Communicating on Campus
From California to Dubai, college clubs enrich academic life
By Paul Sterman
ShareThis
During his first year of graduate school at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Kandarp Shah joined a Toastmasters club on campus. It was a smart move.
The Ph.D. student in developmental and cell biology used his club meetings to practice a key oral report – one detailing his yearlong research on how cells form into different shapes. He received invaluable speaking tips from fellow club members.
When he delivered the presentation to his professors, says Shah, “It turned out wonderful, and the faculty was really impressed.”
Now on the cusp of earning his doctorate, he uses his speaking skills to present his research at prestigious academic conferences. “I realized that communication skills are valuable to my career,” says Shah, a member of UCI’s ZotSpeak club.
His experience mirrors those of other members in college and university clubs around the world. Students say their Toastmasters training boosts their confidence and helps them communicate more effectively in academic – and other – settings.
“Toastmasters practices have helped me with my oral presentations and leadership skills,” says Amin Karbassi, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. He is president of the McGill Toastmasters, which has flourished since forming at nearby McGill University more than 10 years ago. Last year, the club had 65 members.
Dustin Chan, a ZotSpeak club member, credits Toastmasters with helping him relax when he talks – to “unstifle” himself, as he puts it. “It’s helped me in social situations at school,” says the UCI sophomore.
College clubs are a vibrant mix, reflecting a cross-section of the campus population: undergraduates, graduate students, staff members, and sometimes faculty, alumni and community residents as well. College and Toastmasters make a perfect fit: People go to college specifically to learn, to experience new people and cultures, and to improve themselves. A Toastmasters club is a prime campus resource where members learn from, and about, each other and where they develop presence and poise, language and leadership skills.
Dean Sheetz is a member of the Toastmasters club at Dubai Men’s College, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It’s an ambitious group, holding two meetings a week – one in the morning, one at night – to accommodate student interest and schedules. Sheetz, who teaches in the school’s business department, says all the students in the DMC club speak Arabic as their first language, meaning that delivering their speeches in English is that much more challenging. But they tackle the test head-on.
“I really admire these guys,” he says.
Sheetz says many of the school’s graduates become leaders in Dubai’s business and legal communities, and the DMC club helps them develop the leadership skills they need to succeed. “I therefore believe that the more students we can get involved in Toastmasters at the college, the better off the country as a whole will be five, 10 and 15 years down the road.”
Tellingly, three of Dubai Men’s College’s last four Student Council presidents have been Toastmasters.
UCI staff members Carolynn Bramlett and Kim Hau Kerwin joined the campus club to improve their professional communication skills – Bramlett seven years ago, and Hau Kerwin this past September. Both women believe it has been worthwhile. What also makes the college club rewarding, they add, is being part of such a diverse group. In addition to the cultural diversity, students and staff vary widely in age and life experience. Yet they all work together toward a common goal.
“I learn so much from the young people,” says Bramlett, the administrative assistant for the UCI Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy. “On this campus, a lot of professors tell their graduate students, especially those for whom English is a second language, to join Toastmasters to improve their second-language skills. It’s fascinating for me to hear these students give speeches. And it’s fun to work with them, mentor them and watch them grow.”
Jennifer Blanck, founder of Georgetown Toastmasters at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., agrees that college clubs are a dynamic demographic. The longtime Toastmaster, who is assistant dean of career and alumni services at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, relishes being with staff and students from so many academic disciplines. Club meetings, she notes, are always stimulating.
“The speech topics are so varied, and the people are so great,” Blanck says, “that no matter what mood I’m in, at the end of our Toastmasters meeting I always leave happy – or happier."
Paul Sterman is an associate editor for the Toastmaster magazine.