English Professor Laurie Drummond’s class does more than just open textbooks and write essays; they make a difference in the lives of others, one animal at a time.
Drummond’s English 2000 class took a break from the classroom to use their skills to help a local animal shelter.
The professor has fostered 33 dogs in the past two years. She combined her passion for writing, teaching and animal welfare in her service-learning English 2000 class.
“I like the idea of students enhancing their learning and beginning to appreciate what community service can do for others, but also for themselves,” Drummond said. “Sometimes we think with everything from [Hurricane] Harvey to the wildfires to [Hurricane] Irma bearing down, we want to do things that have the greatest impact possible, but sometimes it’s those very small things where you change something for one person, and in this case, it’s one dog.”
In the spring 2017 semester, her students volunteered more than 480 hours in less than three months for Companion Animal Alliance. They wrote 40 Petfinder bios and created 16 public service announcements, some of which aired at the Louisiana International Film Festival. Drummond said it is the students’ powerful writing that led people, both strangers and the students’ own loved ones, to rescue the cats and dogs, according to a news release.
“My students spent so many extra hours beyond what they were required,” Drummond said. “I had one student who showed up to CAA to grab a load of dirty laundry, take it back to his dorm, do the laundry there and bring it back and pick up another pile.”
Chemical engineering junior Abdullah Noor is from Bangladesh, where dogs are seen differently.
“Compared to here, not many people [in Bangladesh] own dogs and a lot of the dogs are strays, it’s kind of a cultural thing where having a dog is frowned upon,” Noor said. “But I do love dogs, I love all animals. It’s just how society is over there.”
Noor challenged himself throughout the semester, Drummond said.
“I felt like I was actually helping to make a difference in a dog’s life just by going to the animal shelter and just walking a dog and taking him outside on the field just for 20 minutes a day,” Noor said. “It may not seem like a big deal for us, but for the dog who has been in the shelter for 24 hours, it can be a huge deal.”
Graduate student Madeline Gill was first introduced to Pets for Life in Drummond’s English 2000 class. She has since volunteered for CAA with the Pets for Life program, which provides care for underserved and below-the-poverty line Baton Rouge citizens’ pets.
“For me, being someone from out of state, one of the most rewarding things was finding a community connection,” Gill said. “Everyone that was there was super passionate, friendly and excited. It was just a really awesome thing to get to see and be a part of.”
