Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk, assistant professor of elementary education: The goal of the project is to further the community commitment in Delaware County to address the issue of poverty.

Jennifer Strempka, public relations and communication studies major:  I think that poverty has been an extremely difficult issue to address and coming in as ten students we were kind of like, "Well how can we make a difference?  What are we going to do about this problem that nobody has been able to solve?"  Our primary community partner this semester has been TeamWORK for Quality Living.  They've really provided us the opportunity to talk to people with low-income situations as well as provided us a means to build those relationships and get more involved with the community.

Molly Flodder, Executive Director of TeamWORK for Quality Living:  Our, probably, most well-known tool is a poverty simulation which is a two-and-a-half hour role play situation in which people come in and assume an identity and then try to lead the lives of that identity and deal with the problems that they have.

Jennifer Strempka:  I think that they're very important as a first step into understanding what this problem is and a lot of people that go through it go into it with a different mind-set and come out of it with a completely different attitude. 

Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk:  We have been working not only with TeamWORK for Quality Living but with Indiana Public Radio and the students will be producing four, five-minute radio programs.  The seminar is called Voice and Vision and what they have been doing is interviewing people in the community that are living in poverty to help profile those voices.

Jennifer Strempka:  We're able to speak to people, give them a voice, see what their vision is, and give them a medium through radio to express those concerns.

Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk:  It's about everyone sharing their individual knowledge and expertise and talent and making a contribution to something that really is going to benefit the community.

Jennifer Strempka:  It's a student guided project and if we see an opportunity to come up with a project or pursue something we are allowed to do that.

Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk:  I don't think we ever give students enough opportunities to make those kinds of decisions and when we do the most amazing things happen.

Jennifer Strempka:  What we've been learning throughout the semester is that it really it just takes relationships.  It's not about money, its not about education, it's not about government.  It's about connecting with people in your community and trying to make a difference

Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk:  I think one of the most interesting and most wonderful things that has happened during the course of this seminar is not just that students have learned about the community in Muncie.  It's that students have become part of that community.

Jennifer Strempka:  This is the college experience that I am going to remember for the rest of my life and if I had the opportunity to do it again I absolutely would.