Manchester 'Principles of Marketing' Class Partners with Local Organization
Noah Tong
Professor Beth Driscoll’s Principles of Marketing course is aiding a local business for the second straight year, all while the students are learning important business concepts.
They are working with the Learn More Center, an organization that gives adults the opportunity to earn an education previously unattainable to them, which is located in North Manchester and Wabash, Indiana.
“They approached us last year, so I wanted to continue with that relationship,” Driscoll explained. “Last year the class created beautiful marketing plans, and overall did a very good job.
“The one thing about the Learn More Center is that they are limited on staff and money,” Driscoll continued. “We weren’t able to actually implement anything last year. They don’t have the time or money to do it, so I wanted us to actually implement something for them.”
Students in the class were tasked with creating a fundraiser during Giving Tuesday, a global initiative of international charity. They also completed awareness efforts around the community by talking to local businesses face-to-face in order to leave flyers and money jars around town. Donations will go toward books, laptops, teacher salaries and students’ high school equivalency exam fees.
“What I like is the students actually get experience working with a client,” Driscoll said. They have to talk to these businessmen and businesswomen in the not-for-profit world. And they have to understand the barriers they are facing while being extremely creative.”
Driscoll noted that the opportunity allows students to learn how to schedule and prioritize their time with other classes, yet, as she puts it, “still make time for the client in just 15 weeks.”
In the future, Driscoll hopes to continue this mutually beneficial partnership with the Learn More Center.
“The hope is we could get a grant for the university with not-for-profits for internships,” she said. “Hopefully we can make that happen for them to get a paid summer intern. Then they are able to implement the plans from both years.”
Driscoll encourages Manchester students to stop and think about how they can utilize their education to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“Not everyone has the opportunities we have at Manchester,” Driscoll began. “Education is a privilege. Many of these people have had tough life barriers happen to them that has forced them to make decisions other than completing high school or going on to college.
“It’s often hard to find the time and resources to get back on track with their education,” she continued. “But education is one of the tools to eliminate poverty which makes the entire community better.”
The work done by the marketing class is not going unnoticed in the community, already generating press in local newspapers such as the Wabash Plain Dealer. Along with the Learn More Center, Driscoll’s class also carried out promotional efforts for Wabash CrossFit.
Ultimately, Driscoll hopes the stigma that is associated with adult education disappears.
“Just because someone didn’t graduate high school doesn’t mean they aren’t a good person or that they’re stupid,” she said. “It’s just that life happened.”