Spirit of Innovation

Raidersgiving volunteers (Back row, L-R): Jonathan Jackson, Megan McCurdy, Joanie Hendricks, Craig This, Jamie Norris; Front row: Dan Bertsos, Sommer Todd, Mary Raider, Susan Wehmeyer, Jennifer Papadakis.

The quarters-to-semesters transition affected many things across campus in 2012, including the amount of time students had to go home for Thanksgiving. In some cases, the shortened holiday break left students with no option but to spend the Thanksgiving on campus. In anticipation of this likelihood, alumni and staff from the Unclassified Staff Advisory Council (USAC), Alumni Association, Residence Services, and We Serve U stepped up to start a new tradition at Wright State Raidersgiving.

On November 22, 2012, in the Forest Lane Community Center (graciously opened by Resident Services), 22 students who remained on campus received a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, macaroni and cheese, corn, and rolls all prepared on site by volunteers. The volunteers arrived around 10 a.m., set up, made the meal, served it, cleaned up, and then left around 4 p.m.

Every volunteer took time away from their own family holiday to make sure that students had a place to enjoy the holiday among friendly faces. International students, independent scholars, and students from out of state were among the group who played games, watched football, and also helped create holiday cards for kids at Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio. Planning is already under way for Raidersgiving 2013.