LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty University welcomes more than 150 future doctors this week. The class of 2021 is set to become osteopathic physicians. Before classes begin, an annual service day involving children makes their orientation week a little more special.
It's been a busy week for the osteopathic student doctors at Liberty University. On Friday, they and 120 children from different youth organizations in Lynchburg got to enjoy the sun and connect on a new level.
Children from Lynchburg’s Boys & Girls Club, a local church and the Jubilee Family Center got out of their comfort zones. "I’ve learned to have a lot of fun where ever you are,”7-year-old Cassidy Payne said.
No matter how many times these kids have benefited from this annual event, there's always something to be learned. “Each year we have the same students. We have different students, but they all have the same desire to serve and that's what we look for at Liberty University,” Troy Burnett, associate director of student services at Liberty University, said.
Through 10 stations of camp games like tic-tac-toe relay, Lynchburg youth organizations want their kids to use this experience to think outside the box. "It’s like a hundred percent great,” Cassidy said. “We want them to see that they too can strive to become whatever they want to be [like] doctors here in Lynchburg. That they don't necessarily have to go outside the City of Lynchburg or Virginia,” Kenitho Martin, Teen Outreach Director for the Boys & Girls Club, said.
The ultimate goal is to build an unbreakable bond. “Our hope after this s to have our students go and serve in each one of these communities, and each one of these groups throughout the school year, so the kids can have a familiar face," Burnett said.
The Class of 2021 will conclude its week Saturday with a white coat ceremony starting at 10 a.m.