Students give back to campus neighborhood at the third annual Matador Day of Service

California State University, Northridge celebrated its third annual Matador Day of Service on Sept. 9. Students and volunteers gathered outside Bayramian Lawn for free breakfast and to meet their community service groups.

Matador Day of Service is an annual event hosted by the Matador Involvement Center in partnership with Unified We Serve, a volunteer program created by CSUN. In this, students and other volunteers help to clean up areas surrounding the campus neighborhood. They were divided into different groups.

CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison (right) kicked off the event by welcoming all the participants Photo credit: Julio Mendez Ulloa

Among the volunteers was Manuel Sisnos, 23, who is a business major. He said he decided to participate in the event to give back to the community and also have a more active role in it.

“This is a small way to give back to the community, we do cause a lot of inconvenience to people who live around here so it’s just a small token of gratitude for them,” Sisnos said. “By participating in this event [we] just show the community that we are thankful to them for allowing us to have the school where it is at.”

Baylor Hawkins, 20, a criminal justice major, said he wanted to help and engage with the community.

“Not only do you feel good about yourself but you are doing something with yourself as well,” Hawkins said. “It’s a good thing that I get up and just do what God wants me to do every day.”

Hawkins hopes to be back next year and recommends other people come as well to soak up positive energy.

Students and volunteers gathered at Bayramian Lawn and met their groups Photo credit: Julio Mendez Ulloa

Faculty member Nate Nguyen, 31, said he wanted to get involved and encourage his students to participate in more community events.

“I really believe in service learning,” Nguyen said. “I would recommend this event to other students so they can feel connected to CSUN and give back at the same time.”

CSUN students spent their Saturday morning doing community service activities such as sweeping, and litter pick up Photo credit: Julio Mendez Ulloa

CSUN President Dianne Harrison welcomed and thanked all the participants for their commitment to the community.

“I think the work we are about to do is a great indication of our civic engagement with our community. As you do that, I hope you remember what our neighbors experience frequently when many of our students park on their streets and their homes every single day,” Harrison said.

After they finished with their tasks, students and volunteers returned to Bayramian Lawn for free lunch and music.

The event took place from 8 a.m. to noon.