The crowd of students who turned out Wednesday afternoon to attend the dedication and grand opening ceremony for the renovated student activity center in the Fred T. Long Student Union was immense. The words shared with them by speakers prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony were brief – everyone wanted to bring to an end the five-year wait for the re-opening and give the students access to their space.
Wiley's vice president for student affairs and retention services, Dr. Joseph L. Morale, thanked students, alumni, faculty, and staff for voting in the Home Depot Retool Your School contest that led to Wiley winning a prize of $30,000 that helped fund the renovations. "We voted as if our lives depended on it," he said. "And while we finished second, the monies were the missing ingredient for the work that needed to be done. This restored bottom floor is the culmination of hard work."
Wiley student Joshua Poole, who serves as president of the Student Union Advisory Board and will be responsible for helping to manage and maintain the space, expressed gratitude to the College's President, Dr. Haywood L Strickland. "I want to thank our President for the vision he has shown in making this space a reality." Poole also told students to enjoy utilizing the rooms, but to help him take care of the center.
Bree Harris, store manager of the Home Depot store in Longview, Texas, told students,
" We love giving back and can't wait for you guys to get in here and enjoy the center.
Thanks for letting us be a part of it."
Richard Hodge Sr., a Wiley College board trustee and chair of the College's Building and Grounds Committee, opened his remarks with three well-received words, "It's a great day" And appropo to the dedication being held on the first day of Black History Month, he used a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. to thank everyone for conquering the challenges and moving forward with persistence to complete the renovations.
" The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," quoted Hodge. "Here we are today, celebrating the completion of the challenge."
With those words, the ribbon was cut and students poured into the renovated center, where improvements and additions include the repainting of all areas and meeting rooms, adding a mini-mart and mini- computer station, and upgrading the barber shop and beauty salon, which will both receive bids from vendors who'd like to provide services on the premises. Other additions include a new Karaoke station and new chairs and tables to the game room, TV room, snack area, and meeting rooms. The center's bowling alley and a computer lab will open soon.
In the top photo, Joshua Poole, president of the Student Union Advisory Board, is pictured with his team. They will hold the responsibility of helping to manage the student activity center.
In the second photo, students check out the new computers in the mini-tech station. A larger computer lab will open soon in the student center.
In the third photo, a student grabs a snack in the new mini-mart.
http://www.wileyc.edu/
Posted By: How May I Help You NC
Thursday, February 2nd 2017 at 3:07PM
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