A small sample of 2009 projects who benefited from Midwest Consortium grants:
Biology: May 09 graduate Courtney Woodman chose a tree-planting project for the service-learning requirement of her Conservation Biology Class. Working with teachers at Wilber-Clatonia public schools, she created a mini-lesson for its fourth graders, including the anatomy of a tree and the animals that benefit from their growth. The fourth-graders were paired with kindergartners for peer teaching. After a successful lesson and planting session, the trees should be around for future science classes to study each year.
Chemistry: When Doane was host to an American Chemical Society event, the Chemistry Student Club wanted to make the event a family affair and reached out to young scientists from pre-kindergarten to the middle-school level. Doane students showed youngsters experiments they probably didn't do in school, but could do at home -- cool stuff that would impress a younger sibling, like writing invisible notes with salt, making slime and tie-dying.
Business: The numbers on Human Pampalomavirus (HPV) don't add up. One in three women will contract the disease in their lifetime, yet a survey at Doane showed only 2 percent of students really knew what the virus was. A presentation by junior Adrianna Choquette (Upland), and May 09 graduates Alyssa Ledon (Las Vegas), Amber Remmers (Wahoo) and Sara Thirty (Butte) aimed to change that. Their awareness event "Hope. Prevent. Vaccinate." was part of the Promotion Management class. Each group in the class chose a topic and developed the buzz to support it. The HPV event had to draw a crowd to an unpopular topic on a spring night the week before commencement. They put publicity to work, giving away two $100 Visa gift cards and free T-shirts. They used social media, text messages, a Facebook group, a Polaroid photo campaign and campus-wide e-mails to draw a crowd of 50 to the event, which included a speech by a local physician's assistant.
Stickney's Toy Breed Rescue and Retirement Sanctuary -- Several Doane students, sorority sisters, pre-vet students including sophomore Jordan Groathouse of Wilber, Alejandra Cano from Texas, and Dr. Andrea Holmes, assistant professor of chemistry, volunteer at the rescue sanctuary near Cortland each week. They work to rehabilitate and reintroduce dogs rescued from puppy mills, taking care of anything from basic medical care to introducing them into normal settings with human beings. "It's so rewarding when you can get them to a point where they can enjoy life again," Holmes said.