The new United World College-USA Campus Services program kicked off today with students, teachers and staff working alongside the custodial, maintenance and grounds employees to clean and spruce up the Montezuma campus.
The student/employee crews swept and mopped floors, vacuumed classrooms, cleaned windows and bathrooms, and dusted the interior of the castle, Edith Lansing Fieldhouse and Kilimanjaro Dormitory. Work crews also weeded, picked up garbage, raked and trimmed hedges on lower campus, in front of the castle and around the Nelson Mandela Peace Garden.
“Everyone on campus works from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays students, program staff, admin staff and facilities staff,” said Alex Curtiss, experiential education coordinator for UWC-USA. “Not all adults need to lead, but all should be visibly participating, shoulder to shoulder with students.”
Participants received bandanas with the slogan “We Are Crew, Not Passengers.”
“This is intended to break down class divides between students, facility staff and faculty,” Curtiss said. “It will also build a bridge that will create long-term accountability and love for a shared space.”
Every project has a clear path, he added.
“There may be obstacles and hiccups throughout the process, but we do not start a project until the ‘how’ has been clearly sorted out,” Curtiss said. “Experiencing physical labor helps students better empathize with others.”