Morehead State students serve community during fourth annual Make an Impact Day

Morehead State University hosted its fourth annual Make an Impact Day on Sept. 8 and 9, engaging more than 1,000 first-year students through their First Year Seminar courses.

This annual event introduces students to service learning while demonstrating how they can contribute to their communities and develop skills that support their academic, personal and professional growth.

“Make an Impact Day gives our first-year students an immediate opportunity to see themselves as active members of the MSU and regional communities,” said Andrew Sexton (Class of 2020, 2022), coordinator of service learning for the Center for Career Development & Experiential Education. “By working together on projects that address real needs, students learn that service does not have to begin with a major commitment. It can begin with one blanket, one care package or one encouraging message. Collectively, those individual contributions create a significant impact while helping students develop professional skills such as civic engagement, teamwork, communication and problem-solving.”

These skills are part of MSU’s Level UP: Skills that SOAR! initiative, which helps students recognize, develop, and communicate the career-ready skills they gain through experiences inside and outside the classroom.

Students completed eight service projects benefiting schools, health care organizations, first responders and other groups throughout MSU’s service region:

• Assembling 500 backpacks containing hygiene supplies for distribution to students through Rowan County Schools. MSU Student Activities led the project.
• Donating 96 units of blood through the Kentucky Blood Center, with the potential to help nearly 300 patients.
• MSU’s Herron Leadership Scholars led students in making 65 tie blankets for pediatric patients at UK St. Claire.
• Writing more than 160 thank-you letters to donors who support MSU scholarships for a project led by MSU’s Office of Alumni Relations & Development and the Student Alumni Ambassadors.
• Registering more than 200 students to vote with assistance from the Rowan County Clerk’s Office.
• MSU’s Student Government Association led students in creating more than 250 inspirational bracelets for MSU’s College Recovery Resource Center.
• MSU TALONS led students in assembling more than 130 care packages for local first responders.
• MSU ROTC led the placement of flags in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in honor of the day’s 25th anniversary.

Students were also encouraged to reflect on what they learned through their participation. This reflection component helps students connect their service experiences with their academic learning, personal development and responsibility to their communities.

Make an Impact Day also connects students with opportunities to remain involved beyond the two-day event. Seventeen representatives from seven community organizations attended and spoke with students about volunteer opportunities they have available, including the Cave Run Storytelling Festival, Christian Appalachian Project, American Red Cross, EngageKY, Rowan County Veterans’ Museum, Gateway Homeless Coalition and Sheltowee Trace Association.

Financial support from EngageKY and AmeriCorps, as well as 9/11 Day and the Alliance for Campus Community Engagement, helped provide the supplies and resources necessary to expand the event’s reach throughout the region.

For more information about sharing volunteer opportunities or collaborating on service projects, contact Sexton at 606-783-5493 or servicelearning@moreheadstate.edu.

To learn more about Morehead State University’s Center for Career Development & Experiential Education, email careerservices@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2233.