and raising money during the semester. Through this project, students learn to work in teams and see the value in what they are doing.

“The class [then SSC 490, now SSC 399] was created because of how hip hop got created and how community engagement works—building relationships and social change, redistributing power, criticizing systems of power, and calming violence and giving a creative way to express themselves and settle disagreements through artistic expression,” Lambaren Sanchez says.

Lambaren Sanchez also serves on the AOTA board, which has helped him see the critical role finances play in the day-to-day operations of nonprofit organizations. In the process, he has created a volunteer position and an internship with AOTA, which will help students build their resumes while continuing to gain experience.

Lambaren Sanchez hopes that the community connections made in the past year continue to grow. Currently, he is working with his students to create a hip hop Registered Student Organization to ensure that the relationship with AOTA stays alive and to help bring hip hop back to MSU.

Lambaren Sachez first connected with CCEL during his first year of teaching as a way to find service positions for his students. Since then, he has used CCEL to help build relationships with community partners, attended faculty workshops each semester, and brings in facilitators to engage in reflection sessions with his students, such as the Core Concepts workshop.

To learn more about AOTA, visit their website, where you can also sign up for their newsletter and connect with them on Facebook or Instagram.