The College Experience has two or three ambitious students taking an Independent Study course that revolves around Community Service! They are learning as they go along while coming up with strategies to make Albany a little happier. The professor mentoring them every step of the way is Hayley Humiston.

On Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022 the class learned about litter collection as a Power Point presentation was shown by Jesse Saperstein who is our Media and Activities Liaison. Jesse explained why litter collection is so important to him and brings such satisfaction. In the spirit of “you cannot win them all,” there will always be that segment of the population who believes litter collection is a waste of time because it will eventually return with a vengeance over a long period of time. Others believe there are more important causes in which to delegate resources than cleaning up after other people for no money. But has anyone ever experienced the joy of having a clean room or house from top to bottom. It feels pretty darn satisfying! Most people take pride in their settings when they are living in a cleaner environment. They are content and healthier in more ways than one. It also feels incredibly satisfying to create beauty one increment at a time.

The students of Jordann and Andrew subsequently went out into the Albany neighborhood near one of the student dorms and got to work chipping away at a lingering litter problem. Litter claws, a bucket, gloves, and plastic bags were provided for convenience as well as the sanitary protection of the students. Over a period of nearly 90 minutes, serious progress was noticed compared to how we started. Jesse gave the students a strategy of pointing to one patch of litter and reminding themselves that this is the only piece they should focus on at the moment. Thinking of when the entire property is going to be clean is a path toward frustration and failure. One tiny increment at a time will add up to more increments until the place is a polished gemstone with many smaller victories occurring along the way.

The College Experience is always proud of our students who use their physical and mental resources to put a little dent in the imperfections of our world such as the inevitable presence of litter! The class discussed some strategies of how to propose to Mayor Kathy Sheehan that we need some garbage cans in this proximity to discourage citizens from littering. We look forward to updating you more on the future projects occurring within this unique class.