January 25, 2018 | UHCL Staff
About 30 University of Houston-Clear Lake students, faculty and staff honored Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy by performing much-needed cleanup services at Buffalo Bayou on King’s birthday, Jan. 15.
“It’s the first time UH-Clear Lake has done a community service project on Dr. King’s birthday, so we got together and discussed what we should do,” said Coordinator of Student Life Kanalyn Jackson. “It’s intended to be a day on, not a day off. We researched what organizations in our area might be interested in working with us, and we got a response from Buffalo Bayou to help with some post-Harvey cleanup and debris removal.”
Student Government Association Vice-President Diveanne Martinez said she chose to participate in this event because it is something new for UHCL. “I think that it is important to give back to the community surrounding UHCL as well,” she said. “We were all affected by Hurricane Harvey, and some areas of Houston are still being affected. I think it's important for all of us to realize that we should give back to our community in any way that we can.”
Martinez added that she really enjoyed volunteering in her community. “I found this entire experience very fulfilling,” she said. “We were able to help a community still recovering for the storm, and create an impact in the name of UHCL.”
She said that the experience taught her the importance of community engagement. “I was glad that we were able to volunteer on Martin Luther King Jr. Day because community involvement was something that Dr. King fully believed in,” she said. “He exemplified what it means to be a servant leader, and I truly believe that in these times, it is important to realize what that really means.”
Jackson said the group worked together to clean the area, and learned about local ecological issues. “An important part of the day is to also take time to reflect on King’s legacy,” she said. “We are honoring his memory by serving our community.”
