Posted 2:27 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015
UW-La Crosse students are supporting United Way — and many other non-profit organizations in the community like it — through a new, non-profit network.
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Assistant Professor Lei Zhang, English, helps prepare students for interviewing food distribution recipients at WAFER on Saturday, Feb. 28. The interviews are part of a larger research project students are working on about poverty in America. Their project will assist Great Rivers United Way.[/caption]
The Great Rivers United Way is known for supporting the La Crosse area by uniting people and improving lives. Now UW-La Crosse students are supporting United Way — and many other non-profit organizations in the community like it.
A new, non-profit network on campus pairs UW-L student researchers with non-profit organizations that need assistance with projects.
“The goal is to provide meaningful research for students to work on and the results they produce can be used by someone in the community,” says Scott Cooper, UW-L professor and director of Undergraduate Research & Creativity. “This will also strengthen ties between the campus and community.”
The non-profit network started in fall 2014. Many organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity to The Parenting Place, have already signed up to get research assistance. The network is modeled after UW-L’s Policy Research Network, which connects UW-L student researchers with civic leaders who have policy-related questions.
Great Rivers United Way is requesting help researching unmet community needs and also asking UW-L English students to help to tell the story of poverty in the community through regional data, narrative and community photographs.
“As a non-profit organization, we don’t have a ton of extra resources,” says Aubrey Stetter-Hesselberg, Community Needs Assessment Specialist for Great Rivers United Way. “When we heard about this project, we immediately started thinking about unmet needs and unresolved goals within our organization.”
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Students in Lei Zhang's Advanced Composition course are working on a project for Great Rivers United Way, one of many projects starting around campus as part of a new non-profit network.[/caption]
The work for Great Rivers United Way has already started in Assistant Professor Lei Zhang’s Advanced Composition course. Students are learning advanced research, interviewing and writing skills. They also learned general techniques for taking photos of their subjects. Their work will help tell the story of people living in poverty in the community and will be part of Great Rivers United Way’s COMPASS NOW 2015 Report, a community needs-assessment published in the fall. The needs assessment is data-driven, so the addition of these stories will add a personal element, says Stetter-Hesselberg.
“It is my hope that by adding this emotional piece to the report, more awareness and interest will be generated and potentially enhance the community conversation around how community members can end the cycle of poverty,” says Stetter-Hesselberg.
Nathan Kober, a sophomore in Zhang’s class, is interested in pursuing a career in journalism. Interviewing is “something I’ll have to get used to if I follow through with a journalism degree,” he says.
The class started the project by researching and writing a paper on poverty in America. That too has been a learning experience, says Kober.
“The size of the problem is kind of unexpected,” he says. “You don’t think of it being as widespread as it is.”
Stetter-Hesselberg says witnessing poverty up-close through interviews may also be an eye-opening experience for students.
“It’s beneficial and vital to recognize the privileges we have,” she says. “With that privilege comes responsibility. This is a good way to get that discussion going and for students to see that on a personal level.”
The project is also a way for students to build their writing portfolio that they can use for job and graduate school applications. Zhang used her portfolio to land her first journalism job and later get into graduate school.
“I’d been looking for an opportunity for students to write stories about people living in the community,” says Zhang. “In most classes, students write academic research papers, but they don’t get the experience of interviewing people and working on a community-related issue.”
Students' projects culminate with the creation of a website on poverty in America where their research papers, stories and photos will be published.
Assistant Professor Lei Zhang, English, helps prepare students for interviewing food distribution recipients at WAFER on Saturday, Feb. 28. The interviews are part of a larger research project students are working on about poverty in America. Their project will assist Great Rivers United Way.[/caption]
The Great Rivers United Way is known for supporting the La Crosse area by uniting people and improving lives. Now UW-La Crosse students are supporting United Way — and many other non-profit organizations in the community like it.
A new, non-profit network on campus pairs UW-L student researchers with non-profit organizations that need assistance with projects.
“The goal is to provide meaningful research for students to work on and the results they produce can be used by someone in the community,” says Scott Cooper, UW-L professor and director of Undergraduate Research & Creativity. “This will also strengthen ties between the campus and community.”
The non-profit network started in fall 2014. Many organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity to The Parenting Place, have already signed up to get research assistance. The network is modeled after UW-L’s Policy Research Network, which connects UW-L student researchers with civic leaders who have policy-related questions.
Great Rivers United Way is requesting help researching unmet community needs and also asking UW-L English students to help to tell the story of poverty in the community through regional data, narrative and community photographs.
“As a non-profit organization, we don’t have a ton of extra resources,” says Aubrey Stetter-Hesselberg, Community Needs Assessment Specialist for Great Rivers United Way. “When we heard about this project, we immediately started thinking about unmet needs and unresolved goals within our organization.”
[caption id="attachment_39143" align="alignright" width="300"] Students in Lei Zhang's Advanced Composition course are working on a project for Great Rivers United Way, one of many projects starting around campus as part of a new non-profit network.[/caption]
The work for Great Rivers United Way has already started in Assistant Professor Lei Zhang’s Advanced Composition course. Students are learning advanced research, interviewing and writing skills. They also learned general techniques for taking photos of their subjects. Their work will help tell the story of people living in poverty in the community and will be part of Great Rivers United Way’s COMPASS NOW 2015 Report, a community needs-assessment published in the fall. The needs assessment is data-driven, so the addition of these stories will add a personal element, says Stetter-Hesselberg.
“It is my hope that by adding this emotional piece to the report, more awareness and interest will be generated and potentially enhance the community conversation around how community members can end the cycle of poverty,” says Stetter-Hesselberg.
Nathan Kober, a sophomore in Zhang’s class, is interested in pursuing a career in journalism. Interviewing is “something I’ll have to get used to if I follow through with a journalism degree,” he says.
The class started the project by researching and writing a paper on poverty in America. That too has been a learning experience, says Kober.
“The size of the problem is kind of unexpected,” he says. “You don’t think of it being as widespread as it is.”
Stetter-Hesselberg says witnessing poverty up-close through interviews may also be an eye-opening experience for students.
“It’s beneficial and vital to recognize the privileges we have,” she says. “With that privilege comes responsibility. This is a good way to get that discussion going and for students to see that on a personal level.”
The project is also a way for students to build their writing portfolio that they can use for job and graduate school applications. Zhang used her portfolio to land her first journalism job and later get into graduate school.
“I’d been looking for an opportunity for students to write stories about people living in the community,” says Zhang. “In most classes, students write academic research papers, but they don’t get the experience of interviewing people and working on a community-related issue.”
Students' projects culminate with the creation of a website on poverty in America where their research papers, stories and photos will be published.