Ball State Energy Modeling / Data Mine
Faculty Mentors: Steve Guo & Drew Lazar; Department of Mathematical Sciences
Community Partner: Ball State Facilities Management and Sustainability
Description: Hundreds of campus energy meters generate data that remains largely unanalyzed. Our project aims to build an effective time series modeling system from this data, enabling accurate prediction, planning, monitoring, and goal setting. These models will also discern the impact of key variables such as weather and occupancy. We are integrating our models and code into both an Open Energy Dashboard and a stand-alone modeling platform, supporting decisions to reduce operating costs and diminish the environmental impact of our university's energy usage.
Building a Community of Practice Partnership
Faculty Mentors: Cresta Hancock, Department of Educational Studies; Andrew Gatza & Jenna Menke, Department of Mathematical Sciences; Susanna Benko & Barbara Handt, Department of English
Community Partner: Muncie Northside Middle School
Description: Students are working in the Northside Middle School building a community of practice.
Cardinal Weather Service
Faculty Mentor: Nathan Hitchens, School of Earth, Atmosphere, and Sustainability
Community Partners: Ball State Athletics, Cardinal Greenways, Muncie Downtown Development, Others
Description: Students participating in the Cardinal Weather Service create and share daily forecasts and weather information with campus and community partners, and also post forecasts on social media for use by everyone in the area. Through this experience students improve their weather forecasting and analysis skills while learning how to communicate to a variety of audiences. Campus and community partners use the forecasts and information provided by the Cardinal Weather Service for planning and decision-making purposes.
Commission and Collaboration: Art in Public Spaces
Faculty Mentor: Brent Cole, School of Art
Community Partner: Village Hotel interior Gettys Design Group
Description: Commission and Collaboration: Art in Public Spaces will utilize student design collaboration to propose and execute a work of art for the lobby space of the new Village Hotel in Muncie, IN.
Community Center Learning Project and Presentation
Faculty Mentor: Jenny Schilling, Department of Educational Studies
Community Partner: Boys and Girls Club of Muncie
Description: This project entailed students volunteering at a local Community Center. Based on their experiences and their own field of study, they created an immersive project to present a multiple day lesson plan at the Community Center.
Community Social Support
Faculty Mentor: George Gaither, Department of Psychological Sciences
Community Partners: StillWaters Counseling, LifeStream Services, and GenderNexus
Description: Community Social Support is a course where students have worked alongside community partners (StillWaters Counseling, LifeStream Services, and GenderNexus) to learn the why and how behind creating and running support groups, so they could facilitate support groups bi-weekly for caregivers and individuals identifying as gender diverse in the Muncie community from Spring 2025 to Spring 2026. This class originally began in Fall of 2024 with a partnership with Indiana 211 to update their community resource finder since it lacked updated information about local support groups and has since then emerged into the perfect opportunity to create and provide support groups to populations with high unmet needs at the state and county level.
Computer Science for Muncie (and surrounding) Schools (CS4MS+)
Faculty Mentor: Dave Largent, Department of Computer Science
Community Partners: Burris, Indiana Academy, Inspire Academy, North View Elementary, Northside Middle School, Ross Community Center
Description: Partnering with local schools and community organizations, the Computer Science for Muncie (and Surrounding) Schools (CS4MS+) project team researched, developed, curated, and delivered instructional resources which incorporate Computer Science (CS) into educational offerings, with a focus on the Indiana CS academic standards, and worked to advance teachers’ understanding of CS and/or interacted with their students as a teaching assistant. Although CS student focused, an interdisciplinary project team was sought, with another project focus being to expose underrepresented minorities and females to CS.
Data Analytics - Community Results
Faculty Mentor: Melinda Messineo, Department of Anthropology and Sociology
Community Partner: Second Harvest
Description: Capstone students used their data gathering and analytics skills to provide critical information for our community partners, Second Harvest. This data is used in their grant writing efforts to support the Big Idea program. These NACE transferable skills bring real world problem-solving skills to life.
Designing a Sustainable Off-Season Revenue Strategy for Salt Creek Golf Retreat
Faculty Mentor: Kwang-Ho Lee, Department of Applied Business Studies
Community Partner: Salt Creek Golf Retreat
Description: In this immersive strategic lodging operations course, students partnered with Salt Creek Golf Retreat in Nashville, Indiana, to address a critical operational challenge: low winter occupancy. Serving as consulting teams, students conducted a comprehensive analysis of online travel agency (OTA) reviews, market positioning, pricing strategies, market segmentation, and guest experience design. Based on these insights, they developed data-driven winter revenue strategies centered on food and beverage innovation, special events, and experiential programming to generate demand during the off-season.
Through this applied experience, students strengthened their ability to apply revenue management principles, assess competitive positioning, and design experience-based initiatives that promote sustainable ADR growth beyond simple price discounting. Each team delivered a professional consulting report and executive presentation supported by thorough market and financial analysis.
By proposing strategic solutions for off-season operations, the project contributes to the local community by promoting year-round business sustainability, supporting employment stability, and enhancing winter-season programming at the target lodging property during traditionally low-demand months.
Digital Immersive Project - New Castle, IN
Faculty Mentor: Chris Wilkey, Department of Marketing
Community Partners: New Castle Main Street; New Castle Chamber of Commerce; Blue River Taphouse; Jack's Donuts Drive Thru
Description: This spring (2026), MKG 490 students partnered with New Castle Main Street and five downtown businesses to strengthen their digital presence through hands-on, client-based work. Students completed digital marketing audits and strategic recommendations, then produced professional assets such as photo and video content, social media materials, and website updates that the businesses can use immediately while giving students real-world, agency-style experience.
Dunebrook, Inc. Interior
Faculty Mentor: Reza Ahmadi, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design
Community Partner: Dunebrook Inc. (Michigan City, IN)
Description: In IDES 224: Interior Design Studio 2, students engaged in a real-world community engaged design project focused on reimagining the interior environment of Dunebrook, a nonprofit organization serving children and families through trauma-informed services. Students worked in teams to analyze existing conditions and develop interior design proposals that respond to evolving workplace needs, hybrid work patterns, and client-centered programming. The project emphasized flexibility, confidentiality, safety, and a welcoming atmosphere for children and families, while integrating space planning, furniture selection, finishes, lighting, and 3D visualization. This studio project challenged students to balance functional requirements with empathy-driven design, preparing them for professional practice through collaboration with a real client.
Early Care and Learning Provider Experiences
Faculty Mentor: Katie Lawson, Department of Psychological Sciences
Community Partner: TRAC - Training, Resource, and Advocacy Connector for East Central Indiana
Description: Over half of families in East Central Indiana live in a childcare desert which prohibits parents from working, contributes to families living in poverty, and has negative impacts on local economies. These deserts can also pressure families to rely on unreliable and/or lower quality childcare, which has negative implications for children’s development and preparedness for kindergarten. In this course, students partnered with TRAC to tell the story of early care and learning (ECL) providers ñ including the joys, challenges, needs, and impact of the field on the community/society. TRAC is the Training, Resource, and Advocacy Connector for East Central Indiana, a program within the East Central Indiana Talent Collaborative that focuses specifically on ECL providers.
Students visited local facilities, conducted focus groups, and created a survey to better understand the experiences of ECL providers in East Central Indiana. Students used this information to create social media materials to be used by TRAC and each of its communities. The students learned foundational knowledge related to early care and learning (birth to 5 years) in the U.S., practiced implementing their psychological science research skills, and used their critical thinking skills to implement best practices for communicating messages to a variety of stakeholders, including parents, future professionals in the field, business owners, economic developers.
Exploring the Forge Your Future Project
Faculty Mentor: DeAnne Taggart, Department of Educational Studies
Community Partner: East Central Education Service Center
Description: All sections of EdSe 380 and EdJh 385 participated in a "Forge your Future" experience offered by the East Central Education Service Center (located in New Castle, Indiana) on Wednesday, October 15, 2026. This event took place in the parking lot next to the Teacher's College and the morning sections met from 8:30 to 10:20 a.m. and 1:00 to 2:50 p.m. Both classes during the Fall 2025 semester were Immersive Learning classes and this experience offered hands-on activities that immersed our future teachers in elements related to the RIASEC assessment, used by many secondary schools throughout the state/nation to help students understand their skill areas and interests to support them in exploring work-based learning options and possible careers.
The East Central ESC drove a mobile trailer to the campus of Ball State University and set up 6 different canopies that represented each of the RIASEC descriptors (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional). Each canopy housed activities that secondary students explore through the Forge Your Future program, essentially providing our preservice teachers with similar experiences to what their future students experience. The last 30 minutes of the Forge Your Future experience included a 30-minute PD session for both the morning and afternoon sections of EDSE 380 and EDJH 385. In total, this experience connected over 150 preservice teachers to this approach, the same that multiple secondary schools in Indiana are utilizing to develop career-ready students.
Health Communication in a Nonprofit Organization: Ending the Silence
Faculty Mentor: Marcy Meyer, Department of Communication Studies
Community Partners: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Delaware County, Indiana; Muncie Community Schools
Description: This course explored the intersections of health communication, mental health, not-for-profit organizations, and autoethnography via immersive learning. Students engaged in immersive learning by partnering with a local nonprofit organization, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Delaware County, Indiana. After completing training to become presenters for NAMIís Ending the Silence (ETS) program, students delivered ETS presentations at Muncie Central High School. Students applied autoethnographic methods to document their experiences.
Home Savers of Delaware County
Faculty Mentor: Ben Angelo, Department of Accounting
Community Partner: Home Savers of Delaware County
Description: In Fall 2025, students in ACC 430 helped Home Savers develop a new strategic plan. This plan sets the vision and priorities for Home Savers for the next three years. Additionally, students helped construct two handicap accessibility ramps. In Spring 2026, students helped maintain accounting records of Home Savers and improve internal reporting processes.
Housing Need Assessment with Muncie Land Bank, Muncie, Indiana
Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo, Department of Urban Planning
Community Partner: Muncie Land Bank
Description: The PLAN 203 studio partners with the Muncie Land Bank to assess housing conditions and needs in selected Muncie neighborhoods, including Whitely and Riverside Normal City. Students will inventory, survey, and analyze the housing conditions and address the potential use of abandoned, deteriorated, and vacant properties to assist the Muncie Land Bank.
Immersive Learning Analysis of Fluid Viscosities Used to Treat Human Dysphagia
Faculty Mentor: Mary Ewing, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology
Community Partners: AMG Specialty Hospital, Vertis Therapy, Dawn Condon
Description: The treatment of Dysphagia (uncoordinated or difficulty swallowing) is hampered by the use of various recipes for thickening liquids in swallowing & feeding therapy. Currently, there is a limited standardized methodology for determining the viscosity of liquid levels & dietary modifications. Students collaborated with the community partners, AMG and Vertis Therapy to determine a recipe for thickening Ensure Clear Mixed Berry and Sprite Zero with Medline Food and Beverage Thickening Powder. The goal was to develop standardized recipes that patients could consume safely while maintaining taste and enjoyment.
Immersive Learning Japanese Language through Cultural Exchange
Faculty Mentor: Reiko Habuto Ileleji, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
Community Partners: JASI Japanese Language Learning Support Group, Japanese American Association of Indiana, Nippon Quarterly, COLOR Marketing & Design, Inc.
Description: The primary goal of JAPA 302 Immersive Learning is to strengthen advanced Japanese students’ language proficiency and cultural competence through practical, real-world experiences. Students interact with heritage learners, native speakers, and professionals who use Japanese in Indiana, gaining insight into cultural practices that shape business and social interactions. The course refines language skills while building essential professional competencies, preparing students to communicate effectively in Japanese and multicultural settings.
This year, JAPA 302 students are divided into four community-based projects: First, they organize monthly Japanese cultural events for heritage language children in collaboration with community partners at the Ball State Fishers Center. Second, they write a children’s chapter book based on the experiences of Japanese immigrants in Indiana. Third, they contribute articles and translations to Nippon Quarterly, a bilingual (Japanese-English) magazine serving Japanese Americans in Northwest Indiana. Finally, they update and translate a website that provides useful information for Japanese residents in Indiana and supports local cultural events. Together, these projects provide meaningful, hands-on engagement with the Japanese community.
Impact of Immersive Elementary Math Methods Course
Faculty Mentor: Sam Prough, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Community Partners: West View Elementary, Burris
Description: Students are placed in an elementary classroom for a semester to engage with students' mathematical learning, preparing and teaching small and whole group lessons based on the needs expressed by their mentor teachers. Students also support efforts to connect to informal mathematics learning and children's families by designing and facilitating a Family Math Night at their partner school.
Improving children’s equitable access to play-based learning through community projects
Faculty Mentor: Jiyeon Lee, Department of Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Studies
Community Partner: Mitchell Early Childhood and Family Center in Muncie
Description: In ECYF 252, students partnered with Mitchell Early Childhood and Family Center in Muncie to address challenges in implementing responsive, equitable play-based teaching. The Center values play-based learning but faces difficulties supporting all children-especially those with diverse needs and backgrounds in guided play and responsive play.
Throughout the semester, student teams conducted focal child-based classroom observations, interviews with teachers and families, and home visits. They then analyzed children's play, teachers' teaching, and children's funds of knowledge. They collaboratively designed play-based activities, environment improvements, or family/classroom materials tailored to children's individual interests, cultures, and developmental needs.
Students gained hands-on experience connecting theory to practice, exploring adult roles in play and children's funds of knowledge, and applying responsive play-based teaching. This project supports the community by supporting teachers and/or families enhance responsive play-based learning and promoting equitable access to meaningful play both school and home.
Interior Design at Baymont by Windham Muncie and Waters Edge Village
Faculty Mentor: Sharmin Kader, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design
Community Partners: Baymont by Windham Muncie; Waters Edge Village Muncie
Description: Interior design students partnered with a local hotel, Baymont by Windham Muncie and a local senior living community, Waters Edge Village to design building renovations.
Isaiah 117 House - Fostering care with community connections
Faculty Mentor: Stephanie Ries, Department of Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Studies
Community Partners: Isaiah 117 House and others
Description: The course explores important and complex roles of families in the educational
development of young children. Factors affecting family-child, family-community, and child-
community interactions and skills are studied and related to the educational process.
Pre-service teachers apply principles of family and community engagement by identifying community needs, building local partnerships, securing donations, and organizing fundraising efforts that directly support children entering foster care and the volunteers who serve them.
This project empowers future educators to practice authentic community leadership. Students move beyond theory and actively engage local businesses, organizations, and families to provide comfort items, meals, and appreciation resources for children experiencing one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives and entry into foster care.
Learning Wastewater Management via Analyzing Contaminants of Concern
Faculty Mentor: Bangshuai Han, School of Earth, Atmosphere, and Sustainability
Community Partner: Muncie Wastewater Treatment Plant
Description: The overall goal is to address the need to better understand the presence of contaminants of interest in the wastewater received and treated by the Muncie WWTP and the removal rate of these contaminants, specifically microplastics during the project period of 2025. By collecting and analyzing samples, and observing the morphology of the plastic materials, students was trained with essential technical skills in water quality management.
Throughout the semester, students researched wastewater treatment processes, and designed sampling locations and methods with the help of the Muncie Wastewater Treatment Plant. After sample collection, students analyzed the samples using proper laboratory and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) methods, then evaluated their treated samples through a microscope to count microplastics observed in each sample. The data was then summarized and analyzed and compared with literature and past studies. The students were disseminated to the community partner via a final report, a poster, and a ArcGIS Story map.
Middle School Practicum
Faculty Mentors: Alisa Grady, Department of Educational Studies
Community Partners: Burris Middle School and other Middle Schools
Description:The BSU students are placed in various secondary (mostly middle school but a few high school) classrooms in 12 different schools around the area (Muncie, Pendleton, Jay County, etc.). They are each placed with a mentor teacher (sometimes in their content area, sometimes not) and they have to work with that teacher in their classroom, including developing and teaching their own lessons.
Muncie Food Hub Partnership Immersive Learning Project
Faculty Mentors: Kimberly Lee, Department of Biology; Josh Gruver, School of Earth, Atmosphere, and Sustainability
Community Partners: Muncie Food Hub Partnership and others
Description: Community Natural resource and environmental management students partnered with the Muncie Food Hub whose mission is to is to nourish and strengthen our community through the robust exchange of fresh and affordable local food. We manifest that investment in East Central Indiana food production through business development, education, and civic engagement.
Post Occupancy Evaluation of Indoor Environmental Quality of CAP Building in Renovation
Faculty Mentor: Zahida Khan, Department of Architecture
Community Partner: College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) at Ball State
Description: This immersive learning course focuses on environmental control design strategies in buildings. The architecture students are engaged in STEM research study of a real-life project: The College of Architecture & Planning (CAP) Building Renovation at Ball State, to understand the concepts of building and environmental science. We are investigating the relationship between Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Occupant Behavior, and Building Energy Consumption, using Post-Occupancy Evaluation methods (environmental monitoring sensors and occupant comfort surveys) as hands-on learning tools.
Printing for Communities
Faculty Mentor: Renmei Xu, School of Art
Community Partner: Muncie Animal Rescue Fund (ARF)
Description: The course empowers students to learn, create, and serve by providing accessible, non-profit printing that supports the local communities.
Psychology and Creative Arts
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Fischer, Department of Psychological Sciences
Community Partner: Allied Solutions Center for Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana
Description: As a team, we evaluated standard recreational activity opportunities (with a focus on performance arts), identified things like stimulus that may be more likely to result in escape or avoidance behaviors, or may be below or above optimal thresholds, and designed and implemented changes in structure to remove barriers to participation among individuals who have neurodivergent needs. We partnered with the Allied Solutions Center for Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, and the Carmel, Indiana, Prism Project program staff. The Prism Project is a performance arts program for children and young adults with disabilities that was developed here at Ball State University. The program ended with a public performance that we helped design and produce, and over 200 community members came to see the show.
Radiance Cinema
Faculty Mentors: Mark Cabus, Department of Theatre and Dance; Ben Strack & Sonny Wingler, Department of Media
Community Partner: Heartland International Film Festival
Description: Radiance Cinema is an immersive filmmaking initiative that covers two-semester. It brings first-time student filmmakers from two different colleges (CFA and CCIM) together to create original short films from concept to premiere. The goal isn’t simply to make films, it’s to teach collaboration under real-world conditions: deadlines, budgets, creative disagreement, contract negotiations, accountability. While Radiance Cinema’s five short films premiere annually at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival in Indianapolis, its real success is that it gives students a lived-in, tangible understanding of what it means to function as professionals before they ever leave school.
Rebranding for Real!
Faculty Mentor: Kesha Coker, Department of Marketing
Community Partner: Possibilities Unlocked: Strategic HR Partner (Indianapolis Headquarters)
Description: Community issue: "I'm actively trying to grow my presence as a trusted voice in the HR world, expand into more passive-income offerings and position myself for brand partnerships." (Stacey Dennis, 2025)
The Brand Audit Project (BAP). Students act as branding consultants for the client. They will work collaboratively to apply course concepts to enhance the client's brand. Each student team will conduct a brand audit of the client's brand and develop actionable recommendations to enhance its value.
Deliverables. Each team will deliver the following work to the client:
1. BAP 1. Brand Audit Foundations (written)
2. BAP 2: Recommendations (written)
3. Brand Pitch (final presentation to the client, who will be attending in person)
Students in two sections of the course are participating in the project. The project provides practical value by enhancing the agency's branding while giving my students hands-on experience to build branding skills for their professional careers.
Regional Economic Development Planning
Faculty Mentor: Ruoran Liu, Department of Urban Planning
Community Partners: The Economic Development Group of Connersville and Fayette County; East Central Indiana Talent Collaborative
Description: This project-based studio offers hands-on experience in regional economic development through collaborative research. In the first half of the semester, students created a comprehensive economic plan for Fayette County, Indiana, leveraging multi-agency public data to analyze the region’s socioeconomic and industrial conditions and formulate strategic development recommendations. Building on this foundation, the second half focused on specialized tracks: supply chain mapping and workforce ecosystem analysis. These projects addressed critical challenges in East Central Indiana, specifically the need for industrial diversification and a stronger local talent pipeline.
Shoot for Good Muncie
Faculty Mentor: Martin Smith-Rodden, School of Journalism and Strategic Communication
Community Partners: Various
Description: Shoot for Good Muncie is an immersive documentary photographic storytelling project in which students in JOUR 437 collaborate to document community volunteerism and nonprofit work across Muncie, Indiana. During a 10-day intensive reporting period, every student works in the field as a documentary photojournalist, producing visual stories that highlight local organizations and the people they serve. In addition to creating photographs, students operate within cross-functional teams responsible for planning, editing, logistics coordination, social media strategy, and exhibition design. This mirrors the collaborative structure of professional documentary and newsroom environments. The project allows students to experience the full lifecycle of a major public-interest storytelling initiative, from community outreach and event coordination to publication and public exhibition. Through this work, students develop advanced skills in ethical visual storytelling, teamwork, leadership, and audience engagement while addressing community issues such as food insecurity, access to education, health services, and social support. By amplifying the work of local nonprofits and volunteers, Shoot for Good Muncie demonstrates how documentary photojournalism can strengthen civic awareness, foster community connection, and position students as engaged visual storytellers serving the public good.
Stories by Design
Faculty Mentor: Kathy Unland, Department of Landscape Architecture
Community Partner: Acton Academy at Fall Creek (Pendelton, IN)
Description: Students will author and illustrate children's books on STEM topics in Landscape Architecture (LA). Through working with our community partner, students will (a) learn what types of stories & topics K-5 children are interested in and (b) learn what topics the teachers would like to add to their library. In future visits with our community partner, students will receive real-time feedback for both their draft and final stories. Next, we will self-publish the stories and give copies to our partner.
Stress Management in Autism Care
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Fischer, Department of Psychological Sciences
Community Partner: Advanced Behavioral Consultation
Description: This course engaged students in the development and facilitation of a structured caregiver education and support group focused on stress management, burnout prevention, and community resource sharing for up to 12 caregivers of children with autism. Students planned and conducted brief training modules on stress management, burnout prevention, and community resource navigation. Students also interacted with individuals who have autism through on-site childcare that was overseen by a team of professionals. Students also developed strategies to make resource information available to the public and critically evaluated the success of the caregiver group sessions. Ultimately, they designed a local resource list specific to the needs of caregivers with autism and made that list publicly available.
Student Retention Initiative
Faculty Mentor: Fred Kitchens, Department of Information Systems and Operations Management
Community Partner: Miller College of Business
Description: This project addresses declining freshman retention rates by leveraging and managing more student data than ever before. This data will identify key causes and practical ways to support at-risk students as early as possible in their college career. This approach strives to improve long-term retention rates and improve graduation rates.
The Future of Airport Efficiency
Faculty Mentor: Fred Kitchens, Department of Information Systems and Operations Management
Community Partner: Indianapolis Airport Authority
Description: This project worked with the Indianapolis Airport Authority to modernize check-in and gate operations through the implementation of a cloud computing system. The project focused on selecting a software solution and building a thorough implementation plan. The purpose was to address the airport’s need to improve operational efficiency and delay costly terminal expansion through better use of existing infrastructure.
The Underground Railroad: The Journey to Freedom
Faculty Mentor: Beth A Messner, Department of Communication Studies
Community Partner: Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Team
Description: Students enrolled in COMM 450: Rhetoric and Advocacy explored the intersection of public history, storytelling and advocacy through their immersive learning project. They helped tour "The Underground Railroad: The Journey to Freedom" exhibit across the Muncie community and created new content and experiences for visitors to the exhibit.
Wildlife Preservation
Faculty Mentor: James Rankin, Honors College
Community Partners: Various local rehabilitationists, conservationists, and ecologists.
Description: The goal of the project for HONR 179 is to build greater public awareness of species native to Indiana using science communication techniques learned in class. Students, in small groups, selected a species (or group of species) of focus. Students then partnered with community organizations or individuals involved in conservation, rehabilitation, or education/advocacy of their chosen species, to understand unmet gaps in public understanding regarding the species. Students then design a product of their chose to spread greater public awareness or better educate the public regarding the animal.
Writing for Change – Muncie Mission
Faculty Mentor: Mary Lowry, Department of English
Community Partner: Muncie Mission Ministries, Inc.
Description: In this yearlong course, students achieved the course goals of ENG 103 and 104 through work with the Muncie Mission. In ENG 103, students spent time doing a group rhetorical analysis of the Mission's social media. Students then gave a formal presentation of their findings, making suggestions for increasing engagement on Facebook and Instagram. In ENG 104, students wrote and gave pitches to student organizations to fundraise for the Mission's largest event of the year, Walk A Mile in My Shoes. They also wrote research papers about various issues that affect the Mission and the people they serve. Through this work, in addition to regular service visits, students contributed to the Mission and their aiding community members struggling with addiction and homelessness.
Writing For Change – Recovery Café
Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Ludwig, Department of English
Community Partner: Recovery Café Muncie
Description: Students completed a Facing Project with members of the Recovery Cafe, sharing diverse stories of recovery from members of the cafe, resulting in a physical book. They hosted community facing events to get the book out into the community.
Writing for Change – Westminster Village
Faculty Mentor: Laura Romano, Department of English
Community Partner: Westminster Village
Description: Writing For Change is a two-semester "stretch course" in which students take ENG 103 in the fall and ENG 104 in the spring, with the same professor and group of students. Each of the course's three sections works with a community partner (Westminster Village, The Recovery Cafe, or The Muncie Mission), and the students work with the same community partner throughout the entire year. During the first semester, students read broadly about issues pertinent to community partner while getting to know the specific needs of the community partner. The second semester is spent in direct engagement with the community partner, with the class visiting our community partner at least every other week. The students organized and executed a variety of activities which all served to connect students with our community partner while also allowing for interviewing and discussion to take place.