Drury students plunge into the school year with service
Campus, Community September 17, 2025, Comments OffDrury University welcomed its new freshman class into the 2025-26 school year with an opportunity to serve the Springfield community. Over 400 students in the class of 2029 participated in the Service Plunge that not only helped aid the community, but allowed students to bond with one another during their acts of service.
On the morning of August 18th, the service project launched, sending students to three different service locations. Some began helping to recover riverside areas, while others packed food boxes for those in need.
Colton Spaulding, a freshman from Austin, Texas, reflected on his experience. “I was a part of the Fassnight Park project, picking up trash from the river. I thought it was a neat experience. It felt more like a bonding experience with the people at Drury compared to [doing it] alone.” He also shared that it felt nice to volunteer in the Springfield community as someone who is from out of state. “It made me feel more comfortable here at Drury.”
Like Spaulding, student Lilli Leighton of Walnut Grove, MO had a similar response. “I really liked this project because I made some new friends while doing this. It was a great way to connect and just give back,” Leighton shared. Many participating students felt the project brought them closer as a class.
Leighton, along with over 60 other students and staff volunteers from Drury’s campus participated in projects at the Ozarks Food Harvest. Working together, the group was able to pack 510 Senior Boxes, 660 weekend backpacks for students needing meals, and sorted 8,527 lbs. of produce. With the help of the food bank, over 19,996 total meals were packed. The food bank shared their mission statement with volunteers, voicing their goal of “transforming hunger into hope.”
The impact of the projects done at the Food Harvest span across twenty-eight Ozark counties, helping thousands of individuals monthly. Drury students felt a sense of accomplishment by helping them work towards this goal. “It felt great to give back to my community,” Leighton said, “especially since I am [from] close to the Springfield area.”
Throughout the Service Plunge, the class of 2029 saw Springfield through a different lens. Students were able to gain knowledge of their own impact and saw firsthand the difference it made around them.
Leighton reminded students why it was important to step out of their comfort zone and help others. “With the amount of people and time we spent, it was amazing how many things we got packaged for our Springfield Community.”
Drury University encourages students to engage and serve their community and plans to continue more service plunges for future generations of students.
Photos courtesy of Drury University Office of Marketing and Communications
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