Recently, I had the pleasure of collaborating with an Advanced Public Speaking class at Concordia College in Moorhead. These 15 students, encouraged by their professor to spend a semester dedicated to asset building through a service learning project, probably had no idea what they were getting into and how it was going to shape their experience in this class. I witnessed something truly amazing - the POWER of assets to effect positive change.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm certain most of these students were asset builders before they began this class. Many of them had younger siblings, were involved in coaching activities like basketball and cheerleading, were tutors helping to ensure adequate literacy levels in young students, shared a desire to go into teaching or ministry - these students were no strangers to assets! It wasn't until they went through the Asset Champion training curriculum, though, that many of them probably started making the connection between things they were already doing (like coaching, helping students with their reading skills, spending time with siblings) that they realized how important these relatively mundane-seeming activities really were. And because part of their project for the semester was to intentionally and purposefully build assets, they began developing creative ways to implement this new 'asset awareness' into their lives.

For most students, it seems their projects followed an interesting trajectory. Many of them started simply - making an effort to hold doors or open doors for people, talking to people they didn't know and making small talk, spending time in classrooms with students, incorporating assets into tutoring, reaching out to help their friends, encouraging fellow students in their classes - as you can see, there was ample variety. For some, the lofty visions they developed for their projects required redesigning so that the project could be completed by the end of the semester. Whatever path each individual project took, they all seemed to share something in common. Each project produced a student who voiced a desire to remain an asset builder! Each project, or rather each student's commitment to his/her project, resulted in an entire class reporting how easy asset building had become. For a group of 15 students, asset building became a way of life, the effect of which will continue to make a positive impact on individuals, families, and communities these students come into contact with throughout their lives. Now that's powerful!

You see, these projects didn't just take place in a college classroom, although the positive effect it had on the classroom environment was profound. These students got involved on campus, in their families, and in their communities at a different level, building relationships with others and enhancing existing relationships. Then, because it was a public speaking class, came the final part of their project - a public speech! Each student shared the message of asset building and its importance, along with their experiences as asset builders, to a public audience of their choice. Again, their choices ranged - from other college students in their dorms, to a local Rotary Club, to a high school class, to school faculty, to a church congregation. Some of the power of this project resulted as the students made connections with others in their communities about asset building, impacting hundreds of other people with this positive message. What started as a simple assignment to do a simple project resulted in a lasting positive difference in the way a group of students live their lives. Simple.