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Coastal Communities are exposed to multiple hazards including hurricanes, storm surges, waves, and riverine flash floods. This paper presents the outcome of a Basin-wide Flood Multi-hazard Risks module that was developed and offered as part of a collaboration between two research projects: the UPRM-DHS Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The content was designed to give students an understanding of complex project management in coastal communities. The main learning objective was for students to be able to assess and recognize the actions that can be taken to improve resiliency in coastal communities. Students learned how to manage multi-hazard floods. Through knowledge gained by participating in lectures, discussions, and the development of case studies, students were able to assess flood risk and current mitigation strategies for coastal communities in Puerto Rico. The learning experience provided an overview of the history, needs, and challenges that coastal communities face regarding flood and coastal hazards. Through the case studies, students were able to appreciate and understand the risk exposure on the natural and built infrastructure, and the importance of always taking into consideration the social impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Puerto Rico, the exposure to extreme environmental conditions has become part of a new normal. Because of this, the education of professionals to face this new reality is part of the demands of the academia of the present, and to the core of it the concept of servingness as a tool contribute to the formation of students' and faculty sensibility to social dynamics connected to the educational experiences. The Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education - Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP), funded by the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) program of The National Science Foundation (NSF), has been conceptualized including elements of servingness by addressing aspects connected to the learning experience, leadership identity, critical consciousness, academic and research aspirations, and civic engagement all in the context of Puerto Rico's current infrastructural needs. This paper addresses those dynamics by means of the voice of RISE-UP participants, accounting for how the experience generated by the crossroads that the program creates between the professional interdisciplinarity, the approach to infrastructure's sustainability, and the concept of resiliency, have impacted the experience of servingness for students in the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]