By Kaitlin Arntz
J Alumni News staff
Lois Olson’s excitement was unmistakable. The professional photographer paid rapt attention as Joseph Knecht discussed how he successfully started his own business.
“Can we film you?” she asked jokingly.
The “Creative Thinking and Entrepreneurship Opportunities” workshop Olson attended in April was part of a series of workshops CoJMC is offering to other members of the UNL community — and to the community at large. CoJMC faculty members and an occasional guest instructor teach the day-long workshops on intermittent Fridays.
Last fall, Interim Dean Charlyne Berens and Michelle Hassler, assistant to the dean, began developing the project, with the help of faculty member Trudy Burge. After speaking with CoJMC faculty, Berens realized several of them already had taught such workshops or had consulted for local businesses.
For example, Hassler had taught a series of free writing and grammar workshops to UNL staff the previous summer. In addition, faculty member Jana Langemach was working with the Arbor Day Foundation to provide business writing training. Berens and Hassler saw an opportunity to extend education to adults in the Lincoln community.
Identifying a need
“It seemed like everywhere I went, people were saying, ‘Oh, my employees need help with their writing.’ So we knew there was a need,” Hassler said.
Berens and Hassler brainstormed various classes the college could offer and found that faculty were more than willing to participate. As Burge explained, “We wanted to take advantage of the skills, talent and expertise already existing in the college to help a wider audience and supplement our budget.”
In February, faculty taught the first workshops in what became a series called “One Day University.” Hassler and Berens taught “The Grammar and Writing Toolkit.” Other classes included, “Public Relations Fundamentals,” taught by Phyllis Larsen; “Writing for Business Today,” taught by Jana Langemach; and “All Things Web,” taught by Sue Burzynksi Bullard.
The initial series of workshops was a financial success. The February workshops netted nearly $3,500 for the school after faculty were paid an honorarium for developing and teaching the sessions.
Although that’s not a huge sum, Burge explained, “The current climate is not one of economic growth. Any help we get in our budget does go on to ultimately help students.”
Participants provide positive feedback
More importantly, though, attendees liked the workshops and found them worthwhile. Each class had 16 seats available, and almost all of them were filled. According to Hassler, the feedback she gained from surveys was extremely positive.
“People were so appreciative,” she said.
Jessica Kovar, who took the sessions on grammar, the Web and public relations, said she found the workshops enjoyable and worthwhile. Kovar is a corporate communications manager at Nelnet who focuses on external communication with current and prospective customers. For her, the writing toolkit was especially helpful.
“[The material] is so basic, but never once did I think I was wasting my time,” she said. “It’s so basic that you don’t really want to ask anyone about it. It was cool to learn it from an adult perspective, knowing that you were going to apply it.”
Conna Weise, who also took the session on grammar and writing, agreed. In fact, she made copies of the printed notes and gave them to all of her co-workers to post in their cubicles as quick references.
But it wasn’t just the talent and expertise that workshop attendees noticed; it was the general hospitality and kindness shown by the faculty.
“The instructors were very open to whatever question or topic anyone had,” Weise said. “It just felt much more personal.”
CoJMC faculty have extended their teaching beyond the workshops. As part of her grammar class, Hassler set up a blog connected to her Delicious feed. Delicious is an online social bookmarking service. The sources she lists provide workshop attendees with a list of helpful grammar websites and books.
“We all get so busy in our jobs, and it’s nice to know you’ve helped somebody and provided them with something that’s going to be useful to them,” Hassler said.
More to come
The J school faculty members repeated several workshops in the spring, adding a session on digital photography. And they plan to offer the series again in fall.
With each new workshop they add, J school faculty want to make sure the material they teach benefits attendees in a tangible, real-world way.
For Olson, it’s all about getting hands-on experience to build the confidence and skills she needs to make her photography business successful.
“It was valuable going through a business plan together,” she said, “because I’ve spent hours at the library before, writing a business plan, and never looked at it again.”
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