ANN ARBOR—Change is what Ryan LaLonde, a 1993 graduate of Standish-Sterling Central High School and a senior at the University of Michigan, sees when he volunteers in the community. Change in the community, change in other people and change in himself.

LaLonde is actively involved in outreach both on- and off- campus. Through the U-M Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, he coordinates outreach and educational programs for the Native American community on-campus. He volunteers in the Ann Arbor area as a coordinator at U-M’s Project SERVE, the campus organization which links over 1,500 student volunteers with more than 150 community agencies each year.

“I really see the importance of social service and change and the effect that it has not only on other people but also on me,” said LaLonde, an art major and the first person in his immediate family to attend college. “I set up community service sites at local gay community organizations and I program events that reach out to the entire campus to educate and help people overcome their prejudices.”

LaLonde, of Standish, is the son of Dennis and Vickie LaLonde. He chose to attend U-M “because it gave me the most in financial aid and because the Art School is within a large school atmosphere.”

Project SERVE is part of the Office of Community Service Learning (OCSL). Its mission is “to foster, through community service and social action, a student movement at the U-M that thoughtfully addresses the challenges that we face as a society.” OCSL offers credit and non-credit opportunities for U-M students to be involved in community service and social action.