After three days of meetings, speeches, and learning the way things work at Wabash, more than 250 freshmen got the chance to sweat and work. The Class of 2016 spread across Montgomery County to do community service work.

Learning to ‘live humanely’ has long been a part of Freshman Orientation. The annual work day also provides local organizations with manpower they could otherwise never afford.

Approximately 15 students started their morning at 8 a.m. at the Habitat for Humanity work site across the street from the Wabash baseball field. Dr. Richard Bowen’s tutorial students were shoveling and moving gravel.

“Typically on a normal week day we have a lot of people who are not capable of doing some of the heavier work,” said construction coordinator Kym Bushong. “So today I’m hoping we can get a driveway extended so the homeowner doesn’t have to step out into the mud. I’m hoping we can get all of our grass mowed. I’m hoping we can move some dirt so we can frame up our sidewalks and steps to the back porch.

“These guys can accomplish a lot more than we can. In their four hours today they will accomplish what we normally would in two Saturdays."

Larry Pollitt, who was directing the freshmen at work at the Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church's FISH Clothing Pantry, was also grateful for the time and work saved by the students.

"These guys get done in an hour what it takes a whole day for me to do myself," he said. The students transformed the Pantry's inventory from its summer clothing to winter clothing for the upcoming season.

Another group of students, who are in Dr. David Kubiaks’ freshman tutorial, were working at the Crawfordsville Municipal Golf Course. The guys had taped off all of the windows to the pro shop and applying a new coat of paint under the watchful eye of their student leader Anton Crepinsek ’13.

Students from Professor Ethan Hollander's freshmen tutorial helped prepare the Lew Wallace Study grounds for this weekend's Taste of Montgomery County, one of the area's largest public events. 

"You wouldn't believe how helpful these guys are," said Study Grounds Manager Deb King. "And it's perfect timing, having these Wabash gentlemen help set this up. I don't think we could pull this thing off without volunteer help." Wabash alum Dale Petrie ’75 was also on hand, supervising the set-up of the performance stage for this weekend's event.