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William Carey University
participated in the Gordon’s Creek
Clean-Up on Saturday, October 8. The
City of Hattiesburg and the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) partnered together to clean
up three miles of Gordon’s Creek from
Hardy Street to Leaf River, and more
than 200 volunteers from around the
community participated. WCU had
83 participants split into three teams,
two teams of Carey athletes and one
team of WCU College of Osteopathic
Medicine (WCUCOM) students.
The event, lasting from 8 a.m. – 12
p.m., involved each team gathering
as much debris as possible from their
assigned part of the creek in order to
win the title “Hattiesburg’s X-Stream
Team,” and the orange team, made up
of WCUCOM students, won this title.
The project was part of a master
plan carried out by the Hattiesburg
Historic Downtown Association. The
master plan’s goal is to provide more
pedestrian facilities and to improve the
appearance of Gordon’s Creek. Each
volunteer received lunch, a t-shirt, and
other items donated by local sponsors.
Dr. Paul Cotten, professor of music
and psychology at William Carey
University, has established a program
that allows Carey students in the
music therapy program to provide
music therapy experiences for local
special-needs children from South
Forrest Attendance Center and Forrest
County Agricultural High School
each week. The students from South
Forrest travel to the Carey campus
for an hour session each week
during which WCU freshman and
sophomore music therapy students
engage in group songs and activities.
Junior and senior music therapy
students provide individual music
therapy for the FCAHS students for
an hour each week. Each of the
students from FCAHS is paired with
a Carey student for the year. After
assessment of his or her child, each
WCU student, in collaboration with
their professors, develops a treatment
program to address the child’s special
needs. Recognizing that music is
a great medium to help children
learn, the individualized program
uses songs, music, and movement to
teach social, motor, and educational
skills. The program will continue
throughout the academic year.
“Music is a great tool to develop
and reinforce basic skills,” Dr.
Cotten said. “This program requires
WCU music therapy majors to be
proficient on guitar and piano and to
be creative so that they can use the
music and songs efficiently to teach
things like parts of the body, right
from left, and other skills.”
WCU Participates in
WCU Music Therapy Students Work with
Local Special-Needs Children
A special education class from Forrest
County Agricultural High School (FCAHS)
poses with some of the WCU music therapy
junior and senior students during one of
their weekly classes.
ABOVE: A volunteer team comprised of
William Carey University athletes pick up
debris during the Gordon’s Creek Clean-Up.
LEFT: Students fromWilliam Carey
University’s College of Osteopathic
Medicine (WCUCOM) pose for a photo at
the Gordon’s Creek Clean-Up.
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| Carey Magazine