450 OBU Students Kick Off the Year by Serving Shawnee

The Monday before fall classes even started, hundreds of Oklahoma Baptist University students traded dorm move-in for yard work, cleaning, and care packages in the Shawnee community.

About 450 OBU students and employees, including a large wave of incoming freshmen and transfers, took part in the university's annual Serve Shawnee event on August 24. Teams fanned out to more than 18 locations across Shawnee and the surrounding Pottawatomie County area, lending a hand at places like Hope Pregnancy Center, Cargo Ranch, Community Renewal, and Primrose Retirement Center.

For freshman business management major and OBU track athlete Kyron Nash, who spent the morning volunteering at the Community Market of Pottawatomie County, the event was about connection. He said the experience brings the community together and leaves students with a lasting sense that they made a difference before the semester even began.

Now in its third decade, Serve Shawnee has become one of OBU's most enduring traditions, giving new students an early, meaningful way to get acquainted with the city they'll call home for the school year. This year's event was co-chaired by seniors Aaron Rother and Faith Holbrook, who both pointed to the dual impact the day has — not just on the Shawnee community, but on the students themselves as they build friendships while working side by side.

With OBU's campus rooted in the heart of Shawnee, Serve Shawnee is a reminder of the deep ties between the university and the Pottawatomie County community around it. Long before the first class of the semester meets, hundreds of students have already shown up. Not for a grade, but simply because Shawnee is home now too.