April 19, 2023 at 10:13 a.m.

Accounting for a good cause

Siena students make no-sew blankets for Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

Cost accounting students at Siena College spent the day making no-sew fleece blankets for the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society on Wednesday, April 12 as part of a lesson on tracking costs. (Emily Benson photo)

By Emily Benson | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Accounting students at Siena College changed up their regular class schedule for some hands-on learning to support a good cause.

Students in cost accounting, taught by Professor Travis Brodbeck, made no-sew fleece blankets for the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society on Wednesday, April 12, as part of a lesson about production processes and related principles in tracking costs.

Each student group was part of a collaborative assembly line to “manufacture” as many blankets as possible in the allotted class time. Due to the nice weather, students gathered on the front lawn of the J. Spence and Patricia Standish Library to work in the sunshine. The group was later joined by Professor Heidi Durkee’s class, who brought her financial accounting students to join in the outdoor festivities.

“They just had their exam last Wednesday and they just went away for break, so I thought let’s come back and do something fun,” Brodbeck said.

A main component of the accounting course is understanding the functions and costs of running a business. To simulate this, students spent the day running a small blanket shop, with stations focused on preparations, cutting and finishing the product, and each station had to account for the cost of labor and fabric charges to keep the business flowing.

After the day, Brodbeck planned to bring the blankets to the Humane Society as a surprise donation to the community, something that Brodbeck said is what “Siena is all about.”

“The (Center for Academic Community Engagement) actually gave me $250 to do this when I approached them,” he said. “I wanted to do this out of my pocket anyways, so the fact that the school supports it shows that they care and they really want to integrate community service with their academics.”