Bucknell students spruce up local businesses
Nov. 6—LEWISBURG — Bucknell University sophomore Bea Rakowsky has spent hours painting several rooms at Summit Early Learning center in Lewisburg as part of a Management 101 class.
The course, according to the university website, "is designed to help first-year students integrate into college life, build community with campus stakeholders, educate students on how management and organizations can be forces for the common good and help students learn about future paths of purpose."
Rakowksy, a finance major, said the course is meeting its objective.
"It's very fulfilling," she said, of the service project she's involved in with several classmates at the Summit Early Learning center where they are painting classrooms, doing landscaping work and fundraising to provide new equipment. "I'm learning a tangible skill in my field and I'm learning to paint.
Other students in the class are doing similar service projects for Ronald McDonald House in Danville, Patriot K-9 Rescue Inc. in Elysburg and William Cameron Engine Company in Lewisburg.
Two groups of students are working at Summit and providing more than 500 hours of service, said sophomore Jessica Ryan, who is overseeing one section of students as the vice president of student.
As part of the project, the students are tasked with creating a budget and raising money to pay for the supplies, materials and new equipment.
"We're getting a lot of learning experience working within groups and the people of the community," with each of the students providing at least 10 hours of service, she said. "It's been probably one of the best classes I've taken. It's such a rewarding experience to see the impact we're making, and I'm learning how to manage a department."
Betty Scott, Summit's family and community outreach specialist, lauded the students work on Saturday as she showed off the newly painted rooms, recently landscaped outdoor play area and murals they are creating at the center located at 205 Hospital Drive in Lewisburg that opened in 2001. Summit operates six early childhood education centers and serves children in Union, Snyder, Northumberland and Mifflin counties.
"We love that parents will see our true colors," said Scott of the refurbished Lewisburg location.
The students began the project Oct. 23 and will finish Wednesday followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday.
Another aspect of the work they are doing is raising money to equip the center with new items, including child-sized picnic tables.
So far, the two groups have raised more than $6,000 through an online fundraising campaign and other events in the community.
Grace Kim, a global management and international relations major, said she was glad to be a part of a project benefitting children that brings the campus and community together.
"It bridges the gap between Bucknell as a school and the community," she said.
