Students Volunteer for MLK Day of Service

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed on Monday, Jan. 20, and though the University was closed for the holiday, students used their time off to honor King’s legacy by serving their community at the MLK Day of Service in Levitt Auditorium. King once said, “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve,” and students put this idea into direct action by volunteering in Levitt Auditorium with local organizations like Mercy Hospice for Women & Children, Broad Street Ministry, Morris Animal Refuge and Visitation Homes. The Day of Service began nationally in 1994, and has occurred at UArts since 2011.
 
We reached out to Cory Seals BFA ’22 (Directing, Playwriting and Production), who was involved in the Day of Service. Seals has a rich history of service in his community here in Philadelphia and in his hometown of Atlanta. When asked about the significance of King’s legacy on his life and art, Seals said, “MLK’s legacy is something that I’m deeply impacted by in more ways than one. As an Atlanta native, it was a tradition for me to go to Auburn Ave. and see the house he was born in and view the civil rights history surrounding his life at the MLK Center in Edgewood.” Seals went on to say that MLK’s legacy allowed for the racially diverse spaces in both Philadelphia as a whole and at UArts to exist. 

In Levitt Auditorium, students had the opportunity to make blankets, pet toys, and cards for Philadelphia residents in need. Sara Pyle, Assistant Vice President for Student Services, spoke to us about the impact MLK Day of Service has on students at the university.  “MLK Day of Service is a wonderful showing of what happens when we come together as a community to serve,” she said, “It is inspiring to see students taking time to better their own community, but also bettering themselves as well.” This year, the Day of Service focused on self-care in addition to community outreach to promote individual growth.  

For students like Seals, creating art is directly linked to service and activism. “My goal is to use my art as a medium to provide more amplifiers for the voices of the oppressed and connections to resources that can bring about much-needed change—whether that be extended community members for expanded outreach or a fortified connection to the Divine in which we can do all things.” Through opportunities like the Day of Service, students can use their craft to better the world around them. 

As someone with a dedicated history to service, we asked Seals how students at UArts can promote MLK’s values in their own life. He said, “Incorporating love and mindfulness in their everyday practice, inside the studio and out. When those two core values are kept at the forefront, the rest falls into place. Everyone's liberation is connected due to intersectionality so when your actions of love and mindfulness are applied to one area that needs attention, that energy trickles down to everything and everyone connected.”