Freshmen Start School Year By Serving

More than six years ago, President Lawrence Shall created the school's Center for Civic Engagement where every OU student would be encouraged to serve the surrounding community.

Monday, after the school welcomed its 350 incoming Freshmen, they sent them out into Metro Atlanta to perform various service projects at seven non-profit organizations, including the North Brookhaven community of Silver Lake.

About 20 students helped clean up trash and shrubs in preparation for the community's centennial celebration.

“[The day of service] was a great way for me to start making friends,” 17-year-old Parth Patel told OU's blog, who spent his morning clearing shrubs and picking up litter at nearby .  “I am originally from Zambia, and it is neat to meet other international students from all over… because we’ve been working together all morning, we’ve had plenty of time to talk and learn about each other’s cultures and backgrounds.”