By Billy S. Garland

Since recently being named one of America’s Top 25 Best Neighbors by the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, the University of Louisville has begun to pay a lot of attention to expanding the student educational experience

to include community involvement. One public speaking course in particular is teaching students not only to talk the talk, but also to walk the walk.

“I didn’t start the program,” said communication professor Mabel Sinclair. “Nonetheless, I feel that this is something that should be continued.”

At the beginning of the course, students were informed that they would be responsible for completing a group project that would essentially be an act of kindness or charity. The groups were given free rein to decide what form their

project would take, with the restriction that it had to be charitable.

In past semesters, groups have chosen various campaigns, from raising money for children’s homes to visiting the elderly. This semester, however, saw a growth in creativity on the part of the students involved, as one group elected to

put together a nonprofit advertisementvideo for the Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition.

“The intent was to show rock climbers how valuable the Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition is to rock climbing in Kentucky,” said Jordan Colburn, a junior electrical engineering major. “They do a lot for providing access and are setting

a precedent for how to manage climbing access and land management. They purchased a large piece of property and set it up as a recreational preserve. They pay off the mortgage on Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve entirely through

donations every year.” Colburn said the aim of the video was to demonstrate to climbers why and how they should donate.

For the group, the video was more than just a call for outdoor enthusiasts and rock climbers to donate to the organization. More than anything, according to Colburn, it was about the experience.

“It was fun,” said Colburn. “It involved a lot of media editing, climbing and just being outdoors. Plus, it helped a group that helps keep access to climbing, which is one of my hobbies. It was done on fairly limited equipment and

software compared to many productions, but the quality doesn’t detract from the message. It shows a variety of the climbing and community that the RRGCC help keep working. Hopefully it will lead to people realizing how important donating

is to keeping climbing access.”

While some students chose to branch out from traditional avenues, other groups chose to get involved with organizations closer to home, like the charitable organization Blessings in a Backpack.

Blessings in a Backpack is a national nonprofit organization that provides meals on the weekends for young children who receive free or reduced lunches through the National School Lunch Program. According to the organization’s Web site,

the work they do has been shown to dramatically improve the young students’ performances in school, as well as provide a better standard of living. The groups will present the results of their projects on Tuesday, March 30 and Thursday,

April 1, bringing the course back to its original focus on public speaking. Students will have to give a fi ve to seven minute presentation describing the project in each of its stages and detailing what the overall impact was. But the

final presentation is hardly the point of the project in Sinclair’s opinion. “The planned act of kindness as a course assignment has multiple objectives,” said Sinclair. “It simulates a team environment so that students can practice

interpersonal and presentation communication skills which they will use throughout their professional life. And it gives them an opportunity to engage with organizations in the community and build skills for active leadership and

citizenship.”