Marquette University’s motto is “be the difference.“
Students will have the opportunity to make a difference at Marquette’s upcoming Make a Difference Day Nov. 6. The event, which will start on the second floor of the Alumni Memorial Union from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. is a one day service opportunity for Marquette students, faculty and staff to serve neighboring communities and build connections along the way.
“Make a Difference Day is one of the one-day service opportunities that our office provides. We have been organizing programming with fraternity and sorority organizations to get some chapters on campus involved and then of course it is geared at getting student, faculty and other members of the Marquette community to participate as well,” Faith Velez, a graduate assistant for the Center for Community Service and a graduate student in the College of Education, said.
Throughout the day, those that participate will be taking part in different types of service within the Milwaukee area. This includes yard-work as well as various housework throughout the surrounding Milwaukee area.
“We are serving older adults, communities and homeowners. We work with Eras Senior Network here in Milwaukee and they assign us different homes of senior adults. From there we will assign certain students to those homes to build connections with those adults,” Velez said.
Last year, due to COVID-19, students were only able to register for make a difference day in groups of four. Additionally, students had to register for a certain time to participate. With restrictions easing and vaccinations becoming available, make a difference day will be in its traditional form with all participants being able to partake in the event together.
Velez said that students will be raking leaves, pulling weeds and planting to assist the older adults. Additionally, the goal of Make a Difference Day is to also make connections with these communities to emphasize the impact of service.
“Part of our mission statement in our sorority is service to all mankind. So all the service opportunities that we do are committed to five tiers of service. We plenty of service projects in the Milwaukee area so we are really excited for make a difference day,” Adiya Ingram, president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and a senior in the College of Education, said.
Sarah Hayden, president of Alpha Omega Epsilon and senior in the College of Engineering, said all of the Greek life chapters are required to have an 80% attendance rate at Make a Difference Day.
Hayden and many other Greek life leaders have noted that this requirement is not one that “feels like a requirement” given their passion for service.
“This is a really cool opportunity to see all the chapters come together and do service,” Stan Kohls, president of Delta Tau Delta and a senior in the College of Engineering, said. “Even though make a difference day is a requirement, it is not one that we have to pull nails to accomplish because we are all so passionate about service and the service we already do.”
Many other Greek life chapters on campus have noted their passion for service and have also credited a lot of their involvement to the Center for Community Service.
“I think because we are a private institution we hold our Greek life to a higher expectation and because of that I think the Office of Community Service is always emailing us about any opportunities we can get involved in and we are grateful for that,” Sarah Hayden, president of Alpha Omega Epsilon and a senior in the College of Engineering, said. “Our sorority is trying to do anything related to service whenever we can. It is a huge part of us and we volunteer whenever we can.”
While Greek life will be heavily involved in Make a Difference Day, Marquette is encouraging all students, faculty and staff to participate in the event.
“I think one of the benefits of Make a Difference Day is that you can register with a team or by yourself so students can participate in the day with their friends or you can get paired up with random students and it is a good way to interact with students on campus,” Velez said.
This story was written by TJ Dysart. He can be reached at [email protected]
