All Articles

ISU Naval ROTC supports local organizations in service projects

Author:

Students from the Naval ROTC program at Iowa State University served in two recent community service projects.

Midshipmen cleaning the grill in a service project for the Ames Kiwanis Club.

Fourteen students volunteered at the 55th annual Ames Kiwanis Club’s Pancake Days in March.  The midshipmen helped clean grills, mop floors and clean up after the event at the First United Methodist Church in Ames. The proceeds from the event directly benefit local and national charities including ACCESS (an Ames assault care center), Ames Veterans Memorial and the Emergency Residence Project in Ames.

Genevieve Halvorsen, senior in culinary science, said she found the volunteer work rewarding. “There is a certain amount of satisfaction that comes from making something as dirty as that grill, shiny and clean again,” Halvorsen said.

The midshipman also participated in the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life held in early March. Members of the ISU battalion walked, ran or rucked (with Marine boots, uniforms and pack) in order to raise cancer awareness and money to support the battle against cancer. The team raised nearly $1,000 this year.

The Naval Science Department, which houses the NROTC battalion, is an academic unit in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ISU.