Ranye McLendon

Learning to serve

A college student reaches back to help high school students fulfill service learning requirement.

By Jessica Bizik
Photography by Chris Crews

Family means everything to Ranye McLendon. That’s why she was disappointed when she could not suggest any service learning opportunities for one of her younger cousins. As one of fifteen children, Ranye works hard to set an example for the young children in her family.

Baltimore City Public School students need seventy-five service learning hours in order to graduate from high school. Unfortunately, students do not have access to a database for service learning opportunities. That’s when the Baltimore City College graduate had an “Aha moment”. She would create a website and a mobile app for organizations to post their volunteer opportunities. Users of the app would be able to view different events in the community and also track their service learning hours. And then students and other members of the community would be able to access local current positions. “I want it to be for everyone. When people have events, they need volunteers. If somebody needs volunteers for an event, this is where you go,” she explained her vision to have volunteer opportunities in the palm of teenage students’ hands.

Growing up in Baltimore, Ranye moved often. “My mom moved a lot, so I’ve lived everywhere in the city.” As a computer engineering major at UMBC, Ranye will be the first of her siblings to graduate from college. “My older siblings weren’t role models for me. I want to be role models for my younger siblings.” She prides herself on spoiling her younger siblings and hope that one day they will be able to use the app she’s created.