Graceland University Students Benefit by Creation of Communications Club

Experiential learning, hands-on experience, first-hand education… Learning while doing is increasingly becoming an expectation of college students and a desired quality in potential hires.

When hiring recent college graduates, employers look for a variety of things. Internships top the list, with volunteer experience and extra curricular activities also placing toward the top. It is with this in mind that Graceland has opened the doors of the Communications Department to students with an interest to get involved.

Communications Club became an official Graceland club at the start of the 2015-16 school year. The goal of the club is to offer students the opportunity to get involved in and gain experience from the involvement in a variety of forms of communication at Graceland – social media, graphic design, photography, videography, writing and web – while Graceland benefits from their ideas and efforts.

Graceland has determined that when trying to communicate with students, one of the best resources is our students, themselves; and on more than just a “worker bee” level. The benefits come not only from having the bodies and their time, but also from their insight into how and where students receive information, and from the creativity and innovation of club members as Graceland continues to expand its reach and its brand.

Allowing club members the chance to be a part of the strategy behind communication at Graceland empowers them and encourages valuable skills. Carter Chapley, a communications and political science double major, said, “Communications Club has been invaluable to my education and my professional experience. It allows me the opportunity to work and create in a hands-on professional setting, and offers me a relaxed and even fun opportunity to learn and get involved.”

Graceland is in the middle of an intentional effort to offer experiential learning opportunities to the greatest number of our students as possible through internships and other service learning experiences; clubs now also making the list. With the Communications Club as a successful example, it is expected you will see more and more about involving students in these hands-on learning opportunities at Graceland in the near future.