03/03/2026
Dr. Mutua and her CMST 339 students recently held the first spring session of the Communicating Common Ground service learning project on campus, bringing together 65 students from Foley, Becker, Sauk Rapids Rice, ROCORI, and Holdingford (with St. Cloud Tech and Apollo joining next session). Working alongside SCSU students from the Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies, these high schoolers build intercultural understanding, confront differences in meaningful ways, and demonstrate leadership in reducing racial, ethnic, and religious prejudice. Additional sessions are scheduled for March and April.
Photo 1: Dr. Eddah Mutua gives an overview of the program’s 2026 theme “Intentional today. Influential tomorrow”.
Photo 2: Dr. Scott Wells, Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies Chair, welcomes participants.
Photos 3a and 3b: Students listening to the session before going into breakout rooms for small group discussions.
Photo 4: Breakout Session: Students gather to dialogue about opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication. Through these conversations, students collaboratively work to build knowledge and skills needed to promote intercultural understanding and peaceful coexistence.
Photo 5: This is group #1 led by Sarah Mitchell in dark blue shirt (Back to the camera). Sarah is a CMST major. Hana Said (in pink) also a CMST major is participating as a volunteer student assistant helping with the program’s logistics. She was enrolled in CMST 339 in spring 2025.
Photo 6: This is group #2 led by Mara Kippels, a CMST major.
Photo 7: This group # 3 led by Olobunmi Faremi.
Photo 8: This is group # 4 led by Christina Moonsamy.
