Texas Tech veterans and their families will receive sets of free, personalized greeting cards for the upcoming holiday season — courtesy of the College of Media & Communication.
Student volunteers are taking photos of the veterans’ families all day today, Saturday, in the college’s photo lab. The photos will be used to create custom greeting cards to be given to the families during the first week of December.
Tech is ranked one of the top U.S. universities for veterans, so “it made sense for the college to reach out to its veteran students, faculty and staff,” said Todd Chambers, COMC associate dean for undergraduate affairs, in a news release.
“We brainstormed the idea about how we could give back to an organization or community group and felt those who have served or are serving our country would be a wonderful group of people to help out,” Chambers said.
The college is providing equipment and printing services for the event. The Media & Communication Learning Community, or MCLC, is sponsoring the project covering mailing costs with funding approved by Murdough Hall’s Complex Council.
Community advisers Marisa Hohensee and Nathan Zuar, who lead the MCLC, coordinated the student volunteers. Zuar said he thought this project would be a great learning experience for his residents and give them an opportunity to get involved.
Providing experiences related to students’ future careers is the goal of the learning community program, Hohensee said.
“Students get to experience their major in a different way outside the traditional classroom,” she added.
She drew on her personal experience as a daughter of a veteran when considering community service opportunities for students.
“Every day I am thankful for what he has given me,” Hohensee said. “I really want to show respect to those who have served or are currently serving.”
Leading the project are Chambers and Julia Heard Witt, COMC director of advising.
Chambers said he hopes students will learn about serving others from this event and see how media can be used in positive ways.
“After getting to know the students this year, we knew they would enjoy the project, learn about event planning, photography and media relations, and appreciate the opportunity to give back,” Chambers said. “Hopefully, this will stay with them the rest of their lives.”
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