CCM Nursing Students Engage in Community Work in West Virginia
Published on June 27, 2017
Students Learn About Health Effects in an Environment of Extreme Poverty
County College of Morris professors Buffy Reilly of Oak Ridge and Therese Farmer of Phillipsburg, along with 12 CCM nursing students and two medical students, participated in a recent service trip with Experience Mission to the School for Life in Gary, West Virginia.
(JPG, 86KB)
The purpose of the journey was to enhance student learning about health effects in an environment of extreme poverty.
The team engaged in activities including demolition, construction, leveling, mulching and installing drainage pipes for a playground, visiting a nursing home, planting flowers and interacting with the community.
CCM students who participated stated that the experience was invaluable and they are interested in going again.
Students who did not know one another before the trip bonded and learned to problem-solve and overcome challenges, said Reilly. She noted that they also returned from the trip stronger, with a greater sense of physical, emotional and spiritual accomplishment.
Reilly and Farmer plan to continue engaging with the community by conducting future student trips. Contacts have been made within the Gary community which will allow for a continued relationship between CCM and the School for Life. The students are planning a backpack drive for children in the area that will be delivered in September.
CCM students involved in this service trip were:
- Jacquelyn Paige of Wharton;
- Kerry Walsh of Long Valley;
- Daniel Scovill of Lake Hiawatha;
- Bridgette Hillman of Hanover Township;
- Christina Pappas of Chester;
- Brittany Miller of Mount Olive;
- Victorianna Belcastro of Mount Olive;
- Adrienne Antoniello of Hanover Township;
- Aimee Picinich of Parsippany;
- Antonio Vargas of Parsippany.
- Megan Murphy of Vernon;
- Tiffany Ramnanan of West Orange;