Learning by showing up: Bethel students cultivate community in St. Paul

While the ground may be frozen, stories of summer growth and connection are still warming hearts. On Tuesday, November 11, Bethel University Library’s Fireside Room hosted a Primetime event titled Engaged learning: Cultivating community through story and soil. Bethel seniors Laura Hunt ’26, Megan Hayton ’26, and Preston Meyers ’26 reflected on their summer spent gardening alongside residents in St. Paul neighborhoods. This was through a partnership with the Urban Farm and Garden Alliance (UFGA) and Bethel’s Center for Community Engaged Learning. The experience was also part of Bethel’s Community Work-Study program, which places students with local organizations to learn through place-based community engagement.

Learning presence in the garden

Laura Hunt ’26, an English and philosophy major, expected her summer to be about planting seeds and pulling weeds. Instead, she discovered a part of St. Paul's deeply rooted community—where the work was just as much about presence as it was about produce.

“What I learned from gardening was to notice the small, beautiful, simple things that are in gardens,” Hunt says. “When you get close to these plants and you learn to tune into the little things—there's so much beauty that you wouldn't normally notice.”

One of her favorite experiences was cultivating the “pickle garden”—a student-managed plot in the Frogtown Rondo Midway area where she and the team planted cucumbers, dill, and onions. “It was special because we got to pick out all of our own vegetables to plant,” Hunt shares. “It's so easy to get anything we want as soon as possible nowadays, through Amazon and online shopping, but this experience of digging in the dirt—being able to plant your own food and watch it grow—was a really beautiful process to be a part of.”

That lesson was lived out in the slow-growing pickle garden, where early challenges gave way to a flourishing harvest. “Something I really took away was the power and beauty of living in a process and living through a season.” It reminded Hunt of the value in process—how growth can come quietly, over time.

The garden was rooted in a community with a complex history. The culturally diverse neighborhoods of Frogtown and Rondo were deeply impacted by the construction of Interstate 94, which displaced many families, businesses, and reshaped the neighborhood. Bethel has had a sustained and intentional presence in this area through partnerships, service, and academic engagement—living out a commitment to restorative work grounded in faith and compassion.

On Wednesdays, Hunt also served in the Aurora Peace Sanctuary Garden, coordinating snacks and activities with neighborhood children. “It was special to learn from these kids that don't have many green spaces, and being a part of this experience for them.”

Her time in the garden deepened her understanding of community. “The Peace Sanctuary Garden was a really special part of being involved with the community and the celebrations,” she says. “I feel like the theme of the whole UFGA summer was friendship. Not only making friends with the community and the little bugs—but with each other.”

Serving by showing up

Megan Hayton ’26, an education major, learned that impact doesn’t always come from grand gestures—it starts with small acts of presence, consistency, and care. “I believe an experience like this of serving communities—even small communities—can bring about great impact.”

During the summer, Hayton helped expand a partnership with The JK Movement, a St. Paul childcare and mentorship program, to bring more children to weekly garden events at Peace Sanctuary Garden. Though she initially worried about the logistics, the outcome was powerful. “Children come here as a safe place to play,” she explains. “We would bring healthy, nutritious meals at the end of each event for them.” Every child received a garden spot with three different plants and had the chance to water and care for them each week. 

She saw gardening as a pathway to not only community service—but also environmental awareness. “Part of neighborhood reparations is understanding the environment in which you are in,” she shares. “Nature is actually our neighbor—and our partner. To touch the earth, breathe in the clear, crisp air... and realize that nature is in tune with us.”

Hayton acknowledged the challenges of stepping into new community work. “You may think, ‘what can I do? I'm just one person. Is it really my place to help?’” she reflects. “I believe that there's so much to be gained from community and investing in that community, and I'm still learning how to do that.”

Moments of connection reminded her that this work mattered. One day in the gardens, as children were asked to quiet down, a child simply said to her, “This is where I can play.” For Hayton, that small statement affirmed the importance of their presence.

“I believe that we can all make tangible movements of change in our lives,” she says. “It starts when you know your neighbor and learn to serve with peace in what you do.”

Letting community be the teacher

Preston Meyers ’26, a history and social work major, immediately noticed the stark environmental disparities between his suburban hometown and the St. Paul neighborhoods where he worked.

A recent workshop through the Newman Civic Fellowship helped Meyers process what he experienced in the gardens. One session focused on how traditional American lawns—maintained with pesticides and excessive watering—can work against the environment rather than with it. That stuck with him as he thought back on his summer work.

“Let nature take hold a little bit,” he says—a reflection that now helps him see the value in the slow, patient work he and others did in the soil. “We just kept working at it—laying down mulch, adding fish emulsion, and taking care of the garden,” he says. “After a few weeks, we finally saw it grow. We got five cucumbers, a bunch of peppers—and we made our own pickles.”

Yet the most lasting lessons came not from the harvest, but from relationships. By working alongside neighbors, Meyers saw the power of listening and presence. “Being present really just means surrendering all doubts, all worries, and surrendering yourself to whoever you’re with,” he says. “I learned so much from community members and leaders—about their lives, their stories, and the history of Rondo.”

For Meyers, community meant simple, everyday moments: “I feel like that’s what being in community means—having these little conversations with the people you’re working with or working for. They make a big impact.”

A work-study experience that shapes more than skills

The Community Work-Study program at Bethel is part of a broader institutional effort to integrate faith, scholarship, and service. Students earn part of their federal work-study award while serving with local organizations—but the deeper impact comes through transformational experiences as they grow alongside the communities and people they serve.

Connecting learners and practitioners through community collaboration.

In alliance with the Bethel Frogtown/Summit-University Partnership (PAC), the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) fosters academic and place-based community collaborations that provide rich educational learning opportunities for Bethel students and neighborhood partners.  

Learn more