What does it take to make a change? Six Speech Communication students started “Project Happy Power” this term when they were challenged in their Leadership course (SPCOM 227) to prove that a small gesture can accomplish big things. The goal was to show that advocacy is easy, for anyone.
The group chose to demonstrate how easy it could be to turn a stranger’s day around by handing out balloons with compliments. They asked the recipients to pass the balloon on again with a new compliment, to spread happiness across campus.
The group chose to focus on compliments in reaction to social media. “Social media has taken over as the primary medium of giving compliments but this kind of gesture is not nearly as meaningful when it is made behind a computer screen,” says Kristen Fortune, a group member. “Our project aimed to bring compliments back into everyday conversation.”
While the project began as a class assignment, the end of the term does not mean the end of Project Happy Power. Kristen and the group are inviting students on campus who want to make a difference in the lives of others to join their new Feds-approved club, Little Leaders, in Winter 2014.
From the Student Success Office blog written by Taylor Small