Meghan Harmening | Opinion Co-Editor
In years past, the University Seminar classes have all worked on what is known as the Global Footprint Project proposals. However, many have been just that – a proposal.
This year is different. Assistant Professor of Marketing Dr. Scott Anderson and Assistant Director of Career Services Cindy Cone’s “What Customers Want” seminar class has made their project a reality.
“We just brainstormed a list of things we could do. What do we think we can really get our arms around? We went for something simple, and then it was fun just brainstorming what we could do with it. We came up with the name Beaver Bags. The students really took the bull by the horns,” Anderson said.
As part of the course, Anderson decided to have the students work up a business plan based on the project. Each student worked on a different part and in the end it was all brought together as an actual business plan.
“And now we’re going to hand them out. It brings the whole project full circle,” Anderson said.
Freshman Javen Swann played an integral part in the project as head of the sponsor group.
“We put dates on certain things. After that was done, that was really the big date, everything really just shot off,” Swann said.
When asked about the biggest challenge in looking for sponsors Swann said, “Rejection was hard. There were a lot of businesses who didn’t feel the same way we did about the bags, but we got back out there and finished the job. We just told them our mission and our goal, and a lot of them supported us.”
The students volunteered to be a part of different task groups. The sponsor group was in charge of finding sponsors. The design group worked with Students Concerned About Tomorrow’s Environment (SCATE) to come up with the design for the actual bag. The advertising group notified BVU News and other news sources to hype up the campus for the distribution day. And finally, the distribution group worked on distributing the actual product to students.
Freshmen received a bag at their University Seminar Tuesday session on Tuesday, Nov 26. Upperclassmen will have the chance to pick up a bag outside the Centennial Room Wednesday.
“Actually getting the bags. All that hard work finally paid off to see the final product. It feels great. I’m excited to see people using them and to say I was a part of that,” Swann said.
The point of the bags is that students will use them at grocery stores instead of getting a hoard of plastic bags, which are harmful to the environment.
“That’s the whole idea: to reduce the number of plastic bags in the landfill in the Storm Lake area,” Anderson said. Overall, the project was a huge success as it was a chance for BVU students to give back to the community in which they attend school.
“A lot of the students really do love to give back. They decided they wanted to give more back. They wanted to invest,” Anderson said.
This is a true investment into the future of the earth. It will sustain itself and give back to the community which means a true win for this University Seminar.
