The mission of Waynesburg University is to educate students to make connections between faith, learning and serving so they might faithfully transform their communities and the world. A project being conducted by a small group of accounting majors intends to fulfill this mission.

Students from Wesley Hershelman’s Leadership Class are collaborating to impact the community and grow in leadership by fostering professional and business skills. Wesley Hershelman, instructor of business administration at Waynesburg University, is teaching a class of leadership in the business world. Students are required to complete a team project that will leave a lasting impact on the community. 

Taylor Summerville, senior accounting major, Taylor McCall, senior forensic accounting major, Louis Scataglia, senior accounting major, and Tiffany Ross, senior accounting major, make up the team of four who have partnered with Dress for Success and are working to aid in the process of providing women in need with business and professional clothing to prepare them for interviews and the job world. 

“We had to partner with an organization that solves a problem,” said McCall. “Dress for Success’s problem is that their location in Washington doesn’t have the staff and volunteers to transport clothes from Waynesburg to Washington. We’re just trying to jump start that process and get the community aware and involved.”

The team will be auctioning off raffle baskets at three different events this fall in order to raise money to purchase clothing. They will be at Tractor Supply the evening of Oct. 25 and will be at the basketball games held on the university’s campus Nov. 12 and 19.

They are currently in the process of acquiring these baskets as donations  and currently have about five or six to rely on. .

“I’m about to head to a bunch of places to hang flyers and advertise,” said Scataglia. “I’m going to stop in at Sheetz, Aldi’s and Walmart and ask for a donation basket or a place to hang flyers.”

The team has already received baskets from Jefferson Floral, First Federal Bank, Seven Springs and a few others.

“Our big objective right now is just getting the word out and getting all of the supplies that we need,” McCall said.

The team has to accumulate 30 hours of service by the end of Nov. to complete the project and graduate. This class and project have served as a resume-builder and has encouraged the students to apply and learn important skills that they will use in their career.

“Leadership is a universal concept no matter what field you are in,” Scataglia said. “Being a good leader is the framework to becoming successful.”

The team members can also all agree that they’ve had to practice communication skills, time management skills and the importance of teamwork. 

“From freshman year to senior year you are always taught how to work on teams in a business setting,” McCall said. “Fortunately, we were able to choose each other. Our team is great and we can really depend on each other.”

The project has also opened their eyes to a significant problem within the community.

“I didn’t realize how big of a problem it was until we started,” said McCall. “There are people in need and this could really help them get jobs or even be ready for the job field. Our hope is to have a lasting impact and especially since we have the Bonner program. Hopefully, we could see this continued through them.”

Dress for success is just beginning to get in touch with the university. This could be the beginning of a much longer partnership, impacting many through faith, service and learning.