|
|
|
|
October 2, 2009
MMC's Mushtare Reaches Audiences Beyond Her Classroom
 |
CONTACT:
Rebecca Mushtare, M.F.A., Assistant Professor of Communication Arts, (212) 774-4862, rmushtare@mmm.edu
George Berry, Public Relations Specialist, (212) 517-0461, gberry@mmm.edu
(New York, NY) – Assistant Professor of Communications Arts Rebecca Mushtare, M.F.A., has a passion for service. The walls of her classroom at Marymount Manhattan pose no boundaries for the real-world education she imparts on her students, amply preparing them for the lives they will lead after graduation as productive, concerned citizens. In her Digital Media I class, Mushtare encourages students to “generate media critical and cognizant of a larger social context.” Mushtare’s class projects place her students in the heart of nonprofit organizations, for which they create Web sites to further the missions of these institutions.
Mushtare’s class is one of many courses offered at MMC that places emphasis on “community-based service learning.” Providing students with professional opportunities, as well as the ability to see the processes involved in creation, is paramount to her teaching philosophy. Mushtare says, “[Service learning] fosters a deeper learning in participants, and provides a mutual benefit for both students and the service organization.”
Before a Web site is created, Mushtare identifies a nonprofit organization and meets with its administrators to discuss their needs and to learn about their mission and overall goals. During the semester, Mushtare will teach her students about visual communication techniques and educate them about the nonprofit organization they will collaborate with.
Mushtare’s Digital Media classes have positively influenced several nonprofits in New York. For the Harlem Center for Education (HCE) [specifically its Educational Opportunities Center (EOC)], her class created the colorful, dynamic, easy-to-use Web site www.harlemctred.com/eoc. Another class created videos for Positive Health Project—an organization that strives to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS through raising awareness of risk behaviors associated with the disease.
Allyson Muñoz ’10, a communication arts major who helped create the HCE/EOC Web site, called her experience in Mushtare’s class “very rewarding, especially knowing that you’ve helped a company that really needed it.” EOC director David Perez added, “The Web site will help our center raise its profile and expand its reach within the community, allowing us to assist a greater number of adults with their educational aspirations.”
The design of Mushtare’s class inspires students to go beyond an “adequate” level of effort and truly encourages them to succeed. Victoria Preston ’12, a communication arts major, who filmed a public service announcement for the Arab-American Family Support Center, said, “I wasn’t just working for a grade, but I had an organization that was counting on me.”
Mushtare’s teaching philosophy reflects a deep commitment to understanding concepts through firsthand experience, practicing collaboration and cooperation with others, and using talent and ability to engage with and support the local community. With help from faculty colleagues, she continually expands the network of nonprofits with which she and her students collaborate. She currently works with Janelle Edwards and Cindy Mercer, Ph.D., community outreach coordinator, AmeriCorps VISTA, and executive director for academic achievement, respectively, at MMC, to find additional community partnerships.
Mushtare enjoys teaching at MMC for many reasons. One is the small class size, allowing her to give students significant individual attention. This opportunity enriches both her professional life and the students’ experience. Through this attention she hopes to instill in the students a sense of empowerment to create something new, to experiment and explore, and to dispel any pre-existing fears of technology. She encourages students to reframe “problems” as “opportunities,” putting a positive spin on any roadblocks they encounter in their studies.
In addition to Digital Media I, Mushtare also teaches Digital Media II, Communications Today, Communication in the Future and Critical Production for Critical Times.
Mushtare is also immersed in a variety of outside interests that include designing multimedia dance presentations in her Spatial Dialogs project and creating original quilts from recycled paper bags in her Quilted Consumption Project. Mushtare’s projects can be viewed on her Web site at http://cyberthread.net/.
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse population by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.
|
|
|
|
|
