The ASU Army ROTC and Benedictine University in Mesa are partnering to revitalize neighborhoods in Mesa on Dec. 7 by repainting and cleaning homes between Broadway Road and Main Street near Mesa Drive and Stapley Drive.
The city of Mesa's Building Strong Neighborhoods Initiative will allow one home to be completely repainted, at least three other homes will have trash removed and a total of about 450 homes will have their curb numbers checked and repainted if needed.
Marcus Noblisse, a biological sciences freshman and Army ROTC cadet, said participating in the event will provide a valuable lesson about the importance of teamwork.
“By collaborating with other students in the project, I will get to learn the values of working together and how to effectively operate as a team,” he said.
Noblisse said the renovation event will strengthen his leadership skills.
“Being in the Army ROTC program, it is essential to be able to effectively lead others towards achieving certain goals,” he said.
Noblisse also said he believes participating in the event will reinforce important values of the ROTC program.
“I believe this project is a great way to teach any student important leadership skills, regardless of whether they are a cadet or not,” he said.
Army ROTC Cadet Terry Waters, a political science freshman, said he thinks the event will teach future military officers important lessons.
“I believe that the cadets participating in this project are learning a great deal from it,” he said. “Not only are we gaining appreciation for community service, but it is also teaching future military officers how to organize and plan an event.”
Waters said the community project reflects the values held by the ASU ROTC program.
“We want to uphold a tradition of directly volunteering to better our community and not merely focusing on our own military careers,” he said.
Waters also said the project will teach cadets how to make a difference in the community.
“The process of organizing this event emphasizes the length that ROTC cadets should go to in order to make a difference for our community,” he said.
Psychology freshman and Army ROTC cadet Kasey Butler said he hopes to gain stronger communication abilities by taking part in the event.
“I hope to improve my leadership and communication skills, as well as (gaining) the satisfaction of knowing that I contributed to improving the neighborhood,” he said.
Butler said giving a helping hand is important to build a sense of togetherness within the community.
“It is important to give back to the community, because we all need to look out (for each other) and do our best to make sure that each community member knows there is always someone there to help,” he said.
The Army ROTC program is using Service Learning to teach freshmen skills in leadership, personal development, values and ethics. More than 100 volunteers from local neighborhoods, schools and programs have signed to help.
Local businesses and leaders from the city of Mesa are supporting the revitalization event by donating their time and supplies to enable the project.
Volunteer check in is at 8 a.m. at Stapley Park, and the project brief will begin at 8:20 a.m. The estimated completion time for the project is 4 p.m.
Reach the reporter at mmkallo@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @its_ame_a_mario
