KSU Cleanup at the Airport

KSU TRIO Partners with Keep Paulding Beautiful and The Paulding Airport for A Successful Community Clean-Up Day  Keep Paulding Beautiful and KSU TRIO Programs’ high school students show up to the Paulding Airport to serve their community, honor veterans, and make a statement. 
Dallas, Georgia — This past weekend, Kennesaw State University’s TRIO Programs partnered with Keep Paulding Beautiful for a Community Clean-Up Day at the Paulding Airport to serve their community and make a statement – the youth of Paulding and Polk are dedicated to the betterment of our community, our culture, and our future.  
KSU TRIO Programs’ vision is to produce students who have a heart for their community and the ambition to make their dreams a reality. According to Dr. Dalton J. Lemelle, Jr., KSU TRIO Programs Administrator, “KSU TRIO is more than a school club or entry on a resume, it is an organization that instills a love for helping others and making a tangible difference in our community.” KSU TRIO Programs are federally funded, grant-awarded programs through the Department of Education that work with qualifying high schools to provide students with free educational services designed to help them achieve a successful entry into college, successful completion of college, and beyond. Mary Turner, Rockmart/Cedartown Upward Bound Director and Community Day Organizer for the TRIO Programs said the KSU TRIO’s main goal is to make sure that our TRIO families have everything they need to succeed and positively impact our community. This weekend, we succeeded in just that.   
On October 22, 2022, 31 high school students got up early on a Saturday to take part in a Community Clean-Up Day organized by Keep Paulding Beautiful. The students took part in landscaping and clean-up of the Paulding Airport grounds, and cohesively worked with both Keep Paulding Beautiful and Paulding Airport personnel to learn more about what community means. Mary Carol Sheffield with UGA Extension Office and Keep Paulding Beautiful Commission stated: “it was an awesome opportunity for KPB and Upward Bound to team up for this project.” After performing these acts of service, the high schoolers were invited to tour the veteran-led Paulding Airport Museum to hear the stories of veterans from our community and honor those who have served. 
In turn, KSU TRIO students were honored for their efforts by the Paulding Airport and held a raffle for four students to return to take a sightseeing flight around the airport.
KSU TRIO Programs and their students are a great example of the promise the next generation holds, and this community is thankful for them.