By SABRINA ZIZO / Community Columnist

The Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement Department at the University of Montevallo selects 25 UM students for the Falcon Scholar in Action program each year.

Students are placed to serve at agencies around the community for three semesters.

Each Falcon Scholar has the opportunity to apply for a mini-grant, and use the money to meet a need they see at their agency.

Savannah Bell, a Family Consumer Science major and Falcon Scholar at Shelby Emergency Assistance, saw a need for clients to learn basic cooking skills. She used the mini-grant to purchase food products to start Shelby Emergency Assistance’s first beginners cooking class.

“During the classes, we took step-by-step photos to make a cookbook that is easy to follow for beginner cooks or people that may not read well,” Bell said. “A few of the things we made include cornbread, chili and caramel apple salad. I also put the step-by-step recipes on a website (shelbyemergency.wixsite.com/seacooking) so that more of the Shelby County community can access them.”

Another project that Bell is working on for Shelby Emergency Assistance is helping the agency launch their new website.

The website should be ready to launch by the end of December, but Bell is working hard and creatively through this process.
The Falcon Scholar in Action program gives unique opportunities for UM students.

“Being a Falcon Scholar has been such a great experience,” Bell said. “It has challenged me to come out of my comfort zone and develop stronger interpersonal skills through working with clients. I have developed so much respect for the field of social work from watching how they help people in hopeless situations every day. SEA has shown me what it’s like to work in a supportive office that truly cares about their clients and does everything they can to help them.”