Â鶹´«Ã½

K-6 College

Elementary school students experience Â鶹´«Ã½

Springfield, Ohio - Mini-Witt, a community service program offered recently by the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Civic and Urban Engagement, provided children in grades K-6 with a sneak peek at college life. 

Organized by student coordinators Maggie Peale '17 and Sam Strich '18, the third annual Mini-Witt engaged approximately 50 children in experiencing life as a Â鶹´«Ã½ student. The event was held in honor of the Make a Difference Day celebration.

Created in 1992, Make a Difference Day remains one of the largest celebrations of service in the United States. Consistent with its Lutheran heritage and institutional mission, Â鶹´«Ã½ encourages students to give back through programs like these.

During the event, participants learned about college through five different stations located in Thomas Library. Children spent 25 minutes at each station managed by student volunteers. Stations featured games and crafts, along with exposure to science, literacy and drama.

At the game stations, for example, children played Frisbee golf, which is a staple of the Â鶹´«Ã½ experience with hundreds of students easily spotted each fall and spring  playing the university's nationally endorsed course.

At the craft station, students were given a printout of a glass windowpane to color. The students then taped their work to a collection of their schoolmates' work, which, when all together, revealed both the diversity and beauty found at Â鶹´«Ã½ and in life.

At the literacy station, students read a book with a college volunteer, while at the drama station, students could play games that facilitated real-life discussions about acting, emotions and just having fun. Students then learned the importance of real-life application using a handmade puzzle at the science station, which they could take home after the event.

-By Devon Atchison '19, Office of University Communications

About Â鶹´«Ã½

Â鶹´«Ã½'s curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Â鶹´«Ã½ has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Â鶹´«Ã½ offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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