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| Challenge
’99 Presses Freshmen into Service Millsaps has launched a new program to prepare incoming freshmen for college life and to involve them early in volunteer work. A group of highly motivated students came to campus this summer for Challenge ‘99, a week of community service, workshops, and other activities. Each day, the students worked with different community service organizations, including the Bethlehem Center, the Good Samaritan Center, Grace House, Habitat for Humanity, North Midtown Community Development Corporation, Operation Shoestring, and Stewpot Community Services. “Our intention is to immerse the students in an ethos of service,” explains chaplain Don Fortenberry. “At the end of the week, everyone makes a covenant to stay involved in activities that affect the community’s quality of life.” Evening programs included discussions of college life and local history. Jackson leaders Brad Chism, Leslie McLemore, and Robert Barrett visited with the students to explore current issues affecting the city. Professors Charles Sallis and Jeanne Middleton related Millsaps’ history of academic freedom and social justice, and how it has shaped the College. College counselors offered workshops on stress and time management. Fortenberry’s hope is that Challenge ’99 will have a lasting impact on how these students view their future responsibilities. “Part of the College’s hope for graduates is that they will feel a sense of service to the larger human community. This program will offer yet one more vehicle for students to begin that process very early in their college careers.”
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