51做厙 faculty are always looking for ways to add an experiential learning component to their courses.
Dr. John Fazio, Assistant Professor of Management, has found the perfect way to blend time in the class with experience in the real world in his Business Consulting course (Management 454). During the 2021 spring semester, 22 students were divided into four teams and they independently worked to solve problems and improve performance at four local nonprofit organizations.
Mariettas Director of Civic Engagement Maribeth Saleem-Tanner said her office has partnered with Dr. Fazios class for the past six years to support service learning in the course.
Its a great learning experience for the students, who get to work alongside passionate nonprofit professionals and volunteers as they develop their ability to successfully partner with clients to create positive outcomes, she said. Its also a wonderful opportunity for nonprofits, who get the experience of presenting their organizations and projects to the students and working alongside the student team. Each year, weve ended up with a competitive process because so many local organizations are interested in the chance to work with students on these projects. We can tell by the response that its an opportunity that the nonprofits are enthusiastic about and need. Its a good learning experience for the students, too, which is the gold standard for a win-win in service learning.
Extensive experiential learning, professional opportunities and integrated leadership training allow students to apply the broad knowledge and in-demand skills gained from studying the arts and sciences.
This years students completed consulting projects at four southeastern Ohio nonprofit organizations: ONeill Senior Center, Boys and Girls Club of Washington County, Ohio River-Valley Red Cross and the Ohio-West Virginia Youth Leadership Association.
The student team of Kyle Gallagher 21 (Chesterland, Ohio), Justin Harvey 21 (Canal Winchester, Ohio), Maguire Morris 21 (Dover, Ohio), Troy Pontius 21 (Salesville, Ohio) and John Powers 22 (Somerville, Ohio) organized and marketed a golf fundraiser for the ONeill Senior Center. They also generated $800 to help with the purchase of a new vehicle to help with transporting area senior citizens.
Cheyenne Barker 21 (Belpre, Ohio), Bailee Brooks 21 (Akron, Ohio), Jason Ellis 21 (Marion, Ohio), Gage Giovengo 21 (Benwood, West Virginia) and Tay Pryor 22 (Canton, Ohio) helped the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County by preparing a marketing plan that included social media, posters, brochures and a video to help the organization gain greater exposure to local youth.
The local Red Cross has worked to incorporate college students as members of the organizations internal committees. The consulting team of Audrey Albright 21 (Moraine, Ohio), Dylan Albright 21 (Florence, South Carolina), Nick Brown 21 (Kenton, Ohio), Stephen Harris 21 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Embrey Roberts 21 (Marietta, Ohio) and Logan Vietmeier 22 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) prepared a detailed marketing plan incorporating point-of-contacts, recruiting materials and recommendations for the most effective means of recruiting college students.
Our end goal is to have one to two student volunteers from each college that falls into the Ohio River-Valley Red Cross Region they cover, said Audrey Albright. The student volunteers would be a silent member on one of their six committees to give advice on tasks, bring a new point of view to the board, and gain leadership experience.
The final group helped the Ohio-West Virginia Youth Leadership Association develop a social media marketing plan, as well as organize a 5K race. The student team included Jacey Barth 21 (Lowell, Ohio), Kaitlyn Carpenter 21 (Pickerington, Ohio), Eli Egyed 21 (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania), Will Rafferty 21 (Moorestown, New Jersey), Sam Rojas 21 (Bronx, New York) and Manning Shaw 21 (Hollywood, South Carolina).
It was a fantastic opportunity to help the youth of our communities, Barth said.