The Technician

Issue date: 3/1/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Isaac Meadows Amanda Coburn (left) and Erika Baker (right) say they learned a lot from planning and implementing the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Kettering. Their message to others? "Get out and volunteer, that's what the day is for!"

Media Credit: Isaac Meadows Middle school students control a robot attempting to make a sandwich. From left, Kayla Hall, Romea Washington, Charlie Bingham, D'Angelo Gilleppie, and Kettering senior Dennis Indrawan.

While many students celebrated the long weekend by sleeping in on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a group of faculty, staff, and student volunteers reached out to the community in an all-day program for middle school students.

Made possible by a grant from the Michigan Campus Compact, Kettering University's Campus Engagement Fellowship program hosted a unique "Day of Service" event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Last year, the program selected two B-section students, Amanda Coburn and Erika Baker, to participate in extensive training centered around leadership in community service and to plan and execute the "Day of Service" as Campus Engagement Fellows. Their unique approach, instead of following the traditional format of sending volunteers out into the community, invited members of the community to Kettering. Middle school students from Holmes, McKinley, and Classical Academy visited Kettering's campus for an all-day program focused on science, technology, and achieving one's dreams.

Why go to college? "Because a high school diploma won't get you nowhere," replied a student early in the day. After watching a video of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, the middle schoolers spent some time interacting with Kettering students as they split into small groups and explored what the University has to offer. Lexxus Wright, a student from Holmes Middle School, declared the dorm rooms "awesome". After discussing the function of cell phones and computer networks with this reporter for several minutes, she commented "I want to come here and learn how to build a cell phone."

After the introduction and tours, groups rotated between four sessions to give them deeper exposure to college life. In the IME robotics labs, the students were introduced to some basic concepts of robotics by Dr. Lucy King. They had the opportunity to control robots to accomplish tasks like building a sandwich or hitting a golf ball. In the next session, students met with Dr. Kowalski, who used high-speed video cameras to analyze events like a recording of an exploding mailbox or a closing mousetrap. He challenged students, volunteers and even himself to "beat the mousetrap" by setting it off with a pencil without letting the pencil be struck by the closing device. A high-speed camera nearby provided instant slow-motion replays. In the physics labs, Dr. Dan Ludwigsen walked the visiting students through a "crash test" experiment from Kettering's recently revised Physics 1 lab curriculum. A number of sensors collected data from a small cart's collision with a wall and displayed it on a nearby computer screen. Finally, each group was able to spend some time at the Recreation Center, where dodgeball and basketball were the games of choice.

The middle school students participated in one more common Kettering activity, listening to a visiting speaker over lunch. Patrick McNeal, founder of the Flint homeless shelter Mr Brother's Keeper, had an inspirational message for the visitors and some frank comments for the Kettering students volunteering. By inviting Flint school students to Kettering, he said, "You guys are showing them a world that even though it is right in their area, isn't part of their world. . . You just increased their cultural capital." McNeal, who holds a Master's of Divinity as well as a master's degree in Educational Leadership, is a former associate registrar at Kettering University.

At the end of the day, Campus Engagement Fellows Erikia Baker and Amanda Coburn were tired but happy. Meeting their goal of 50 visiting students and providing them with a variety of activities and programs, they saw the day as a success. Looking back on the planning and execution of the Day of Service, Erika commented, "I learned a lot about working in a team and about the importance of effective communications." Director of Greek Life and Community Service Robert Marias expressed enthusiasm as well, saying that he hoped the grant would be continued for a similar program next year.

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