Many students new to college might think that first-year composition means sitting in a classroom and writing papers. For students in ENG 1050: Composition I Honors classes taught by professors Laura Hakala and Scott Hicks, first-year composition means going to a local middle school and writing, reading, thinking, and public speaking alongside middle-school students. 

Students in Hakala’s class worked with eighth-grade students at CIS Academy to develop speeches. They collaborated during three class periods on Oct. 16, Oct. 23, and Nov. 6. Each UNCP student partnered with an eighth grader to teach them strategies for brainstorming, research, organization, citations, and supporting a main point with evidence. The speeches covered a variety of topics, such as federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the use of cellphones in school, and inspirational figures. The project culminated in an event Nov. 13 when the CIS Academy students delivered their speeches in the James A. Thomas Auditorium in UNCP’s Thomas College of Business & Economics. "

This experience has shown me that it is important to diversify your surroundings in order to maximize your learning,” said Kayla Borjas, a first-year student in the Esther G. Maynor Honors College majoring in Social Work. “We could have written a speech on our own and given it in the business building, but instead we got to work with students from within our community to help them compile speeches to give. “

"Not only was this beneficial for them as they got exposed to a diverse set of students as well as learned higher level writing strategies, but for me, as I was also exposed to people outside of my UNCP community,” Borjas said. “This isn't an everyday experience for many students, and I am glad I got to be a part of it." 

Hakala’s class spent the semester examining the power of young people’s voices, and one goal of this outreach was to encourage local young people to share their unique perspectives because they provide insights that older people may not notice. 

“I most appreciated learning about what life is like for eighth graders in Robeson County since I’m not originally from this area,” Hakala said. “Many people assume teens are checked out of society–but not these eighth graders. They are living busy, full lives with high ambitions.” 

While the UNCP students learned about the local community, they also developed and refined their own writing skills. 

“In a way helping them also helped me with my very own essay such as structuring the paragraphs and the flow or transitions of the paragraphs,” said Bryan Ni, a first-year student in the Maynor Honors College majoring in Art. “Explaining those concepts to them made me more mindful of paragraph structure, grammar, and transitions, which are crucial elements in my essay writing with me even keeping some mental notes for myself to use.” 

Students in Hicks’s class visited CIS Academy in Pembroke on Oct. 31, Nov. 5, and Nov. 7. There, they worked in teams to teach seventh-grade students about contemporary American Indian leaders in honor of Native American Heritage Month. After reading passages about former US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, actor Sterlin Harjo and the comedy group the 1491s, and chef Sean Sherman, the seventh-grade students then practiced skills of critical thinking, answering reading comprehension questions and deepening their learning through creative expression, such as drawing pictures, writing poems, and making up jokes. 

“This activity is wonderful for my composition class,” Hicks said. “My students are reading and responding to scholarly articles during class, and now they get to practice the skills of annotation and interpretation and critical thinking that we’ve been doing in the classroom since the start of the semester.” 

What’s more, the focus of Hicks’s students on American Indian leaders in partnership with CIS Academy’s celebration of Native American Heritage Month enabled them to fulfill part of their Indigenous Cultures & Communities graduation requirement. 

“We focused on identifying American Indian leaders in today’s culture and society, so that we could bring complex and inspiring figures to the seventh-grade students,” Hicks said. “And not only did the seventh graders learn something, so too did my students–and they were really impressed to learn that each of the figures they taught CIS Academy students about have visited our own campus.”

Such partnerships between the university and community depend on the leadership and support of Evan Long, director of Leadership, Learning & Community at UNCP. LLC provides vital support: (1) service-learning teaching assistants to coordinate a strong relationship between the community partner and the university and (2) an opportunity to apply for project stipend to fund collaborative activities. 

“Opportunities like these are incredibly rewarding for me,” Long said. “It all begins with a conversation or an idea around a specific learning outcome, and it grows into something transformative for our students and the community. 

“Through this partnership with CIS Academy, our UNCP students are not only enhancing their own learning experience but also making a meaningful impact on young learners,” he said. “By connecting classroom knowledge to real-world applications, they are helping middle school students develop essential skills like critical thinking, public speaking, and self-expression. 

“Faculty play a pivotal role in shaping these experiences and demonstrating how academics can drive meaningful community engagement,” Long said. “It’s inspiring to see how this partnership helps our students gain confidence, build community connections, and foster a sense of purpose all while also empowering local youth to share their voices and perspectives.”

Contact: Scott Hicks, PhD, Department of English, Theatre & World Languages