On Thursday, September 15, 2022, hundreds of Andrews students, staff, and faculty members gathered together to “change the world,” starting from Berrien Springs and the neighboring vicinity. Jessica Bowen (senior, animal science), was one of those many individuals who desired to bring positive change to her community. In this interview, she shares her experience participating in the 6th annual Change Day, and her perspective regarding this event.
How many times have you joined Change Day, and how did you see this event developing or changing during those years?
I actually transferred to Andrews last year, so this is only my second Change Day. So last year, as a new student, I got barely any information about what was going on in school. But my professor invited me to her project so that helped me get involved in Change Day. I don’t think there was much change between these two years, but I do think more people got involved this year. Last year, there was plenty of breakfast, but they ran out three people before me this time. I also think we had to wear the mask while taking the picture last year since the Covid restrictions were stronger.
What motivated you to participate in Change Day this year?
I like doing projects, and I appreciated how there was a wide variety of service activities available to the students. It helped me find several projects that intrigued me.
Out of all those projects, which one did you join, and what was the purpose of this group activity? Why did you choose this out of all the other options?
The project that I joined this year was Forest Meadow Ranch. I chose this program first because they have horses (they are a horse therapy center), and I love horses! Another reason why I volunteered here is that I actually know the individuals who work there. So it was neat to help them out!
Did everything go well? What specific change did you and your group make?
It went pretty well. We most of the time worked on the yard maintenance, and divided the work among the participants. People worked on trimming the fence line, giving out weed killer, painting the garage door, and whatnot. I mainly worked on cutting the Ivy and landscaping. The facility looked a lot nicer after the work was over.
What value do you see in annual Change Day, and are there some qualities of Change Day that you want to see continuously in the future?
I think it’s great that we are giving the community a chance to find help from the university for work that can feel overwhelming without assistance from a bigger group. So I hope the university continues its work of uplifting the community.
Is there anything you would like to see Change Day develop/ improve for the upcoming years? I’m assuming we need more breakfast, for sure.
Haha, yeah, that’s for sure. I’ll say starting on time would be something we need to see happen for next year’s Change Day. It took a long time for everyone to settle, and we ended up getting to the facility quite late. I’m pretty sure that was an issue for other groups too. So it would be nice to see that change happening.
Also, there were some groups that restricted the sign-up specifically for students in specific majors. But then an email was sent out later that they would need help even from students without those majors. So I think it would be better if they could next time find students within their majors first before making a public advertisement on the website since it can confuse people and feel like their help is restricted for no reason.
Valid points! Thank you for sharing your perspective and for your service on Change Day!
For sure!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.