BU Communication Students Learning while Giving Back to the Community
Photo by Rampage student photographer Natalie Burgess.
Aspiring graphic designers at Bluefield University have been learning and honing their skills by giving back to the community.
The students are enrolled in a Graphic Communication course called Designing for Graphic Customers. The course is offered every semester and is taught by professor and digital technologist Allen Roberts, who is an assistant professor of graphic communication and chair of the Graphic Communication Department.
In this class, students receive a variety of assignments to improve their graphic design skills, but the latest assignment in the course’s curriculum has allowed students the opportunity to give back to the community. Students have been tasked with creating “visual communication projects” ranging from “logo design to laying out print materials to video production,” Roberts said.
The main goal of the course is to help students hone their skills all while helping many different organizations in the community whose goals are aligned with BU’s values of servant leadership.
“The goal for the course is multi-faceted,” Roberts said. “The projects allow the students to further develop their design skills while also learning how to work toward the needs of real clients. Also, by helping churches and other non-profit organizations in the community, they are able to demonstrate servant leadership by donating their skills and talents to worthwhile causes.”
The students have been working with organizations that serve the Bluefield community. These organizations include Bluefield Union Mission, Tender Mercies Food Pantry, and the First Baptist Church of Bluefield.
The idea was something that Roberts came up with and hopes that the students will begin experiencing what it is like to build relationships with clients.
“I was inspired by my own lack of interaction with real clients during my undergraduate pursuit,” Roberts said. “Students shouldn’t have to wait until they are in the workforce to begin experiencing how to build relationships with clients.”
Roberts encourages his students to use the class as a tool to adapt to design styles that they may not be as familiar with or as conformable with when trying to meet their client’s needs.
“Many times with traditional in-class assignments, students get comfortable working in their own style or fulfilling their own vision of what a design should look like,” Roberts said. “When working with real clients, students must adapt their own styles in an effort to meet the client’s specific needs.”
The students involved in the class this semester are Natalie Burgess, Jewels Gray, Darryl Patrick, and Jesse Ragin, and they all say they find value and enjoyment in the class.
“Graphic design is a passion of mine, yes!” Burgess said. “I love what I do! I think the biggest takeaway is learning how to communicate with clients.”
While learning, many students also have found a sense of pride and value in using their servant leadership skills through giving back to the community.
“This semester, we’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of non-profit organizations, as well as faith-based organizations,” Burgess said. “I want to help them out as much as possible because of how much they impact our communities. I think it’s important as a servant leader to help our community out.”
Patrick agreed, saying “I find a lot of value in helping out in the community because BU urges us to become great servant leaders, and it is great for getting hands-on job experience.”
Ultimately, these students have been able to learn in an environment that promotes one of Bluefield University’s main goals of helping young adults become great servant leaders all while working and learning in their desired career field of graphic design.