Profile: Chance Truemper
Date: July 17, 2000
When UC College of Applied Science student Chance Truemper walked into an elementary classroom at St. Paul Lutheran school in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati during this past academic year, one sixth grader immediately hopped up, ran over and gave
him a big hug.
There's no way you can put into words how it feels when the kids give you a hug,"
Truemper stated when remembering that moment.
It's these hugs that brought Truemper, a 1996 graduate of Upper Arlington
High School in Upper Arlington, Ohio, back for a second round of teaching as part of
an ongoing partnership between UC's construction science department and Junior
Achievement in which the students volunteer with JA. The partnership began in the fall
of 1998 as a pilot program to help local elementary students learn about the city and
about careers in construction. The unusual partnership has flourished, reaching about
1,500 local elementary students so far.
Most of the student volunteers have led local third graders in lessons titled "Our
City" in which they build cardboard skyscrapers and make plastic city maps to gain a
better understanding of commercial vs. residential life as well as a better understanding
of the construction industry.
Some, like Truemper, who is double majoring in construction management and
architectural engineering, have come back for more, leading older elementary students in
lesson titled "Our Nation" and "Our World" that progressively build on the earlier
material. Truemper most recently led his students in lessons about import/export and
how countries cooperate with one another in business. "Lessons" consisted of a
scavenger hunt for "resources" as well as puzzles in which students, representing different
countries, found they did not have all the correct pieces to assemble a puzzle. They
must trade for the pieces they need.
"The kids get a lot out of it, and so do I," explained Truemper. "It's so rewarding.
They're so eager to learn, and this is material they wouldn't otherwise get."
The CAS/JA partnership is one of the few JA programs to use college students
instead of working professionals to provide young students a new perspective on the
world.
Truemper is unsure about what his future plans might hold. He is considering,
once he has his baccalaureate degrees in about three years time, of continuing his
education and earning a Masters of Business Administration.
| 
