Fall Day of Service Connects Students and Community

Spencer Allen sees the value of service, so when he had the opportunity to lead a volunteer team for the Carnegie Mellon University Fall Day of Service, he saw it as a great way to connect with the Pittsburgh community.

"I've done a lot of leadership related volunteer experience in the past, and I really felt I made a difference," said Allen, a sophomore in the Department of Physics. "I'm not from the Pittsburgh area, so this seemed like the best way to get involved."

Allen was one of the many Carnegie Mellon undergraduate students who spent a Saturday participating in the Fall Day of Service. Organized by the Mellon College of Science (MCS) and the Office of Student Leadership, Involvement and Civic Engagement (SLICE), the Fall Day of Service connects students with nonprofit charities in the Pittsburgh area.

Ken Hovis, MCS assistant dean for educational initiatives, was one of the organizers of the event. He said that events like this are vital to help students develop as people and as scientists.

"The Day of Service was first created to provide more opportunities for MCS students, faculty and staff to go out into our community and serve together and to build community with each other while doing it," Hovis said. "It allows for MCS students, faculty and staff to work together in a very different environment than the university setting, allowing them to get to know each other in a more informal way."

Allen helped the community by baking cookies at Pittsburgh's Family House, an organization that offers safe, affordable and convenient lodging to patients and families who travel to Pittsburgh for medical care. He and his fellow team lead Matthew Dakin, a senior in physics, baked snickerdoodles, lemon cookies and rice crispy treats.

"I was a Boy Scout, and I enjoy leading activities," Dakin said. "I really wanted to get involved."

Fellow students on their teams had a range of baking experience in the kitchen. Julia Schraml, a junior in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, helped make the rice crispy treats.

"I haven't baked since I was little," Schraml said. "It was pretty fun."

Other groups of students spent the day outside. Rhea Kalra, a senior in mathematical sciences, and Rashi Sharma, a first-year in the Mellon College of Science, lead a team that volunteered with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, an organization that aims to revitalize the downtown community.

"I'd spoken with city councils about conservation before, but this was a hands-on way of making a difference," Sharma said.

Kalra and Sharma's team cleaned up litter, trash and weeds near roads leading toward downtown. They walked away with trash bags full of debris.

"The sidewalk looked so much better, and I got to interact with people I wouldn't have talked to otherwise," Kalra said.

Besides organizing the event, Hovis volunteered with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, an organization that helps maintain and beautify city parks. He said he enjoyed the day, and he said he hopes the Fall Day of Service continues to expand with more people involved.

"The Mellon College of Science wants to produce not only highly trained scientists and mathematicians when they graduate, but citizen scientists who recognize the important role they plan in society and are focused on intentionally giving back in the communities they live in," Hovis said. "It is my hope that more colleges will be willing to consider participating in a day of service for their own colleges as well as see more MCS faculty and staff come out and be a part of this day to serve our community together!"