COOL Conference Sheds New Light on Service for Four Tusculum College Students
On March 16, four students from Tusculum College's Service Leader Scholars program attended the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) Conference that was held on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The theme of the conference was "The Path of Service Leads from Charity to Justice", which is inspired by a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. More than 3,000 students attended the conference, traveling from all over the country.
According to Museum Studies major and Service Leader Scholar Heather Sellers, "Tennessee took over Utah" at the meeting. She explained: "At the conference roll call, they didn't have a table set up for Tennessee. They told us to just go sit at a table, so we took Utah's place!"
The huge crowd was divided into several groups for discussions on various topics, ranging from homelessness to diversity. Noah Grunzweig, a freshman Psychology major, chose the diversity discussion group. "I knew that it was going to be the best seminar of them all, and as far as I am concerned, it was," he said. Grunzweig said that the discussion taught him that "true diversity is knowing, and accepting, the differences around you."
To Brandon Timms, a freshman Pre-Law major, the conference was a fulfilling experience. "I met new people from all over the United States that shared a common goal we have in the Scholars program – to better our community by taking an active role."
Following the return of the students, they shared their experiences with the rest of the Service Leader Scholars.
Amber Schappacher, a sophomore Business Management major with a minor in Mass Media, told Robin Fife, interim director of the Service-Learning Center on the Tusculum campus, that she should expect many calls from colleges around the country wanting more information on Tusculum's Civic Arts curriculum. "There were many people amazed that Civic Arts and service learning were so much a part of our college. They kept asking me questions about it," Schappacher said.
“Overall, the experience at the COOL Conference was rewarding for everyone that attended,” one participant said. “They all left Harvard University with a new view on service for their community.”

--B.J. Roberts, Mass Media Major, Class of 2004

Participating in the COOL Conference were, from left, Noah Grunzweig, Amber Schappacher, Heather Sellers, and Brandon Timms.