By HAYLEE BATES
Student Reporter
Northwestern students and faculty participated in a service project in Oklahoma City Friday.
The project was aimed at helping pack supplies for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon that will be held later this month. Students and faculty worked together to create the pallets for the water stations that are placed throughout the marathon course.
There were over 20 pallets packed in two hours. Students were able to give back to individuals who were directly impacted by the bombing and a state that directly impacts each student who participated in the project.
Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Calleb Mosburg said, “I hope that students get to be part of something that is bigger than themselves. Getting to serve others is a learning experience that all students should be a part of.”
The marathon and service project are centered around the remembrance of the Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995. Mosburg said, “The Oklahoma City bombing is an event that rallied a nation.” During the project students and faculty were able to tour the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum and were able to experience the impact the bombing had.
Students from six different universities from the Regional University System of Oklahoma were given the opportunity to be a part of the annual event. Student Government Association officer Morgan Renbarger said, “I liked getting to work with other students the best. It was cool to have everyone come together and complete a task.”
Northwestern participated in the project as part of their commitment to the Oklahoma Standard. To uphold the university’s commitment to the Oklahoma Standard it will commit an act of kindness, honor, and service throughout the month of April. Mosburg said, “It does not take much for someone to be committed to giving an act of kindness, honor, and service.”
The project in Oklahoma City will contribute to the act of service that the university committed to participate in.
The act of kindness that the university will participate in is a campus cleanup day April 22. During this act of kindness for the Oklahoma Standard, Northwestern will host an individual that was directly impacted by the Oklahoma City bombing that took place 20 years ago. The name of the individual has not been released yet, but students and faculty will be given the opportunity to meet and interact with him or her on the day of the cleanup.
The act of honor that Northwestern will commit to is keeping students accountable for giving back to their campus and community.
Representatives from Northwestern Scholar Ambassadors, the President’s Leadership Class, Alpha Sigma Alpha, the Student Government Association, and athletics made up the team of 10 students that participated in the project. Mosburg and Service Learning Coordinator Theresa Lemke were the faculty that supervised and participated in the project.
Northwestern Alpha Sigma Alpha representative Kodie Powell said, “It was awesome to see how our students and faculty were more like family than strangers. It was an opportunity that I will never forget, and I am truly thankful for attending this university.”