FERRUM, VA, April 23, 2025 – Students at Ferrum College in English 461: Professional Writing are gaining practical experience this semester while improving their communication skills by creating projects to enhance the work of Blue Ridge Literacy (BRL). Professor of English Allison Harl is a member of the BRL Board of Directors and her experience as a tutor for adults dates back to her time studying literacy as a graduate student in Arkansas.
On February 4, Dr. Ahoo Salem, executive director of BRL, and Program Director Sara Geres visited the Professional Writing class to discuss current needs of the organization and opportunities to collaborate. Blue Ridge Literacy is a nonprofit organization founded by two librarians in 1985 to strengthen literacy skills for adults in western Virginia. It now offers English, Digital Literacy, and Citizenship Preparation classes, both in-person and online, as well as one-on-one tutoring services for adult English learners in the Roanoke Valley.
Students formed two groups to develop proposals for professional-quality products that address specific needs or challenges faced by the organization. Dr. Harl further described the student learning goals as gaining “hands-on experience in applied research, professional writing, and community engagement as students apply academic knowledge to solve real-world problems, practice collaborative writing, and apply design and graphics skills.” They decided to create a comprehensive Social Media Content Calendar and Toolkit for BLR with two goals: (1) boost BRL’s online presence and engagement, and (2) interview and highlight two learners’ success stories.
One group interviewed a lawyer originally from the Dominican Republic who works for the Roanoke courts and an architect from Greece employed by the public school system. Both are very involved in community service and BRL activities. Since Salem and Geres explained that BRL has had a blog for about ten years but it was underused, this project provides ready-to-use content for BRL to share online.
The other group created a toolkit to enhance social media and help update the BRL website. Student Sara Ra explained that her group created a set of 20 different Canva designs to use on Instagram for topics such as volunteer highlights, success stories, and introduction of BRL staff. When explaining how her group wrote its proposal, Ra said, “We help them and they help us.”
Ra will extend her work with BRL by volunteering this summer while also working on campus in an internship with the College’s chief legal officer. As a volunteer, she will be able to carry out trial runs and implement tools that the class developed for BRL, such as pre-designed media graphics and templates for different kinds of social media posts. She said, “I’m excited to continue my involvement with Blue Ridge Literacy this summer. It’s a great opportunity to further support their mission and gain more experience in literacy advocacy.”
The School of Arts and Humanities is sponsoring the English program’s club called Undead Poets Society to represent Ferrum College at BRL’s Annual Scrabble Tournament Fundraiser on April 26. Dr. Dan Murphy, club advisor and assistant professor of English, will play on a Scrabble team with Ferrum students while Dr. Harl volunteers at the event.
The class is preparing final reports on their projects and their research on functional illiteracy and the history of BRL. Their work through all the stages of the writing and revising process, with feedback from their professor, peers, and BRL staff, will culminate in a website presentation for their final exam. Ra said, “Working with Blue Ridge Literacy has been incredibly rewarding. It’s allowed us to apply our writing skills in a meaningful way, contributing to a cause that truly makes a difference in our community.”
In 2021, when the Professional Writing course was fully online during the COVID pandemic, Dr. Harl organized projects for the students to assist the Southern Virginia Child Advocacy Center in Rocky Mount.
For another article on collaboration between Dr. Harl and Blue Ridge Literacy, see https://www.ferrum.edu/news/inspiring-action-dr-ahoo-salem-and-dr-allison-harl-empower-ferrum-college-students-to-volunteer/.
For an article on Dr. Harl’s appointment to the BRL Board of Directors, see https://www.ferrum.edu/news/ferrum-college-associate-professor-of-english-allison-harl-named-to-blue-ridge-literacy-board-of-directors/.
