Students at OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY took Service-Learning to a higher level this past semester as members of Velma Gooding’s Business Communication Class. Their opportunity came from the Alamo City Black Chamber of Commerce. Students where given opportunities in various areas such as Web Design, Marketing, Public Relations, Finance, and Human Resources to help improve the Alamo City Black Chamber as part of a Service-Learning based curriculum. Edward Hernandez, member of the CISS/Web Design team had this to say, “It is great to gain experience in my field of study and help the community at the same time”. Edward is a junior at Our Lady of The Lake University and hopes to graduate Spring 09.
            Students in the Finance team have worked hard all semester to find new and exciting ways to raise money and membership for the Chamber. They have come up with ideas such as mixers, membership drive, silent auctions and many other ways to raise money. Derek Galmore, a junior and kinesiology major at OLLU, had this to say about his experience, “It feels very satisfying to know my ideas could be used by the chamber. I have gotten great experience in working with the Chamber and enjoyed being part of something bigger than me and school”. Other students from his group had the same reactions. But it wasn’t just Derek’s group mates that felt this way.
            Members of the Human Resources Management team have also been very hard at work for the Chamber this semester. This team was charged with the task of encouraging and promoting membership for the Chamber. As any business owner would tell you the hardest task is recruitment. These students devoted an entire semester to finding and developing ways to inform members of the business community about the Chamber. The students discovered a few ways they feel would help the Chamber including brochures with tear-off applications to make it easier for business owners to just fill out documents and mail them in. “I’ve really enjoyed this experience this semester. I developed networking skills and gained real-life experience through this Service-Learning project,” said Debbie Garcia, a junior Human Resources Management major of OLLU. Garcia also stated she would be extremely satisfied to know she helped her community if any of her ideas are used.
            For others in the class this Service-Learning project was not just great experience, but also a great way to learn about other aspects of business. A student from the Marketing team stated “This opportunity helped me view marketing in a different way. I had always assumed it was just getting the word out there about your business but its not. It’s about being able to go and make an actual connection with people that will bring them to you,” said Iris Freitag, senior Human Resources Management major. Freitag’s team analyzed and discussed many different ideas on how to market the Alamo City Chamber and are confident what they have will please members of the Chamber’s Board.