The Register Herald recently reported that the West Virginia University Institute of Technology students celebrated the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday by braving frigid temperatures and heading out to help organizations in Raleigh and Fayette counties. 

The 260 students, faculty, and staff members performed a total of 19 service projects throughout the region. WVU Tech Service and Outreach Coordinator Laura Lucas said, “Monday, we had students out there doing things such as paintings, organizing, doing crafts for organizations, and doing services.” Lucas reported, “It was just a really great day for the Golden Bear Family.” Monday was the fourth year that WVU Tech has celebrated Martin Luther King JR Day with outreach projects in Raleigh and Fayette counties . 

“It’s really nice to be able to work in my hometown and see students really engaging and being a part of this community,” said Lucas, who is a Beckley resident, “Sometimes people call it giving back but i think students receives a lot from being a part of the community.”

Thirteen members of the WVU Tech cheer squad headed to the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority where they separated trash from recyclables and made a collage from throwaway items that could not be reused. 

“It was a very productive day,” Jacobi Harris, a mechanical engineering major from Charleston who is in his junior year at WVU Tech, said. We do this in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. because of the service he did.

“It was honestly a great opportunity that we have that we got as many students as we had to come out this year,” Harris said, “the service still means a lot to this campus. It was a great way to spend my day off at Beckley Stratton Middle School WVU Tech volunteers painted and organized the school clothing closet to make the school brighter.”

“WE DO THIS ON THE REMEMBRANCE OF  MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE HE DID.”

                                                                                           Jacobi Harris 

                                                                                             WVU Tech Cheer Team