Morrisville State College CSTEP Students Give Back to Morrisville Community

MORRISVILLE, N.Y.—Cheerful hums of holiday tunes filled the room and hands were busy sorting through fuzzy pajamas and cartooned socks, and placing dolls and toys in respective piles.

The flurry of activity belonged to students from Morrisville State College’s CSTEP (Collegiate Science Technology Entry Program) who volunteered to sort donations recently at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Morrisville for Morrisville’s Christmas Program.

The fruits of their labor turned an empty room into a miniature wonderland—tables overflowing with pink-pearl colored doll houses, trucks with revving engines, various toys, mittens and other items guaranteed to brighten the holidays for local families in need. All were donations reaped from the generosity of the Morrisville community, including Morrisville State College.

In addition to assisting with sorting the items, CSTEP students raised money to buy socks and pajamas that were donated to the Christmas Program for needy children in the Morrisville and surrounding areas. CSTEP raised $1,000, matched by a $1,000 donation from the Sheila Johnson Institute, at Morrisville State College.

“I am thrilled at all of the help Morrisville students have provided,” Judy Parker, coordinator of the Morrisville Christmas Program, said.

The program is a Morrisville community effort to collect items for families in need. Parker said parents were invited to stop by to select gifts for their children. There were also items for adults.

“We were so happy to participate in this effort to help local families,” Darshini Roopnarine, assistant director of the CSTEP program, said.

“I am so proud to be part of this,” Chris Montgomery, a liberal arts and sciences: humanities and social science student from Syracuse, who volunteered, said. “It is a great feeling helping someone else out and giving something back to the community.”

Christmas Program volunteers lauded the students’ energy.

“Their enthusiasm was wonderful and their efforts cut hours of work for us,” Parker said. “We are truly so grateful.”

Morrisville State College offers more than 75 bachelor and associate degrees and options with eight new degrees being offered this fall: entrepreneurship and small business management, B.B.A.; nursing, B.S.; science, technology, and society, B.S.; journalism and communication for online media, B.S.; horticulture business management, B.T.; human performance and health promotion, B.S.; criminal justice, A.A.S. (Norwich Campus only); and human services, A.A.S. (Norwich Campus only).

Considered to be one of the most technologically advanced colleges in the nation for its ThinkPad University program and wireless technology initiative, the college recently became the first in the nation to comprehensively replace landlines in residence halls with individual cellular phones. Morrisville State College was also chosen as one of the top five colleges in the nation for campus activities by Campus Activities magazine.

The Morrisville State College Norwich Campus offers associate degree programs in accounting, business, computer systems technology, office administration, liberal arts transfer, nursing, early childhood, criminal justice and human services to south central New York residents and employers. Students may also apply coursework to other associate or bachelor degrees at the main campus.