GREENEVILLE – Enhancing their community service skills, Tusculum University students traded their books and laptops for window cleaners and tools Wednesday, Sept. 11, to participate in this year’s Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day.
A Tusculum University student cleans a window at the YMCA of Greeneville during Nettie Day activities.
Tusculum University students haul an item at the Greeneville Theater Guild during Nettie Day activities.
More than 700 students, faculty and staff members put their muscles to work performing a variety of tasks, such as demolition and cleanup, at 34 sites. This annual event highlights the emphasis Tusculum places in its curriculum and expectations of students throughout their time at Tusculum to be civically engaged.
Haley Shanks, a senior pursuing a nursing degree, sees a connection between the volunteer work she performed at the YMCA of Greeneville and the career she is pursuing.
“Nursing is a caring and giving field and works very closely with people in need,” she said. “Volunteering is a way of giving back and demonstrating concern for others, and it goes hand in hand with the duties of a nurse. It was important for our nursing students to come together at Nettie Day and use our abilities to do something great for the community.”
Dexler Benjamin, a freshman, was busy with demolition work and moving tiles at the Greeneville Theater Guild. As he reflected on his experience, he saw the benefit of community service.
“You can have fun while doing that and while helping people out,” he said. “It teaches you good character. It’s a nice way to say thank you.”
A Tusculum University student performs work at the Greeneville Theater Guild.
Planning Nettie Day takes months of work as Courtney Washburn from Tusculum’s Center for Civic Advancement and a team of service learning students confirmed locations where service work would take place and assisted with other logistics. Sydney Holter, a junior, and Cheyanne Fisher, a senior, were two of the students who helped with the behind-the-scenes work.
“It was really cool seeing the hundreds of hours people are putting in today because I’m a big believer in volunteering and helping people out in the community,” Holter said. “It’s one of my passions. You don’t see a lot of other universities doing stuff like that on such a big scale.”
Washburn said Nettie Day provides a forum for the Tusculum family to honor the university’s longtime commitment to civic engagement and the legacy of McCormick, an early benefactor of the institution. She said it is also a great way to connect Tusculum students to the community.
“We start out in a students’ freshman year to set the tone for their time at Tusculum,” Washburn said. “This enables them to establish a relationship with a community partner that could lead to other service opportunities. It also gives our students, particularly those who might come from outside the region, a better idea about the community and what it represents. It is nice to be able to actively support agencies and organizations that are understaffed and have limited resources.”