Table 2.

Follow-up Email Survey Theme Counts and Example Commentaries

Themes and Example Quotes (placement site)	Senior Center (N = 5)	Senior Residence (N = 3)	Total coded comments in Theme
1. Positive Reflections General<br1>“Overall this project affected me in a positive way.” (Senior Center)<br1>“My service learning experience was a great learning experience.” (Senior Residence)	4	4	8
2. Negative Reflections* General NA (Senior Center)<br1>“I had such high hopes for the development I would attain and working with a Senior and getting the human aspect of people really intrigued me. However, once I got to the location it slowly started falling apart.” (Senior Residence)	0	4	4
3. Positive Attitudes about Seniors<br1>“Doing a service learning project has changed my life because it definitely changed the way I look at seniors.” (Senior Center)<br1>“I had a great time working with my assigned senior resident at the [Senior Residence] and we were able to make a special connection.” (Senior Residence)	7	3	10
4. Professional Skill Development<br1>“I have learned many things that take place on the work field that I wouldn’t be able to learn in books.” (Senior Center)<br1>“I also learned the importance of scheduling appointments and keeping appointments. I also learned to manage my time between work, school, and my project.” (Senior Residence)	2	5	7
5. Impact on Career Choice/Interest<br1>“It has definitely opened up doors for me and I decided to minor in Gerontology. Ever since then I have been volunteering at the Geriatrics department at the … Medical Center.” (Senior Center)<br1>“Before this service learning project, the scope of my career interests were very narrow. This opened my eyes up to the world of assisted and independent living.” (Senior Residence)	3	2	5

^*All of the negative reflections were from one student’s response