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Lycoming College students are no strangers to dreaming big. But this semester, some of them have decided to take a more literal, direct approach to the expression.

The result is Dream Big Consultants, the brainchild of five members of Dr. Neil Boyd's Business Management and Organization class. The group consists of John Buell, Heather Frantz, Chris Regan, Jessicya Robinson and Kari Smith, all of whom are majoring in some aspect of business administration, including marketing, finance and accounting.

The students are working with Michael and Keiko Pilato and Tracey Tillett of the Public Art Academy to promote the nonprofit's upcoming events, in particular tonight's Lisa Simone concert at the Community Arts Center.

Simone, the daughter of jazz legend Nina Simone, is an acclaimed singer in her own right, and will perform at 7:30 p.m. as part of the week's activities for the Governor's Awards for the Arts.

It's quite a leap from registering for a business class to coordinating publicity for a nationally unique arts academy and a major area concert. But the students are simply taking advantage of an opportunity to turn their ideas into reality.

The management class that served as an impetus to their project is a three-section, 200-level course that pairs groups of five or six students with area nonprofit organizations in order to give the students hands-on marketing and management experience.

When selecting their nonprofit, the group knew exactly what it wanted and acted accordingly. Boyd asked his students to list their top three choices for the organization with which they would like to be paired. The group listed the Public Art Academy in all three slots.

"It just seemed like such an opportunity," Buell said. "We didn't want to do what everyone else does, so we chose to work with (Public Art Academy) to try to make a difference."

Tillett, the Public Art Academy arts marketing consultant, said the students have more than risen to the opportunity's occasion.

"I've been extremely impressed with them and their dedication," she said. "I've given them a large amount of work to do and they have stepped up to the plate on everything I've asked (of them)."

The students started work on the semester-long project in mid-September, when they formed Dream Big Consultants. Since then, they've been hard at work, contacting local business and major media outlets to promote events at the Public Art Academy.

Their work has involved everything from helping to wash Academy windows to scheduling radio and newspaper interviews and creating flyers and brochures for the organization's events. But their main focus is to promote Lisa Simone's concert at the Community Arts Center.

The students hope that the Williamsport area will take advantage of the chance to see the talented daughter of a music legend.

"What a great experience it would be to see a singer who's not up and coming - she's here already," Buell said, adding that the potential is an extension of their practical endeavor. "This is a real world marketing experience where you get to see an impact. We have full expectations of filling the Community Arts Center."

And the students are directly contributing to the event's success. Beyond spending considerable time working to promote the show, the students will be on hand at the concert to make sure everything runs smoothly, and to get some practice helping to manage a show on the fly. It's an offering from today's students to a community of all ages, something the students are quite aware of.

Frantz was quick to highlight the show's inter-generational appeal.

"Nina Simone was internationally known, and when (Lisa) was little, she would go up onstage and sing with her mother," she said. "And now she has a daughter and her daughter is going to be singing at the concert with Lisa."

The students also are aware that they themselves are contributing to the link between past and present, and they're looking forward to their futures, and the future of the Public Art Academy.

"I feel that this experience is particularly unique, because five years from now (the Public Art Academy) is going to be bigger, and we can look back and say we had a part in that," Smith said.

But for now, Dream Big Consultants is focused on the near future. The group also is working to promote the Public Art Academy's Family Art Day on Nov. 15, and has brought in other Lycoming College students as volunteers for the events.

In the end, the students' experiences working with the Public Art Academy has benefited all involved, and Tillett looks forward to what the students have to offer in the future.

"My hope is that it helps that they've been given hands-on experience with marketing and media in our community that will expand and enrich their own strengths," she said, adding that she hopes the students' work will give them the confidence "to take their skills and strengths out into the world and apply them, and apply those experiences in an even greater way. They've learned a lot about group dynamics, leadership skills, and the impacts of the arts on a community.

"They have so much to give, that my hope is that they will continue to give as they've given to us. What they've given us goes way beyond the Public Art Academy; it goes to really benefit the community of Williamsport, and the arts in Williamsport."