The historic 2008 presidential election provided unprecedented opportunities to engage young people in civic education--including heated classroom debates on contentious issues, social studies lessons on the electoral process, and opportunities to volunteer for national and local campaigns. Civic engagement can take many forms, including individual volunteerism, community involvement, electoral participation, and service learning. But as Nicky Martin, a service learning trainer at Education Northwest, pointed out, "If service isn't linked to the curriculum and totally integrated, it's not service learning. It's just service." Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, echoed the belief that service learning needs to be well-conceived and planned, and not simply a requirement that students "do service." This article takes a look at the experience of Montana social studies and language arts teacher, Sally Broughton, who shows just how empowering service learning can be if it is embedded in the academic curriculum.