 In my career I actually have long been interested in civic engagement and the whole idea of what we do at the university being invested in the community. And also in having what we do in the classroom makes sense outside the classroom. That's not to say that we don't discuss theory and we don't discuss the overriding issues in journalism but I really think that the more we can engage with our community the more enriched the experience is for the students. But another thing is that given the state of higher education today I think it's really important that people in the surrounding communities understand how valuable what we do up here on the hill is and so that just the more we interact with people in the community I think it really helps get away from that sense of we're up here on the hill and we're somehow disengaged or we're not involved in what our communities face. Another aspect of service learning is the idea that we serve the mission of the university which is also to serve the people of our state. And then also I think there's a particularly wonderful way in which skills get engaged if they have a real outcome. I've talked with colleagues about this whole issue of we're not students aren't in the real world and really don't take that view. Students are engaged in the real world they are living real lives and having real issues. On the other hand there is a big difference between doing a project as a classroom project that doesn't go beyond the class and only the professor sees in grades and doing something in which you work with a community partner to assess their needs and to meet their needs and to try to figure out a way you can craft a message to reach their audience in a way that's meaningful. It just takes what we're learning and doing in the classroom to a completely different place and one that I feel is really enriched. One of the great things about service learning is it not only benefits the students because there are many ways in which it does benefit the students. They work with a partner a major issue in journalism is crafting a message for a particular audience and as they move into their careers that's really a critical factor. The most important thing is that they end up with portfolio pieces that are really wonderful for them. But also of course it benefits the community partners and in so many ways the community partners really depend on our students to really help them craft their message in a way that's constantly changing. The fact that Twitter is only five years old but it's something that community partners understand they need to leverage or getting on Facebook or updating their websites in a way that will be much more meaningful and much more useful is just really invaluable to them. Because our community partners are for the mainly nonprofits or social service agencies or university organizations they're really, really very appreciative of what we can do because they really need us and the response has been overwhelmingly positive in fact really pretty much every quarter we have several partners that have ongoing projects that they come back and say we'd love to work with you again. When the students are done the partners are really I suppose gifted if you will with a whole new way in which to interact with their publics and I think that's great.