Building a Broader Perspective

American University News


Credit: Social Butterfly
Experiential learning isn’t just part of Sonya Grier’s teaching. It’s the core of it. Grier structures her classes around projects that challenge students to “see broader connections in their work. Marketing isn’t just about business,” she says.
She teaches students to apply their skills across academic subjects—and careers. Assigning interdisciplinary, hands-on work allows students to explore how marketing, Grier’s area of expertise, intersects with other fields.
“This approach gives students a deeper perspective of the issues at hand,” she explains. “It also exposes them to professions inside and outside of business that utilize marketing skills.”
Grier’s Marketing for Social Change class is a prime example. The course explores the role of marketing beyond commercial gain, requiring students to use it as a catalyst for societal change.
As a community-based learning (CBL) class, Marketing for Social Change students work with a DC-area non-profit on a specialized marketing project. The assignment focuses on fostering community engagement and integrating students into different organizations in Washington, DC, and beyond. “There are so many incredible businesses in this city,” Grier says. “This project allows students to see beyond campus and embrace marketing challenges DC businesses face.”
Students have worked with organizations such as DC Department of Health, WMATA, Arcadia Farms and multiple centers on the American University campus. Grier thinks they learned the most, however, working with Unity Healthcare.
Students developed a social marketing plan for the company’s partnership with Capital Bike Share, aiming to increase bicycle usage among underserved segments of the population. Class groups researched their target audience, organized their findings and proposed a plan of action for Unity Healthcare. “They conducted deep research,” Grier says, “and learned a great deal about barriers lower income populations face.”
The project has implications well beyond bicycle usage. Bike share riders are typically middle class ...

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