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From Classroom to Job Success
4/23/2007
 Service Learning at University of St. Thomas means different things to different people. For Melissa Blanton and Kimberly Campo, it means the beginning of their careers. The two met in 2004 in Dr. Anne Davis’ Principles of Management class, Cameron School of Business, where they soon teamed up for a service learning project. Part of a three-woman group, they decided to work with Women of Wardrobe, a branch of Dress for Success in Houston, which consists of women age 21-35 who raise money for the non-profit organization. Dress for Success promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
The group was charged with devising a marketing plan for WOW that would get the word out about this new division of Dress for Success. The group presented three advertisements to WOW and their management class. The advertisements were well received and one of the WOW members was so impressed that she asked the girls to create a separate campaign for her new purse line.
“University of St. Thomas students have been invaluable to Dress for Success Houston,” said Nancy Levicki, president and co-founder. “Melissa and Kim stand out as examples of creativity, enthusiasm and dedication for our cause. They are exceptionally bright, capable young women who have benefited tremendously from their St. Thomas education and are eager to give back to the Houston community."
It was from this inspiring course work that Blanton and Campo decided to create their own business, KM: kreative marketing. KM is dedicated to providing marketing for small, independent businesses by creating unique products that reflect clients’ business needs and individuality. They have developed marketing, ad campaigns and Web sites for fashion designers, jewelry designers and entrepreneurs, and have also started event planning.
Blanton and Campo serve on the executive board for WOW, Blanton as event chair and Campo as public relations chair.
“UST has provided me with a wonderful learning environment and great preparation for the real world, because it actually put me into it,” Campo said. “We learned a great deal from our mistakes, and had the benefit of hands-on learning, which made the experience so much more rewarding.”
“The University of St. Thomas stands for integrity, discipline and courage,” said Blanton. “These three key traits at UST have been beneficial in my career. I now have courage to get through the hard times at work because UST taught me to never give up.”
The mission of service learning is to assist the University in serving others, specifically offering resources to meet the needs of the Greater Houston Metropolitan area.
“Service learning projects not only benefit the community, they increase the student’s ability to apply classroom material,” said Dr. Ann Davis, associate professor of business administration and marketing. “But for these young women there is the added benefit of finding job success.”
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