Students participate in Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service on day off

On Monday afternoon, USD students participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. Students met in the Muenster University Center and then separated into groups to volunteer at different organizations in Vermillion, Elk Point and Yankton.  

According to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, this day of national service was created when Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act in 1994. It’s the only federal holiday celebrated in the form of a national day of service in honor of King’s goal of a beloved community.

 Megan Holman, a graduate assistant who helped run the event, said she likes how this event gives students the opportunity to dabble in community service.

“It can kind of give people a chance to test out different places to volunteer and maybe then continue to volunteer with them,” Holman said. “It’s a low-commitment way to test out different ways to serve your community.”

Dalila Missoh, a junior French and international relations major, led a group of three other students as they helped move furniture, rake leaves and clean windows at the St. Thomas More Newman Center.

“I thought it’d be fun to meet different people and go somewhere in Vermillion that I’d never been to,” Missoh said. “Community service is important because it helps you get to know the people in your community, and it helps you make a difference in your community as well.”

It was a windy, cold day in Vermillion, but senior business administration major Trebor Jobe said he was happy to be involved, regardless of the weather.

“It’s nice when you have free time to do something for other people,” Jobe said. “The weather made it a little tougher challenge, but it’s still a lot of stuff that needs to be done.”