CELEBRATE! 2011 continued Thursday afternoon at Elon University with four student presentations on academic service-learning projects that involved community outreach over the past year.
Seniors Courtney Graham and Alex Moss, who on May 21 will be the first two Civic Engagement Schools to graduate from Elon, reflected on their projects for Kopper Top Life Learning Center and with Sustainable Alamance, respectively.
Graham helped Kopper Top secure a grant for training a longtime volunteer. Moss described his work in helping to establish a community garden in East Burlington for an organization that helps ex-offender acclimate to life outside of prison through life training and job opportunities.
Their presentation in McCoy Commons was followed by the Elon University Bateman Team, which shared the process and results of the recent “Better Luck With Your Buck” financial literacy campaign. Molly Cox, Alex Harrington, Annie Hellweg and Liz Moy are finalists in the 2011 Bateman Case Study Competition and will travel to New York next month to compete for the top honor.
The team used the service-learning afternoon forum as an opportunity to practice their presentation.
“We created a campaign that touched lives,” Cox said of the team’s springtime events to share with students and the public how to better manage personal finances. “It wasn’t about numbers. It was about making a difference.”
Hannah Gardner and Cait Fitzpatrick then led a 20-minute presentation on teaching creative writing in the community. Rachel Banner followed with the final service-learning presentation of the day, which examined healthy development for adolescent girls.