Maria McConnell

Professor, Business Division

• Member of the Service Learning Advisory Committee
• Sam Walton Fellow and Faculty Advisor for the LCCC Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team
• Began teaching with service learning: Fall 2009

Service Learning Courses:

• MKRG 251 Principles of Marketing
• TRSM 124 Conference and Meeting Management 

Why do you teach with Service Learning?

“Learning by doing, I feel, has a greater and longer lasting impact on students than just simply learning from a textbook.  Individuals completing a Service Learning project are engaged in their community and end up with a feeling of self-satisfaction knowing that their work has had a profound effect on people in need.” -McConnell

Project Explanation:

Students completing a Service Learning project in Professor McConnell’s courses work with a variety of community partners and also collaborate on many projects with the LCCC SIFE Team. Marketing students incorporate their marketing skills into a social responsibility project such as a canned-food drive initiative in which donated items are given to Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio in an effort to help alleviate hunger in our local communities. Conference and Meeting Management students create, organize and host a community event such as a volunteer effort with Habitat for Humanity.

Success Story:

Service Learning student Victor Edwards created a promotional video for Second Harvest Food Bank’s Farmer’s Market. They liked his work so much; he completed another video for them in conjunction with their partner “Spitzer Cares”. His videos are available for viewing here: YouTube

Victor talking about his experience, “I learned many things from this project that helped me as a marketing student, videographer and as career experience and networking. Without this project I would not have a professional documentary video in my portfolio for such a large well known organization. Also, I have made good contacts at Second Harvest. (A staff member) even offered to help get me an internship next summer. The video I created used a marketing component of promotion and awareness. This video not only promoted the Farmers Market program but informed viewers about what Second Harvest does. My work was so successful that Second Harvest asked me to do another project for their partnership with Spitzer Cares.”

Get Engaged!

Are you a student or community organization interested in getting involved in Professor McConnell’s projects, please contact her for more information.

Maria McConnell
mcconnel@lorainccc.edu
440-366-7404