RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (April 21, 2008)--It was the evening of Sunday, March 16, and a group of people were volunteering in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, one of those areas still trying to recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The group was in town for the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) meeting. CGIU is a branch of the William J. Clinton Foundation that works to engage college and university students in volunteerism efforts that can make a difference in their communities and around the world.
Jeff Aulgur, director of the Arkansas Tech University Professional Development Institute, and a group of three Tech Emergency Administration and Management students --- John Kennedy of Russellville, Brad McLaughlin of Benton and Boyang Zhang of China --- were part of that volunteer effort on that evening when a woman with a photo album approached them.
“She pointed and explained that this is where her house had been, and this is where her new house is going to be,” said Aulgur. “She opened the album and showed us photos of the barge that had come over the levee and what was left of her house. She said it was six months before they could even return to the site. Having that chance to speak with someone who had actually been affected by the disaster made this 3-hour project a little more tangible. When we first got there, it felt a little like it was all for show. But meeting her and knowing that those three hours were going to make a difference in her life made it real.”
Those kinds of experiences are why the CGIU met in New Orleans this year, and why Tech President Dr. Robert C. Brown not only joined a group of 40 college presidents at the conference, but invited Aulgur and three students to attend as well.
“The most important lesson among our student body is that they do have an obligation to society,” said Dr. Brown when the Tech CGIU delegation was recognized at a recent Board of Trustees meeting. “Perhaps we can teach that lesson of giving back through participation.”
The conference included registrants from 46 states and six continents. Aulgur said that the diversity of the meeting was one of its greatest strengths.
“When people from New Jersey are meeting people from Arkansas, and Southern Baptists are in the same room with people of the Jewish faith and Catholics, it creates a real melting pot and breeds some interesting conversation,” said Aulgur. “The most fun we had was trying to first explain what crawfish are, and then how to eat them.”
McLaughlin said that he benefited from the opportunity to hear varied opinions from varied cultures.
“I was able to learn about how my small efforts, when combined with the small efforts of others, can make a big difference,” said McLaughlin. “Hearing people’s experiences from all over the country gave me a different perspective from what we have every day here in Arkansas.
“Getting to know everyone at the conference was valuable because you get an opportunity to make contacts with people all over the country, and really all over the world,” continued McLaughlin. “I brought back several good ideas and ways that I can better my commitment to my community.”
Tech students have consistently demonstrated a desire to volunteer in recent months, whether it was by assisting tornado victims in Atkins, collecting food for the needy during the holidays with the Helping Halls initiative, raising more than $27,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital through the Up ‘Til Dawn campaign or numerous other projects.
McLaughlin said that he senses a real desire among his peers to become involved in their communities.
“When President Clinton spoke to the group, he commented on the record number of non-profit organizations that have been established through the 1990s and this decade,” said McLaughlin. “It makes me realize that as a generation, people of my age are making a difference in the world. Our students want volunteer opportunities. They just have to be organized.”
At the Tech Board of Trustees meeting in March, Dr. Brown said that Tech is in the exploratory stages of determining how it can participate in the CGIU and carry out its mission in the Arkansas River Valley.
“Technology has put so many things in front of us that we never saw before,” said Aulgur. “I grew up in a world with three television stations, so when I see what my daughters are exposed to, they are and will be much more aware of problems in the world. If people can find something they are passionate about, something will click and they will want to get involved.”
