On Saturday September 6, 2014, Stockton hosted its semi-annual Day of Service, an event in which multiple clubs and organizations gather together and allow students to participate in community service on or off campus. After arriving at the campus event room at 8 am that morning, we were provided with breakfast, a free “Stockton Serves” t-shirt, and choices to volunteer with one of many clubs/organizations attending the event.

My friends and I chose to stay on campus with WaterWatch for our first Stockton event (outside of Welcome Week). WaterWatch is a club at Stockton that focuses on service and keeping our campus and the surrounding community trash-free and environmentally friendly. Being freshmen, we had no idea what WaterWatch was or what we were going to be doing that day. We soon found out that we would be split into groups of about 10 people each and assigned different sections of campus to clean. My friends and I were grouped together and told to clean the West Quad and the area surrounding the Campus Center. Our group then split into two even smaller groups to cover our assigned ground faster and more efficiently.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t that much trash to pick up – Stockton is lucky to have such a clean campus. The only minor issue we encountered was the many scattered cigarette butts around the gazebos and in non-smoking areas.

Even though it was an extremely hot morning, we finished cleaning campus and helping other groups at 11 am. Lunch was then provided for us in the Campus Center, where we held a small reflection session. What this service project meant to us was central to our discussion. To me, this service project was a way to make a difference by doing something simple. In fact, since the Day of Service, I notice the trash around campus more and don’t hesitate to pick it up and throw it out. All in all, the experience was worth the effort and was a rewarding way to serve Stockton.