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One of the hallmarks of a Clayton State
University education is the opportunity
for students to learn outside of the class-
room.
Not uncommonly, these experiential
learning occasions also end up benefitting
the community as well.
One such “win-win” synergy occurred
recently between Assistant Professor of
English Dr. Sipai Klein’s Writing for
Nonprofits course and Atlanta Pet
Partners (APP). During the fall 2012
semester, Klein’s Writing for Nonprofits
students were divided into three teams
Campus Review
August 1, 2013
Page 4
Clayton State Experiential Learning Students’
Business Proposals Adopted by Atlanta Pet Partners
by John Shiffert, University Relations
Clayton State Professor, Student
Meet at Chengdu Panda Base
It’s a long way from Morrow, Ga., but
Clayton State University Associate
Professor of Education Dr. Mary
Hollowell and Clayton State sophomore
Maggie Shiffert had a Clayton State
reunion last week at the Chengdu Panda
Base in the People’s Republic of China’s
Sichuan Province.
Hollowell has just concluded five months
of teaching in China on a Fulbright
Teaching Scholarship. Shiffert is current-
ly taking part in a National Security
Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)
scholarship to study Chinese language
and culture in Chengdu for the summer of
2013.
Hollowell, who earned the University’s
first Fulbright Teaching Scholarship,
taught American Educational Policy and
American Children's Literature in English
to Chinese college students at Shaanxi
Normal University (SNNU) in Xi’an from
February 2013 through July 2013. Having
concluded her Fulbright, Hollowell, hus-
band Scott Hollowell, and daughters Kate
and Sophie Mei joined a Chinese Heritage
Tour sponsored by Chinese Children
Adoption International (CCAI) of
Englewood, Colo., the agency the
Hollowells used when they adopted
Sophie Mei in 2004.
Since there’s nothing quite so quintessen-
tial to Chinese heritage as giant pandas,
the CCAI tour made a stop at the foremost
facility for the study of the nation’s
with each team assigned to work with a
different nonprofit organization for the
purpose of preparing business proposals
for that organization.
“Team APP,” consisting of students
Christen Greene, Willie Mayers, Jr.,
Diana Peters, and Shonteria Wilson, pre-
pared three proposals for APP
Founder/President Dan Barnhill as their
final exam. These proposals consisted of
ideas for fundraising/community aware-
ness events, event coordinator/internship
job descriptions, and possible logo
designs and tag lines.
Peters, who is now a Clayton State graduate
working for the Center for Academic
Success, picks up the story six months after
TeamAPP “turned in” their final exam.
“This past weekend I volunteered with
APP and discovered they had officially
adopted
Team
APP’s
proposed
logo/tagline for business use,” she reports.
“APP CEO Dan Barnhill was also in
attendance and bragged about the quality
of work the students produced and how
APP was in the process of putting into
place several of the proposed ideas Team
APP had included in their business pro-
posal.
“The proposal packet was treated as our
final exam, so the team did not have any
follow-up with APP. It was a very pleas-
ant surprise to find out APP was actually
using the logo and tag line.”
TeamAPP’s proposals in detail included pro-
viding five suggested events for promoting
APP and raising funds for the organization
including school programs and pet store
informational tables. They also provided a
detailed checklist of steps needed for each
event, including costs of materials/supplies,
ideal locations and timelines.
The students also assisted APP in creating
detailed job descriptions for each position
for future use; identified sources for
“free” advertising for client, including the
Clayton State Office of Career Services.
Maggie Shiffert and Dr. Mary Hollowell
Atlanta Pet Partners, cont’d., p. 8
China, cont’d., p. 9