Extracurricular activities extend learning beyond a college campus, turning the world at large into a classroom. Three Chicago-area students talk about their activities and what they have added to their education.
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It’s the . . . things you put your heart into that make you complete.
–Cari-Anne Bucci
When she was growing up in Pittsburgh, Cari-Anne Bucci’s nickname was “Spitfire.” Whoever gave it to her knew what he was talking about.
Bucci is a 21-year-old senior at Northwestern University in Evanston, majoring in English and communications. This year she’s one of the executive co-chairs of the 24th annual NU Dance Marathon.
It’s a charity event with enough elements to make one’s head spin: 240 couples dancing for 30 hours, along with a full-scale casino, a children’s fair and a 5-kilometer race thrown in for good measure–all in one weekend.
It’s just the sort of thing for a “Spitfire” to handle.
“I’ve always been a talker, an energetic person who has to be on the go, very emotional, very sensitive,” she said without stopping for a breath. “I want to be in a situation where I’m constantly innovative, and Dance Marathon requires me to do that.
“It’s a perfect fit. It gives me a sense of working for a higher cause, doing more with my life.”
There’s certainly plenty to do. Bucci’s job is not just to organize the marathon and accompanying activities, but to get people excited about the events.
This year, money raised at the Dance Marathon will go to La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago and the Evanston Community Foundation, a group that provides money for a wide range of projects such as after-school programs and family planning.
Bucci acts as a liaison between the school, the charities and the community. She meets with corporate sponsors and oversees publicity, food donations and several fundraising events leading up to the big weekend, which will be held March 6-8.
She also has the less glamorous responsibility of making sure the dancers get fed and showered during the marathon.
It’s a lot of work, but Bucci said that without her extracurricular mission, her education wouldn’t be as meaningful.
“I’ve always felt there has to be something in your life that doesn’t benefit you in the traditional way,” she said. “I could be in school and go to classes and that would prepare me for life.
“But working on the Dance Marathon does more. It’s so fundamentally indicative of who I am, much more than the classes I take.”
It illustrates her life philosophy.
“You need to approach the things you do in life with commitment and passion,” she said. “It’s the things you make happen that happen and the things you put your heart into that make you complete.”
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Sometimes people just need someone to listen.
–Noah Toly
Where some people might see devastation and despair, Noah Toly sees hope.
Toly, a 19-year-old junior at Wheaton College, is the coordinator of the school’s Youth Corrections Ministry. Two Sunday nights a month, he leads a group of 28 students to the Illinois Youth Corrections Center-Valley View in St. Charles.
With the youths, they pray, talk and look to the future.
“We begin with worship songs,” Toly said. “Then we have a speaker and then break up into small groups, two of us and 10 of the youths.”
The subject matter is no accident.
“Last Sunday I spoke on forgiveness,” Toly said. “The time before, my roommate told them the story of Joseph, when he was in jail and learning to persevere.”
The youth offenders at Valley View are ages 11 to 19. They’re serving time for a variety of crimes, from petty theft to murder.
“The first time we went, I thought `Wow, these are hard hearts, these guys are really tough on the outside,’ ” Toly said. “It is hard to get them to open up; they don’t do it real well.”
So how does he break through to them?
“We talk. We talk about their week. We talk about sports, how their intramural football teams are doing. No one else asks them these questions. Sometimes people just need someone to listen.”
Toly said he doesn’t believe the youth inmates are bad people, but they’re not blameless, either.
“They’re not victims. They have definite victims,” he said. “But a lot of them never have had the opportunities we’ve had. They didn’t grow up in a family where someone tells them he cares.”
Toly said that there but for the grace of God, he might be. Growing up in northern California, he was a “troublemaker,” he said.
“But I have two loving, Christian parents who kept me on track when I was real close to getting off,” Toly said.
He was “real close” more than a few times, he said. “When I was in high school, my principal actually drove me home one day and told my parents that by 21 I’d either be in jail or dead.”
It obviously made an impact on parents and student.
“Now I’m neither in jail nor dead,” Toly said with a laugh. “And I thank God I’m where I am.”
Toly said he’s at a school and in a ministry that helps him do what he wants to do: help those who need it. He said God helps him succeed, sometimes unexpectedly.
“Two weeks ago, because of a scheduling mishap, we had the usual 120 youths, but only 10 student ministers–about one-third of our regular number. I was concerned and asked friends of mine in my dorm to pray for us,” he said. “That night, six young men in my group alone accepted Christ–a record number.”
Toly will probably never know the outcome of his work, he said. Because of confidentiality concerns, the youth ministers aren’t allowed to have contact with the inmates after they get out.
Toly said he wonders about one young man in particular. He came from a poor family, and he and his brother were in rival gangs.
“He accepted Christ while in Valley View and even asked me to find him a church in his neighborhood where he could go after his release. He was getting out soon, but didn’t know exactly when. By the time I got back to him, he was gone.
“I felt sad, very sad. But I always try to remember God is in control and if this man gave his life to Christ, he’ll take the initiative. I don’t know what happened, but sometimes all you can do is your best and hope.
“That’s what we do every week.”
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I’m able to help bring people closer to their dreams.
–Lauren Ransom
When Lauren Ransom dreams, she dreams big, and she wants to help other people do the same.
She’s a 23-year-old senior at Columbia College Chicago and president of the Columbia Urban Music Association.
The organization is a link between the recording industry and students who dream to succeed there. It has been providing internships, networking opportunities and mentors for Columbia students since 1995.
The association “reaches out to industry professionals and the many Columbia faculty members who are in the music business,” Ransom said. “We have an annual conference where managers, record producers, musicians and entertainment attorneys conduct panels and workshops for students, not just from Columbia, but from other schools as well.”
The association also hosts the Urban Music Showcase, a concert featuring the music of local artists followed by a chance for the students to meet with the musicians. It gives the musicians the chance to promote their music to a college market and gives the students valuable information and contacts.
Besides overseeing the special activities, Ransom attends weekly meetings and researches information about the music world so she can be a resource for group members.
“By helping them get information or introducing them to a rep or a producer at a record label, I’m able to help bring people closer to their dreams,” she said. “It’s a fulfilling thing to help people meet their (goals).”
But it’s also a lot of work.
“I couldn’t even begin to add up how many hours I spend on” the association, Ransom said in a voice tinged with exhaustion. “My friends say I eat, breathe and sleep it.”
Ransom has been “consumed” with music since she can remember. She grew up on Chicago’s South Side, where her parents owned a dancing school.
As a child, Ransom sang and danced in family shows, acted in television commercials and performed in the City of Chicago’s Kids Fair during Jane Byrne’s administration.
She sang during high school and college “for fun.” Her direction changed a few years ago when she entered a recording studio for the first time.
“After two days, I realized the importance of business knowledge in the world of music,” she said. “You have to know how to organize and how to negotiate.”
The association is helping her with that, too. Through the organization, Ransom landed an internship at MCA Records in Chicago, doing marketing and promotion.
Ransom’s major is management with a concentration in music business. Her ultimate goal is to become an entertainment attorney.
And what about her dream of singing?
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll pick it up again one day,” she said.
