Fall River, MA – For over three months, a group of students from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth have been working with the Fall River Chamber of Commerce on a project to promote education.
“The Chamber, at the urging of Nick Christ, President of BayCoast Bank, re-established the Education Committee 2 years ago. Business leaders such as Mr. Christ, have recognized for quite some time that education and improved educational attainment are key factors in attracting businesses to the area. Creating a climate for the expansion and recruitment of businesses will improve the economic status and quality of life for this region,” explained Rob Mellion, President and CEO of the Fall River Chamber. “We cannot be successful without a community wide effort dedicated toward improving educational attainment levels.”
The Committee, chaired by BayCoast Bank President Nick Christ, has taken on the role of championing education. “Education is an issue the entire community needs to be aware of and support – from kindergarteners to the 90-year-old living in a subsidized high-rise. We want our message to reach every citizen in the region, so we decided to launch a marketing campaign promoting education,” said Christ.
That’s when they got in touch with UMass Dartmouth and David Chapman, a design professor at the University.
“I thought it would be great project for some of my students to take on,” said Chapman. “It would give them a chance to prepare a professional campaign pitch complete with branding ideas and media materials, as well as allow them to become involved with the community. As young people who are on the path of pursuing higher education, they have a unique perspective to share.”
Chapman presented the project to his Designing for Community course, which enables its students to form their own company and work in teams to meet the needs of clients from the community. Of all the projects presented to Collective Concepts (the company this year’s class established), Benjamin Filippo, Lizz Dvorsky, Zachariah Cobb, Caitlyn Manning, and Alex Thomson chose to take on the challenge of creating an image and campaign for the Education Committee’s efforts.
The group commented that the work was challenging, but rewarding. Over the semester, they reviewed studies that had been done on Fall River’s valuation of education, and performed some research of their own. They went through the full process of sketching and revising their ideas with feedback from the Education Committee, and even worked with local artists, writers, and branding specialists to refine their concepts.
Reflecting on the project, team leader and soon-to-be-graduate Filippo commented, “It’s great that we’re working toward bettering the community.” Dvorsky, the group’s Communication Director, agreed and explained that the project is aimed at “presenting education in a way that it can improve an entire community.”
When asked how they felt about having their work become the basis of a city-wide campaign, Dvorsky said, “Our team is excited, but nervous. None of us have had our work out in the public on this scale before.” All five students appreciated the real-world experience they received at UMass Dartmouth through Chapman’s class.
Filippo, Dvorsky, Cobb, Manning, and Thomson formally presented their ideas to the Education Committee on Friday, May 10. Full details about the creative concepts and branding are being kept under wraps for now. The Committee plans to begin launching its campaign this coming year.