New Midwestern Students Show Care for Community with Day of Service

Before hitting the books this fall, 207 new medical students at Midwestern University donned work gloves, wielded paint brushes, and brandished hedge clippers as part of their orientation program. Every August, first-year medical students at the University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine assist several community organizations based in DuPage County. This year the students:

• organized donated toys for the Humanitarian Service Project which supplies underprivileged children with birthday and holiday presents

• painted fences and worked in the garden at the Naper Settlement

• raised awareness for the Autism Society of Illinois with a tag day sale

• cleared brush and preformed general maintenance at Lyman Woods in Downers Grove and St. James Farm in Warrenville

• led activities for children attending day camp at the Camp Fire USA campground in Bolingbrook

• prepared for a fall festival at the DuPage County Convalescent Center in Wheaton

Participation in service projects gives students first-hand experience with the needs of the community they will one day serve as health professionals. The projects also reflect a University-wide commitment to community service. As a testament to Midwestern University's commitment to community service, the University has earned a spot on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the last five years. This award is the highest federal recognition a college or university can achieve for its commitment to service and civic engagement.