Campus Conversations: ETSU Elevates

Campus Conversations with President Dr. Brian Noland

Campus Conversations is a new series that gives ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland the opportunity to go in-depth with leaders across the institution to learn more about and share some of the exciting initiatives that are underway here at East Tennessee State University. For this inaugural episode, Dr. Noland spoke with Dr. Susan McCracken and Nathan Farnor, two of the driving forces for the ETSU Elevates program. 

Transcript

President Noland: Thank you for joining us for a new series that we're starting on campus called "Campus Conversations," an opportunity for me to go in-depth with leaders across the institution and learn more about some of the exciting initiatives that are underway here at East Tennessee State University. And I thank Dr. Susan McCracken and Nathan Farnor for joining us today -- two of the lead driving forces in our Elevates program. Dr. McCracken, if you could, talk to us a little bit about what is the Elevates program and how you see this moving forward as we get into the fall semester?

Dr. McCracken: ETSU Elevates is a signature initiative to demonstrate how working with community partners, ETSU students, faculty, and staff can work to improve the quality of life for people in our region. So we put a call out and said, "Students, do you have an issue that you feel really passionate about, that you want to seek solutions and work with a community partner to find those solutions?"

We had a competitive process and we selected a group of students who met throughout the summer doing a civic engagement bootcamp to really dig deeply into these societal issues that they had identified to think about problems that could be started on a pilot scale and identify community partners to work with them. And now we're at a point where those students have started to work more closely with their partners to actually put in place an implementation plan.

And they'll be coming to the Martin Center on Monday night, October the ninth, to pitch the work that they've done, the vision that they have to address some of these big issues. The issues that they've identified are services for veterans, perceptions of folks who are unhomed -- who are homeless, to address the long-term needs of women who are in recovery and also experiencing domestic violence, to address mental health issues of specific populations in our community.

And I think the thing that really has struck me is while these are issues that affect all of society, these are very personal issues for these students, and they have addressed them in a way that honors their personal interactions with the issues, but also in a very professional manner.

President Noland: A couple of things you said there really struck me and Nathan, if you could, dig in a little bit -- students were here through the summer, they're partnering with community leaders and they're going to make a pitch in front of hundreds of people in the Martin Center here in a few short weeks. That's got to take a lot of drive and a lot of courage. Talk to me about the interactions you've had with our students over the summer and how you've helped to bring this to life.

Nathan Farnor: I would say it has been extraordinary seeing the growth in the students. So for several of the students that are participating in Elevates, this is their first time ever being on a stage.

President Noland: Oh wow.

Nathan: This is their first time ever speaking in front of a large group outside of their family at Thanksgiving. There's a lot of fear. There's a lot of anxiety that comes with that. But these are issues, as Susan mentioned, that they are very passionate about. These are issues that warrant them overcoming some of that anxiety and that fear to step forward. And had you have been in some of those first meetings at the beginning of the summer where they offered their initial questions and problems they wanted to tackle, listened to them then and listen to them now, you would be amazed. You wouldn't think they were the same people.

President Noland: So if I'm a community partner, there are a number of elements that are intertwined here. You have the investment of time, the investment of energy, the talent of the institution being brought to bear. But there's also a little bit of a monetary aspect associated with this. So if I'm a community partner and thinking, "Well, I missed this year, but I'm interested in learning about opportunities for next year," walk us through how all of that fits together.

Dr. McCracken: So each of the ETSU Elevates projects, as we mentioned, they've worked throughout the summer. I do want to really commend the commitment that they had. They had 10 one-and-a-half-hour sessions that Nathan and Joy Fulkerson really designed and worked with them on, and I think we had maybe three absences during the summer. One person actually broke their arm and was unable to be at the meeting that night. So one, I want to make sure that that's really clear, and part of what -- when they did their first application and the ones who were selected for the summer, they each received, or their partner has received $1,500 seed money to get these projects started.

So when they come to the Martin Center for the Pitch event on Monday, October the ninth, they'll be competing for three judges' prizes as well as a people's choice. So the judges' prizes will go from $3,500 for the first place. So that project, that money will be added in addition to the $1,500 they already have; $2,500 for second; $1,500 for third; and then the people's choice is an additional $1,000. So I think as partners want to be included and community agencies in the future, we have really worked hard on campus this year to drive students to ETSU Serves, which is an online platform. It's a way for students to find partners, a way for them to see what the volunteer opportunities are. Nathan and Joy have done a lot of work with our partners in the region to help them know what the resources are on campus, and they're offering some monthly sessions to help those partners build their capacity to work with the universities.

President Noland: So what you're doing in many respects is bringing the mission of the institution to life and bringing it to life in a way in which our students have the opportunity to learn of the importance of giving back, the importance of community connections, and the importance of mission. I'm assuming some are as early in their careers as sophomores and juniors. This isn't all graduate students and med students. Is that a fair statement?

Nathan:  It is. We have got, in this particular cohort, we've got nine students. We have got sophomores all the way up to second-year med students in the process and then everywhere in the middle on a variety of career paths and career trajectories.

I think one of the things I'm most excited in regards to Elevates is, as Susan mentioned, there's the monetary component. We're giving money and we're reinvesting into some of these amazing initiatives in the region. But I think what's even more exciting is the fact that for these particular students and their peers that are participating in this program, they are being given the resources, the support, the knowledge and the tools to take these ideas and these beliefs and these opinions that we all have and turn them into something actionable, something real, and that is something that will go far beyond ETSU, whatever career they pursue.

President Noland: And when we look at learning outcomes for students, one of the things that employers talk about is soft skills. What you're outlining is the embodiment of soft skills, taking the idea from seed to implementation, not only looking at the idea, but bringing teams, bringing partners, writing proposals. And then the pitch -- you said for some of the students, this is the first time they'll ever have talked in front of a large group other than a large family at Thanksgiving.

Dr. McCracken: Absolutely, yeah. Again, their commitment. We have been working with Founders Forge and David Nelson to help them prepare their pitches. They have at least four opportunities to practice and the students have come, and just watching again -- I know we talked earlier about their courage.

But what really struck me is how they are able to say, "This is how this impacts me; this is why this project is so important to me." To be on stage in front of their peers, in front of community members, in front of a lot of people that they will never meet, to make themselves vulnerable in that way says a lot about how much they care about these projects, how much pride they have in being a part of ETSU, and how they want to represent the university. And I also think how how much they want to make a difference in their community.

President Noland:  Well, what I'm excited about on multiple levels is the fact that this is occurring during Founders Week. One hundred twelve years ago, this institution was formed, and it was formed to make a difference in the lives of the people of the region. And now here we are a century later, and we have students making a difference in the lives of the people of the region. But you all are leading that. So thank you for what you do to lead. And I look forward to seeing how this program grows and evolves in the years to come.

So thank you for joining us for this inaugural session of "Campus Conversations." We look forward to seeing you for episode two in the near future. Godspeed and Go Bucs!