Maryville College students volunteer time, effort to campus beautification for April 15 KT WeekEND
April 3, 2023
During his tenure as both an undergraduate and student leader, Kin Takahashi ’95 (that would be 1895) was a force of nature.
Not only was he one of the fiercest competitors on the gridiron despite his small stature, the Japanese immigrant made a lasting impact on the MC campus by leading fundraising efforts for and literally helping build Bartlett Hall, which still stands today.
His name is synonymous in MC circles with service, gracing the KT Days summer program that invites alumni back to campus to take part in projects that range from painting and clean-up to light construction; and a worldwide effort called KT Global, taking place throughout April during which time alums perform community service projects wherever they reside.
Roughly a decade ago, campus organizers decided to extend the KT initiative to the current Maryville College student population, and KT WeekEND — which takes place this year from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15 — has since become a philanthropic part of the MC student experience.
“KT Week at the time was designed for alums and held in the summer, and the students often weren’t able to participate,” said Amy Gilliland, director of the College’s Center for Community Engagement. “The idea behind KT WeekEND is that while we didn’t want to interfere with their classes, we could take a weekend and do a service project, and the very first one was organized by the College’s Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.”
At the time, the MC chapter of the national organization — which provides certification in the management of nonprofit organizations to students who complete a set of certificate requirements in addition to the requirements for their chosen majors — was led by Austin Coleman “Cole” Piper ’68, the late chairman of the College’s Board of Directors until his unexpected death in August 2021. In the spring of 2014, a campus renovation project required that furniture be moved out of Anderson Hall, and in the spirit of Takahashi, the NLA students stepped up to make it happen.
Gilliland joined the MC family in the fall of that year and began collaborating with Piper to build a bigger KT WeekEND the following year. Joining forces with the College’s Environmental Action Team, the second KT WeekEND was held in conjunction with Earth Day, observed each April, and thanks to Andy McCall, then director of the MC Physical Plant, various projects were assigned to students, many of them involving work in the Maryville College Woods.
“One of the first years, there were a large number of downed trees and brush in the MC Woods. Students, alums, and an MC Board member gathered the downed wood, and Andy and his team fed it through a chipper. Volunteers then distributed the wood chips to the places in the cross-country trails that needed maintenance,” Gilliland said. “Each year, Dr. Drew Crain (professor of biology) also organizes opportunities for KT Weekend volunteers to remove non-native invasive plant species in the MC Woods.”
From repair of the wooden bridge over Duncan Branch to building a fence around the pollinator garden at Crawford House to painting the well house in the Maryville College Woods, current Scots continue to step up. KT WeekEND has taken place annually since its inception (except for 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic). It’s another way, Gilliland said, that Maryville College students join their alumni predecessors to embody the iconic words of MC’s founder, Rev. Isaac Anderson.
“To ‘do good on the largest possible scale’ is an idea that grows as you become part of this place,” Gilliland said. “When you live in a community and are part of a community, you want to give back and be a part of that community. For students taking part in KT WeekEND, the campus is one of their communities. For alumni taking part in KT Global, their communities are where they live now.
“Even if you’re not here physically, you can still — in the spirit of Kin Takahashi — put on your Maryville College gear and make a difference in your community. Kin did that as a student here when this was his community, and he would want you to do that wherever you find yourself now.”
For more information about KT WeekEND 2023, including registration details, visit maryvillecollege.edu/campus-life/community-engagement-center/.