According to Torkelson, about 95 students, staff and faculty members will visit 11 sites Saturday within a five-mile radius of OUHSC. Among their projects are painting, landscaping and playing bingo with the elderly. Torkelson said it was important to provide avenues for students to experience the residents and organizations in their area.

“It gives the students, faculty and staff a chance to give something back to their community,” she said. “These job sites are basically in our back yard and it is important to help one another. Some students are so busy with their studies that they might not even be aware of these facilities. It’s time to start building relationships between them and give them a chance to work closely together.”

Norman campus freshman students Amy Uhles, 19, and Nadia Albahadily, 19, agree with both Torkelson and Davis. They see Saturday’s service learning opportunity as a way to reach beyond themselves and the university.

“I think it’s great,” said Uhles, a Norman North High School graduate. “It gets you involved. It’s not only good for you but for the community and others.”

Albahadily is so impressed with the effort, she would like to see it repeated throughout the year.

“It’s a great way for us to show our appreciation to the community,” she said. “We can get a lot of projects done. Imagine if we could do it three or four times a year … one is better than none I guess.”

For the more than 150 combined sites, it’s more than they could have expected eight years ago. Davis doesn’t take that lightly. After all the days and months, he is committed to completing the task and putting others first.

“We will stay until we get the job done,” he said. “It will depend on the site and what needs to be done, but we will do it. Anything they need, we will supply it.”

Tony Pennington

366-3541

tpennington@normantranscript.com