“The Student Citizen: Rock the Boat!” is the theme of the 15th annual conference, which will be hosted by East Carolina University. More than 350 students, staff and faculty members from colleges and universities are expected to attend the conference.

From Western, first-year senior Kathleen Cummins, a nursing major who has been selected for the N.C. Campus Compact 2007 Community Impact Student Award, will present “Nicotine Anonymous.” Six WCU communication majors will present “Building Health Communities through Public Relations Campaigns.” They are Tricia Hanson, senior, of Alpharetta, Ga.; Helen Shaia, senior, of Charlotte; Merill Thierman, junior, of Charlotte; Kim Grime, junior, of Hubert; Legan Collins, junior, of Weddington; and Jennifer Rockwell, senior, of Whiteville.

Cummins will discuss how to promote programs that build awareness about cancer.

Hanson, Shaia, Theirman, Grimes, Collins and Rockwell, who all are taking a public relations campaign course, will share their experiences in working with nonprofit organizations to educate citizens about pressing social issues in hopes of alleviating them.

The WCU presenters also will join other conference attendees for a 90-minute service project, “Give2theTroops,” on Nov. 9.

“The North Carolina Campus Compact Student Conference is extremely valuable,” said Melanie Clark, WCU assistant director of service learning. “WCU students who attend will have opportunities to network with peers from North Carolina institutions of higher education and the surrounding region to share and learn ‘best practices’ for community service, service learning and civic engagement. It also is a tremendous opportunity for students to experience leadership through facilitating workshops and serving on the student advisory board.”

Garrett Richardson, a WCU sophomore majoring in communications from Midway, represents WCU on the student advisory board, which serves as a planning committee for the conference.

N.C. Campus Compact is a 33-member coalition of college and university presidents and chancellors, established to encourage and support campus engagement in the community.

For more information about the event or service learning, contact the WCU Center for Service Learning at (828) 227-7184.

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Last modified: Friday, Nov. 2, 2007