Eugene P. Watson Memorial Library staff and student workers sit behind the counter awaiting students’ requests, yawning away their closing shift and staring at the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling.
The upkeep of the library is basic. Janitors sweep and mop and take the trash out, but with a large building dust buildup and dirty windows are left unclean. This is why Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s Alpha Lambda Delta, Purple Jacket Club, Blue Key Honor society and the Order of Omega honor societies have partnered for their “Keep It Clean” event where they take on the task of cleaning the library.
“They work those long hours just for us to print out papers and study,” Stormy Carpenter, a sophomore radiologic sciences major who is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD), said. “So we thought we needed to give back to the people who work at the library.”
Since Sept. 8, 2023, these honor societies have met every first and third Friday of the month to clean the library.
“We want to help maintain the place where many students like to hang out and study,” Ariel Theriot, a senior English major and member of Blue Key Honor Society, said. “We wanted them to have a clean and comfortable environment.”
Not only were the Watson Library workers the motivation behind the cleanup, but so were the average students at NSU who spend countless hours in the library, using the computers, study rooms and other resources provided for the students.
“We disinfect the vending machines and clean the classroom inside and out. We sweep the floors inside out and clean the mats in the entryway. We pick up any trash necessary as well,” Madison Simms, a junior biology major, said.
Each of the organizations have worked hard to keep the Watson library cleaned for fellow students. Purple Jacket Club Honor Society President Zoe Johnson, a senior business administration major, is one of many students working to make the student library a cleaner environment for everyone occupying its needs.
“Our organization’s whole mission is based around service because we love giving back to the community and the university that has done so much for us,” Johnson said.
Each of these organizations have one goal in common: to serve. Their passion for service is driven by their motivation to serve the community and what service leadership means to all of them.
For Carpenter, the love for serving others came after her cancer diagnosis. During her freshman year of college she learned that her cancer spread to her thyroids.
“Long story short, I’m cancer free now. But it gave me that sense of feeling like I want to give back to people; I want to give back to people the way my specialists came and helped me. They do that every day, but what they did alone saved my life. That’s what really inspired me,” Carpenter said.
Each person has their own story as to how or why they were inspired to begin helping others, but acting on that inspiration is what drives the acts of service.
“Sometimes, you may even wonder, ‘why am I doing this?’ or ‘I feel so useless,’” Carpenter said.
Despite these feelings, it is clear that even the smallest action can have a powerful impact, so community service is worth the dedication and time a person gives to the community.
“I cannot tell you how many workers came and told us, ‘thank you so much for cleaning this for us’ ‘this looks awesome’, or ‘we’re so glad that y’all take this into consideration’,” Carpenter said.
All students are welcome and encouraged to join these honor societies in cleaning up the Watson Library. They just might realize the ‘small’ gesture they make will leave a large impact on numerous individuals.
“There are always ways to give back to the community,” Johnson said, “service events like these are open to anyone who may want to help out!”
