Students John Ives (left) and Ebony Shipp stand near the waterfalls in Vergennes, Vermont.

Two new Northlands students eagerly participated in a cleanup of the neighborhood surrounding the campus. Students John Ives and Ebony Shipp filled two large garbage bags with litter.

“It was a nice day, and we felt like making it better,” John said.

Neighbors thanked Ebony and John for their efforts, saying that they were doing a great job. The students were humble, saying that they were performing the community service for the betterment of the neighborhood, not for attention.

“It doesn’t really matter about getting noticed for doing this,” John said. “What matters is that we took a little time for an activity worth doing.”

“We feel like we accomplished something knowing that we helped the community,” Ebony added. “Change doesn’t happen on its own.”