Paul Bieniek
pbb001@marietta.edu
On Oct. 22, students volunteered in Make a Difference Day projects throughout the Marietta area in honor of the national day of service. The projects were organized by first-year students in the leadership program. One student organizer, freshman Carter Lang, shared with The Marcolian what the experience meant to him.
Carter Lang:
“Make a Difference Day 2016 was a mandated day of service in the leadership program. However, I did not see it as such.
My group elected to take on the challenge of fighting blight and unsafe property conditions in the environment, in the city of Marietta. However, our project changed throughout the course of the semester. My group had to quickly turn around and join forces with another group who happened to be under the same community partner, Roger Kalter. Our project was titled ‘Cemeteries Coming Alive,’ and we worked on the Oak Grove Cemetery near 8th Street here in town. Our goal was to eliminate blight within the cemetery.
The project was very successful on Oct. 22. I worked in the chapel while others were spread between the Mausoleum and drainage systems. I helped to take out old paneling, organize the materials that needed stored, and tore down parts of the ceiling that were starting to rot.
My favorite part of Make a Difference Day was the heartfelt connection I experienced when I was helping to clean up the chapel because I knew that my work was moving the chapel closer to re-opening. Overall, everyone involved was impressed with the amount of work we accomplished through dispersed leadership. I would like to thank everyone that made this day possible, including Dr. McManus, Maribeth Saleem-Tanner, Roger Kalter, Amanda Carpenter, Matt Pietzcker, Kelly Brumbaugh, Kirsten Gardner, Liz Nedved, and the other leadership groups.”
