This fall Oregon State management student Kayla Pearce thought she had made one phone call too many.
The senior was working on organizing the Corvallis Run With Color, a fundraiser for the Family Tree Relief Nursery, but also her final for her Management Field Practicum class.
She called Oregon State Risk Management to check on the state of their request for the 5K they wanted to run through campus. The call drew attention to the request, which the office said wouldn’t work because they were just involved with a class, not an official club or organization.
“It was a month and a half away from the event,” Pearce remembered. “That was a tearful phone call to my mom.”
The group rallied, though. They got backing from Family Tree for insurance, put on the run as planned and raised nearly $4,500 for the organization.
It’s a typical story for the class, run by College of Business Professor Erik Larson, that provides not only experiential learning for students but has benefited dozens of charities since starting in 2006.
“Five little beehives”
Larson said he came up with the concept for the course while on sabbatical in 2005.
“Originally I taught classes that were very experiential, but because the project management methodology didn’t really fit that I didn’t think it was possible,” Larson said. “But [Austin Entrepreneurship Program Director] Sandy Neubaum said yeah, you can do it in a quarter, it’s possible.”
At the beginning of the term students bring ideas for possible events, which are whittled down to around 5-7 teams, each with around five students.
While Larson lectures briefly at the start of class and provides assistance when needed, students are left to define and execute the project themselves.
Outside of assignments to get the projects started — a formal proposal, risk management plan and milestone goals — the event is the main focus.
“The way I look at it, there’s a series of gates,” Larson said. “You look at it in your own mind, talk to someone else about it, work up a proposal and get approval by me.”
With only 10 weeks and a goal of raising $1,000 the pace moves quickly for each team as they try to arrange dates, venues, volunteers and everything else that goes into a successful fundraiser.
The classes have raised $76,700 since 2006, with some terms bringing in more than a combined $10,000.
“I like walking into a classroom and feeling the energy in the room,” Larson said. “It’s not students waiting to take notes. When it’s going good it’s like five little beehives.”
Learning from challenges
While most of the projects work out, Larson noted some groups have done well (and learned some key lessons) with events that didn’t turn out as expected.
He remembers one that built a cardboard city in the Memorial Union Quad to raise money to assist the homeless and awareness of the issues facing those without shelter in Corvallis.
Instead many — including the Corvallis Gazette-Times newspaper — criticized the group for what they saw as making light of a serious problem.
“But what the writer didn’t know was that they went homeless for three nights,” said Larson, who still has a clipping of the article on his bulletin board. “It was neat, even though it didn’t work.”
“There is so much to do …”
This term the events run the gamut from fun runs, a volleyball tournament and golf outing to the OSU Dancing with the Stars competition this Thursday, May 30.
Jennifer Berry, a dancer with the OSU Ballroom dance club and Utah Ballroom Dance Company, pitched the Dancing with the Stars event. Typically run by the OSU Ballroom Dance club, Berry offered to run the event through the class.
While many aspects of the DWTS show are familiar — in addition to her experience at OSU, Berry travels the country with the Utah Company putting on shows — running one has been a different experience.
“I worked barely in the ones in the past, not like how I am now,” Berry said. “It’s a lengthy process to do everything. It’s taken up a lot of my time this term.”
The group picked stars by going through each member’s personal network and contacts, including one all the business students knew, College of Business Dean Ilene Kleinsorge.
“Once we got the stars confirmed I felt like I could breathe a little bit and we could just start marketing the event,” Berry said
The biggest issue so far has been a star dropping out the day posters for the event were going to be printed. Berry sprinted to Oregon State Printing and Mailing the morning of, finding that luckily the job hadn’t gone to press and was able to be changed.
Berry said so far the class has driven home the importance of managing time and the skills of the people she gets to work with.
“There is so much to do in this project, you have to learn how to delegate things and mange time with your other classes,” she said. “And also working with people and figuring out how to use their strengths to help your project.”
Running the show
For Pearce, her 10 weeks organizing the Run With Color this fall taught her about the importance of dedication and taking initiative in a project.
Not only did she get the chance to work through real-life issues on a project, but also she saw the benefits for Family Tree.
Pearce said the experience is something she takes with her now as she plans her job search after graduation.
“Cramming for a midterm and reading a textbook and dumping it into a midterm doesn’t teach you anything,” Pearce said. “This was so hands on and practical, it’s something I talk about in my interview, it’s on my resume.”
“You’re your own boss,” she said. “The success of the event depends on you and your teammates.”
Spring 2013 Projects
Suns Out Guns Out “SOGO” Outdoor Volleyball Tournament
When: June 2, 11 a.m.
Where: Chintimini Park, Corvallis
Contact: https://www.facebook.com/events/486124898123306/
Graduation Celebration
When: June 15th 4-11 p.m.
Where: Clodfelters Restaurant, Corvallis
Contact: https://sites.google.com/site/osugraduationcelebration/
Heart Chase
When: June 1, 10 a.m. – noon
Where: Avery Park, Thompson Shelter
Dancing with the OSU Stars
When: May 30th 7:30pm
Where: Lasells Stewart Center, Oregon State
Contact: https://www.facebook.com/events/489520944446855/?fref=ts
Pup Run
When: June 2, 2 p.m.
Where: Crystal Lake Park, Corvallis
Contact: http://heartlandpuprun.weebly.com/
Run with Color (5K run)
When: May 26, 9 a.m.
Where: Memorial Union Quad, Oregon State
www.FACEBOOK.COM/RUNWITHCOLOR<http://www.FACEBOOK.COM/RUNWITHCOLOR
Neon Run (5k)
When: June 7 8:30PM
Where: Memorial Union Quad, Oregon State
Contact: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/5KNeonNightRunAtOregonStateUniversity
Tee Up for Austin Hall
When: June 7, 1 p.m.
Where: Trystine Tree Golf Course
Contact: https://m.facebook.com/#!/events/597524583600739?aref=2&ref=bookmark&__user=1379228435
Wine Walk
When: June 8, 3-6 p.m.
Where: Downtown Tilamook, Oregon