UNC Asheville Students Learn by Action in Atlanta

Seven UNC Asheville students engaged in the “creative altruism” that Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged when they recently traveled to Atlanta in honor of his birthday. The students spent their long weekend touring museums, attending a church service and restoring a graveyard on the trip organized by UNC Asheville’s Key Center for Community Citizenship and Service-Learning.

Participating students included junior psychology major Lauren Fox, of Huntersville; senior management major Tarik Glenn, of Durham; senior psychology major Sarah Hancock, of Greensboro; junior literature major Dana Henry, of Media, Pa.; junior sociology major Daniel Ness, of Pelitier; junior mass communication major Katie Rozycki, of Denver; and Jen Smith, of Lexington, a senior double majoring in literature and history with teaching licensure. They were led by Merritt Moseley, literature and language professor and Key Center Professor, and mathematics lecturer Cathy Whitlock.

Students attended a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King worshiped as a child and co-pastored until his death in 1968. They also explored exhibits on King’s life and work at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site’s Visitor Center.

“It’s impossible to understate King’s influence as a leader of people,” said Hancock. “To visit his home church and go through the museum truly expanded my appreciation for his work.”

On the final day of the trip, students raked and bagged leaves at Sylvester Cemetery, one of Atlanta’s oldest cemeteries. Founded in 1840, the cemetery has suffered years of abuse and neglect. UNC Asheville volunteers joined others in the biggest cleanup in the cemetery’s history.

“I learned to appreciate King’s call for actual service and participation, rather than simple discussion. He was a man more concerned with movement and change than rhetoric,” said Rozycki. “It was wonderful to take what we learned from his mission and, in turn, do something tangible for others.”

This most recent trip is only one way in which UNC Asheville’s Key Center for Community Citizenship and Service-Learning links students with relevant community participation and education. By teaming up with over 100 local non-profit organizations, the Key Center seeks to maximize the engagement of UNC Asheville students and staff with their community. The center also encourages the connection between community service and academic course materials.

“Service-learning is a meaningful and much-needed addition to what you learn in the classroom,” said Fox. “There is something unique and special about going out and experiencing things for yourself.”

For more information on the Key Center’s activities, call 828/251-6400.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Merritt Moseley, Literature and Language and Key Center Professor, 828/251-6583
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526