|
|
Club
advisors: HPU's unsung heroes
by Crystal Silva, '03
|
Not only is Marianne Luken a communication instructor here
at HPU, she is also the unofficial spokesperson, cheerleader,
and faculty advisor of the academic club Polyglot Toastmasters
at HPU.
Polyglot Toastmasters at HPU is a chapter of Toastmasters
International. According to the organization’s official
Web site, the mission of a Toastmasters club is to “provide
a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in
which every member has the opportunity to develop communication
and leadership skills.”
|
|
|
|
Click on image for
larger view
|
|
| According to Luken, the mission of
the HPU club is to “improve confidence and skills speaking
in front of a group, and have fun doing it!” |
|
|
| Luken never really volunteered to be
the faculty advisor of Polyglot Toastmasters, which started out
as a faculty club in 1992. HPU’s academic vice president
at the time asked a faculty member to form a club for the faculty
to improve their public-speaking skills. Slowly, though, faculty
attendance started to wane, and students were let in to keep
the group large. Before long, students outnumbered the faculty.
This pattern continued until Luken, a Toastmasters International
member since 1991, was the only faculty member left. The students
then asked her to become the club’s advisor. |
| |
| It was Luken who came up with the name
Polyglot Toastmasters, made up of “poly,” meaning “multiple,” and “glot,” meaning “tongues.” The
name “celebrates and recognizes the diversity at HPU,” Luken
said. |
| |
| Luken treasures her position as advisor,
and credits the students as the best part of her job. “I
love to see people as they grow and change in positive ways as
a result of the club,” she said. Luken also remains close
to many alumni who were active in the club, receiving letters
and e-mails from students all over the world on their new whereabouts
and careers. |
| |
| Being a faculty advisor isn’t
all fun, though. Luken has to delegate responsibilities wisely,
and sometimes has trouble juggling all the work that comes with
being advisor and communication instructor. “The time involved
sometimes takes away from time to be a teacher,” she said.
For example, Luken must chaperone all club activities, which
takes time away from other tasks. “Sometimes I come to
classes with papers not graded, or go to committee meetings not
as prepared.” The biggest drawback, however, is losing
students to internships, jobs, or graduation. “It’s
like Sisyphus,” she said, referring to the Greek story
of a man doomed to spend eternity rolling a huge boulder up a
mountain, only to have it just inches from the top roll down
to the bottom “I spend a lot of time in recruitment, telling
other faculty members to send their students over, meeting students
on the Mall, only to lose them later. I can’t accommodate
everyone, even though I really want to.” |
| |
| Despite all the hard work, Luken maintains
she could never disappoint the students by quitting. |
| |
|
Polyglot Toastmasters meets every Wednesday from 12 to 1 p.m.
at UB 1100. Typically, a meeting involves three to four impromptu
speeches and two prepared speeches. “Every meeting is
guaranteed to be fun!” assured Luken.
|
| |
| For more information call 544-0875,
or e-mail Luken directly at mluken@hpu.edu. |
|
|
|
