Student Affairs partners with OPP for its annual Community Service Day

By Ali Sherretta, OPP Communications Intern

For the past three years, more than 100 Student Affairs staff members participated in the Student Affairs Community Service Day each year. For the second straight year, OPP helped coordinate some of the various activities participants had to choose from with a focus on campus beautification.

On May 14 the Student Affairs staff members chose from five activities and locations to spend their day of service. These included the Arboretum, Centre Furnace Mansion, the Peace Garden, the Student Farm and Trash to Treasure. Those who chose the Peace Garden, which is located between the HUB and Old Main, spent the day planting perennials and pachysandra with OPP employees.

The opportunity gave Student Affairs staff and OPP landscape crew members a chance to work together and make a visual difference within the Penn State community.

"It is important for us to engage with our customers to build support and awareness for our activities on campus,” said Brian Phiel, supervisor for grounds maintenance with OPP. “It gives us a chance to interact with our customers and gives them a glimpse of what we know and how we do it. Hopefully they can learn something to bring back to their own gardens."

The OPP crew members plan to continue to participate in this event with the Student Affairs staff for years to come. Mary Edgington, facilities coordinator for Student Affairs and planner of the event, said the most rewarding part about the Student Affairs Community Services Day is, "Building camaraderie while giving back in a sustainable way to Penn State and the community."