JU ECHO campaign garners testimonials, dance moves

The campaign to educate the Jacksonville University community about an upcoming new graduation requirement has garnered a heartfelt testimonial and some quality dance moves.

JU, as a part of reaccreditation, must present a quality enhancement plan (QEP) demonstrating a commitment to student learning. ECHO, an abridgement of the campaign’s “everything you do comes back to you” slogan, is the new three-credit hour graduation requirement starting with the 2003-14 catalog that will challenge students to apply what they’ve learned in class to real-world situations.

Specifically, ECHO can be accomplished through undergraduate research or independent study; service learning, internships and study abroad.

In a message to associate professor of communications Annmarie Kent-Willette, 2011 alumnus Shannon Heath wrote about the impact that interships and service learning has had on her post-college life. Heath works as a road scholar and communications professional for the international campaign The Global Poverty Project, an experience that she says is a direct result of her experiential learning opportunities at JU.

“I just want to thank you for your message on my Facebook wall regarding my new position and tell you that it really meant a lot to me,” Heath wrote to Kent-Willette. “I am so very excited and I can’t believe this is finally happening for me. Thank you so much for further instilling in me a love for non-profit work all … those years at JU and growing my heart for communicating with people. It has really paid off in a big way!”

Heath will be at Jacksonville University on Tuesday, Feb. 26, as a presenter for the Global Poverty Project’s 1.4 Billion Reasons program. (Click here to learn more.)

Additional testimonials about JU students applying their classroom experiences to the real world are being posted on the ECHO campaign’s Facebook page and the JU ECHO website.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, the theater honor society Alpha Psi Omega promoted ECHO with a dance performance at the Kinne Center.

Here’s a video of the performance:

Here are some additional photos: