BROOKING – “We wanted to add a little bit of humor and make it a little bit more lighthearted, because it is such a serious topic,” Colette Gannon explained of the Brookings Colorectal Cancer Awareness Program, a project she and 14 of her fellow South Dakota State University students are undertaking. 

All the students are majors in the School of Communication and Journalism, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Instructors are Marina Hendricks and Roxanne Lucchesi.

“When we were doing research a lot of the websites and colorectal cancer organizations were very serious and very medical and kind of sterile,” Gannon added. “We wanted to make it more fun and more appealing to people. It’s kind of an awkward topic, so we wanted to make it, kind of play off of that, and add humor, make it a little less uncomfortable.”

Its seven-page brochure notes that BCCAP’s mission is “to spread information about and awareness of colorectal cancer in the Brookings community. We plan to do this with our strategic advertising campaign, events and website.”

Gannon, a junior, explained that for the seniors, all public relations or adverting majors, the BCCAP undertaking is a “capstone class project: The very last class that seniors take in their last year to kind of round out the advertising and public relations major.”

BCCAP is a follow-on to what began last year under the tutelage of Lucchesi and Hendricks – whose fiancé died of colorectal cancer in 2002. “The students here have done videos with me, and I’m on the website talking about it,” Hendricks explained.

Gannon said the organization for the project was created by last year’s students. 

“They laid the foundation for this year’s class,” Lucchesi said.

“The idea was already there for us,” Gannon explained. “And part of the challenge for that was that we’re going into PR and advertising; we’re not necessarily going to get to select who we’re working for. Working for an agency, you take what you’re given and work around that.”

Diet, exercise, healthy lifestyle

“The campaign is focusing on young people and prevention,” Gannon said. She’s teamed with three seniors who make up one of several teams taking on the project. “So we’re targeting more of a younger audience in Brookings and really focusing on a healthy diet, exercise and just a healthy lifestyle in general to prevent colorectal cancer, because it is one of the most preventable forms of cancer.”

“I took this class because there was a requirement,” teammate Max Bultena explained. “The biggest thing for me is the awareness; I really didn’t know anything about colorectal cancer until I started to do this.

“With this, it’s been really fun to try to come up with creative ways to reach our age and those older than us – targeting more of the prevention and promoting healthier lifestyles. It’s been really fun to work with the community.”

“This is a really good project for all of us students,” Gina Goblirsch, another teammate said. “It’s very real world, applicable to exactly what we’ll be doing when we get out in the field. It’s been a really fun creative project for us.”

“Since it is such a sensitive and kind of awkward topic, we have to find a way to get people to want think about it and talk about it. And it is so important to start thinking about it now. So we have to find ways to make it fun,” Goblirsch added. 

“I think that this class has been a really good learning opportunity for us,” teammate Kassie Schaefers noted. “We haven’t done anything like this in our past three years at SDSU. It’s definitely preparing us for after we graduate, working in public relations and advertising.”

Following its startup last year, the program is growing and attracting more students drawn to it.

“Last year they had a website, and they did a lot of research,” Buttena added. “The class has doubled in size.” There are 15 students participating this year.”

As to what work could be available to the students in future, Gannon noted the potential for public relations work in the health care field in South Dakota, citing Avera and Sanford as “two really big companies.” “I think a few of us have gotten jobs at those two companies after we graduate,” Gannon said.

“I think it’s been really eye-opening,” Buttena said. “As 20-year-olds, it’s not something we’re thinking about.”

Meet ‘Captain Colon’

A week-long schedule of events tied to the BCCAP and getting the word out in celebratory style begins Monday, April 4, with a touch of humor: From April 4-11, “Captain Colon” is scheduled to make appearances around the Brookings area and on the SDSU campus. The Captain character was designed by SDSU theatre students, with the assistance of Associate Professor Billy Wilburn.

Local residents are invited to “Catch the Colon” by taking photos and tagging BCCAP on social media; it’s a chance to win a $25 gift card from Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill. And area residents are invited to Cubby’s from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 11, to meet the Captain and participate in the Color the Colon event for a chance to win a Cubby’s gift card. Proceeds and donations from the evenings activities go to the Brookings Health System for colorectal cancer awareness.

Learn more about all the above happenings and other information tied to BCCAP by visiting its website, www.brookingsccap.org.

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.