PLN 9

The "Digital Ethnography" @ Kansas State University blog, by Dr. Wesch shows how a group of college kids called the K-State Proud committee help students pay their college bills that are suffering money wise. In the first video, it shows the K-State Proud committee handing out money, paying for someones meal, paying for somebodies books, helping someone park his car (by picking it up), and carrying a girl across the street. This 4 minute video shows that this group really cares about their fellow college students and want to make sure that they are succeeding. It also makes them feel good to be helping make the day of random students.

This group of students just do not hand out money to random kids, they hand out money to kids that if they did not get money, they would not be where they are now. For example, in the first video they show a girl who has been at Kansas State since 2003 and has gone through a lot. When she was 4 months old, she had brain damage, her brother committed suicide when she was in senior high school, when she was in eighth grade, she said someone close to her died almost every year until her senior year in high school, and you can tell that she has gone through a tough time. If it was not for the K-State committee, she would not be in the position that she is in right now. In the second video, an ordinary girl got diagnosed with cancer in her neck. She goes on the explain how hard it was for her, because her parents did not make a lot of money and she had to keep pulling out loan after loan. Later on, her adviser put in an application to K-State and got accepted. This shows you that with other people's help and support, you can do anything!

If we can afford it, sometimes my dad will pay for someones lunch or snacks at the movies. They are always surprised and very thankful. He hopes that they will remember they way they felt any maybe do something nice for someone else later on. It is kind of a pay-it-forward thing. It also makes him feel good when he does it and makes someones day.