By: Ella Kapfhammer
After high school, some students take their diploma and never look back. Others wish to stay connected to the community they grew up with well into adulthood. Bellbrook Schools admin reached out to the BHS Marketing classes to help improve alumni communications for those who wish to stay connected. As the marketing students wrap up their projects, they are starting to see the impact they have the ability to make.
Students in Josh Craig’s Marketing class reached out to former Bellbrook students to survey them on how they would prefer to stay connected with the school. A link to the survey was put on an alumni Facebook group as well as emailed to over one thousand former students.
Currently, alumni communication is done informally relying on past class presidents or other alums to reach out to their classmates. “I thought there was a lot of room for improvement in our communication,” Craig said. “I think this project’s going to potentially have more of a lasting legacy than any other project we’ve done in the class.”
The marketing students utilized Gemini, an AI platform, to help generate survey questions and organize data. AI is generally frowned upon when used in school, but these students were given permission to not have it complete their project for them, but rather assist them to make it more efficient. Along with using Fairmont High School’s alumni platform as a template, AI allowed the classes to spend less time completing tedious tasks and more time focusing on the actual issue they were assigned.
Students in Debbie Franz’s Marketing class surveyed current BHS students about their preferences in how they would like to stay connected with Bellbrook after graduation. Math teachers gave the survey to their students which allowed over half of the study body to respond. With such a representative sample of their target population, the marketing students were able to draw conclusions as to what current high schoolers would prefer in terms of communication after they become Bellbrook graduates.
The Marketing classes also collaborated with Tess Rivero’s AP Statistics class. The Stats students provided their knowledge in proper surveying techniques and how to collect data in order to improve the accuracy of the responses.
BHS Junior Lucy Volesky thought the class was different than she expected. It involved more working outside of the classroom and connecting with different people. Not only was her class able to communicate with Mrs. Franz’s class and an AP Statistics class, they were able to involve the entire school. “Going through the steps of the marketing class and giving the final presentation gave me skills I can actually use in the future,” Volesky said.
