Communication students team with Fidelity for unique project-based learning collaboration
July 13, 2022
Students in the Community College of Rhode Island’s Communication and Film/Media program
experienced the opportunity of a lifetime this past spring thanks to a first-of-its-kind
project-based learning collaboration with Fidelity Investments.
With the goal of expanding student participation in work-based learning, CCRI teamed
with Fidelity, a longtime partner through the college’s Division of Workforce Partnerships,
to develop semester-long writing projects woven into the curriculum of three separate
courses – Media Writing, Multimedia Reporting, and Social Media Communication.
The projects implemented a variety of communication skills – from writing video scripts
and news articles to creating blogs and social media posts – with students in each
class working alongside Fidelity employees, all of whom volunteered to participate.
The collaboration allowed the students to gain real-world experience in the communication
field and solicit important feedback from industry professionals.
Stacy Sullivan, CCRI’s Director of Industry Partnerships, considered this inaugural
cohort an overwhelming success and is hopeful the college will have the opportunity
to launch similar collaborations between other industry partners and programs.
“The original idea was, ‘How can we come together for students so they can have a
hands-on learning experience and have this exposure to the types of jobs that are
out there and what companies are hiring?’” Sullivan said.
“What was helpful for us was the Division of Workforce Partnerships already has relationships
with a lot of these companies, and as the only community college in the state with
a stellar reputation, a lot of companies want to engage with our students. It provides
the company with exposure to a potential future workforce with the idea that down
the road a lot of these students might want to work there.”
“Through our College Engagement Program, we were able to partner with CCRI to brainstorm,
design and build real-world communication-based projects. In addition to expanding
their communications skills, students gained knowledge in financial wellness," said
Frank D’Ercole, Vice-President at Fidelity Investments. "We were simply thrilled with the continued partnership and the outcomes. Special thanks
goes to the Fidelity associates who volunteered to share their time and talents with
CCRI’s students. We are looking forward to the next semester.”
Sullivan began working on the collaboration as far back as September and in early
January brought the framework of the project to English Department Chair Sandy Sneesby,
who suggested teaming with the college’s Communication and Film/Media program. Sneesby
and English Professor Kathleen Beauchene targeted professors whom they felt would
work best within the scope of the project – Holly Susi (Media Writing), Stephanie
Cabral (Multimedia Reporting), and Lydia Rogers (Social Media Communications) – and
then tweaked the proposals based on Fidelity’s standards and their own course outcomes,
which was especially challenging considering the curriculum for each class had already
been written.
“We jumped at the opportunity to participate in this project,” Sneesby said. “It’s
so critical for our students to leave with this experience, and it’s a model for what
we can do for anyone else who wants to partner with us. Fidelity has been so conscientious
and such a good partner – so professional, so prepared. This was a great first model
to build on.”
“This kind of project gives our students an eye-opening experience about what it’s
like to work with people in the business field,” Beauchene said.
Students were required to complete several small projects over the course of the semester,
each of which were graded separately. The projects were based on a fictitious financial
services company seeking marketing and communication help to educate youth on financial
literacy, including creating social posts, outlining questions for a podcast, filming
videos, and writing news articles on the need for younger people to keep track of
their finances.
“It was incredible to watch my students grasp this opportunity and apply content learned
in class to a ‘real-world’ scenario. Every student in my class said they were so appreciative
of this experience, and they learned more from it than they could have ever imagined,”
Cabral said. “Allowing students to experiment through work-based learning exposes
them to the industry while also solidifying crucial concepts and giving them confidence
for future endeavors."
Students interviewed Fidelity employees as part of the project and enjoyed hands-on
experience learning the inner-workings of a professional social media and communications
team. The scope of each assignment compelled students to develop an understanding
of the key elements of effective communication, among them knowing your target audience,
properly framing messages, producing concise yet visually-stimulating content, and
drafting interview questions.
“My students were assigned Fidelity employees to interview and then wrote a profile
piece on that person,” Susi said. “They had to research the company and this person,
prepare interview questions, conduct a professional interview, and then write an engaging
profile. The experience felt very authentic.
“For college students who may not have an opportunity to do an internship, this kind
of work-based learning as part of their coursework is invaluable. My students appreciated
that they had an experience like this to add to their resumes. This is the kind of
project-based learning that can make a student stand out.”
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