Ozark Christian College sent an army of about 570 students, faculty and staff to Joplin and area communities Thursday to demonstrate the college’s motto: “Not to be served but to serve.”
OCC students fanned out across the area for the third annual Serve Our Community day with teams of students and faculty offering their time and talents to dozens of area organizations.
Jerri Sargent, project manager at Ronald McDonald House of the Four States, said the 10 students who came there did great work taking care of chores that would probably have been put off.
“Anything a volunteer group does for us, nothing is little, everything matters,” Sargent said. “It takes the whole community to come together to make this house possible. We don’t have enough volunteers here every day to do the big cleaning, the deep cleaning projects. So it takes a group like this to come in and make a difference.”
Jessica Scheuermann, associate dean of undergraduate studies at OCC, was mentor for the students at the Ronald McDonald House. She said it was a chance for the students to practice what professors preach in the classroom.
“It’s an opportunity for us to have our students actually practice what they’re doing in the classroom all the time,” Scheuermann said. “They’re learning these things in the classroom so this is a day to go out and practice all those skills. Our motto at Ozark is ‘Not to be served but to serve,’ so this is a way to show that to the community where Ozark Christian College is located.”
Scheuermann said this is the third year in a row the college canceled classes and sent the entire staff and student body out for a day of service.
Amy Storms, OCC vice president of marketing and communications, said the college sent volunteers to 46 sites across the region, including schools, churches, and shelters for people and animals. A group of five students and a mentor went to Jasper County Court Appointed Special Advocates to help with weeding flower beds, cleaning up the play area and binding booklets.
Jeremiah Jones, who teaches podcasting and guitar in OCC’s Creative Arts Academy, said he was mentor to a group of five students who meet weekly to talk about school, life and anything else.
“We do this once a year in the fall, and it’s an opportunity for all our mentor and life groups to get together and go out and serve the city in some capacity,” Jones said. “Typically, how that happens, there’s a list things for people to sign up for, and we pick what we want to do and help that organization.”
Brandon Osborn, a senior from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, said events like the one Thursday are some of the best things OCC does to prepare students for a life of service.
“The work we do out here is just little chores that help people out,” Osborn said, “But the best thing that Ozark Christian College has done, better than any of their education, any of their spiritual guidance, is that they force all the students to go out and do service hours in the community outside the college. Everyone says they want to go out and help the community, but when you’re a college student trying to get the grades, and the school says, ‘All right, today we are doing this,’ they force you to actually get out and do it. It’s like a kick in the rear.”
Sophia Walker, a junior from Joplin, said the service day gives students a chance to get to know the community.
“For me, even growing up in Joplin my whole life, I knew of the Ronald McDonald House, but I have never really been here or really seen what they do,” Walker said. “So it’s been really cool. They gave us a tour of the facility, and it’s been really inspiring what they do for the community.”