What's a studio without its students?

Welcome to the Students of Rural Studio blog! We are the first student organization here on Rural Studio’s campus, and it has been one busy year.

First, what is “Students of Rural Studio?”

Students of Rural Studio is a student-led organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the mission of Auburn University Rural Studio. We work to bolster both the community around us in Hale County and our community as a student body.

Our members and leaders took on the challenge of understanding how a student organization could accomplish these goals. Our 28 members currently are led by President Aynsley Norris, Vice President Amanda Kaase, and Treasurer McAllister Tucker, along with Organization Advisor Natalie Butts-Ball.

This past year we have had three Community Days, Saturdays that students both at Rural Studio and from main campus dedicated to community engagement extending beyond their own projects.

A group of students picks up trash at the Newbern Playground.

Three students repair a broken board on the picnic table at the Newbern Playground.

Students pose on playground equipment at the Newbern Playground.

Our first Community Day was a large cleanup of the Newbern Playground, a park built by Rural Studio in 2001 just a few minutes north of campus. We had an amazing turnout, with 25 students—11 from main campus, six 3rd-years, and eight 5th-years—all coming together to paint, clean, and rebuild a community resource in Newbern.

Three students help repair and re-finish a slide at a playground in Uniontown.

Two bins full of non-perishables and canned food sit on the back porch of the Great Hall.

Our second Community Day was in November, in the middle of the government shutdown that halted many resources people in our area rely on. We worked with Amanda Pinkstaff, our amazing campus chef, to prepare Thanksgiving casseroles for families in Newbern. Mayor Patrick Braxton helped us by spreading the word, and we made and distributed nearly 50 casseroles. We also ran a food drive and collected produce from Rural Studio Farm to distribute to 30 families served by C.H.O.I.C.E. in Uniontown. We extended the theme of our previous Community Day by cleaning up a small community park in Uniontown near neighborhood near C.H.O.I.C.E.

Four students with shovels finish planting a Crepe Myrtle tree at Smith Park in Greensboro, Alabama.

For our final Community Day of the year, we spent a Saturday helping the Smith Park team plant trees before the planting season ended. Their team had planted 73 trees so far, and as a group of nine volunteers, we were able to plant 10 in a single morning.

We also hosted events for students and faculty. Once a month, we had “Frankie Fridays,” when we grilled out at Morrisette Campus. We also had “Coffee Shop” during several of our wonderful lectures throughout the year, and we showed off the students’ impeccable barista skills at Pig Roast, making all sorts of specialty coffees and teas.

A group of students is preparing to throw water-balloons at their competitors across a field.

A group of students play on a homemade "Slip and Slide."

The final event of the year that Students of Rural Studio hosted was our Field Day. Third-years, 5th-years, and “leftovers” (graduates staying to complete projects) competed in all the classic field day games: capture the flag, dodgeball, relay racing, and so much more. Although the victor was unclear (except in the case of Aynsley and Lenny’s remarkable performance in the three-legged race), it was a spectacular finale to our first year.

Thank you to every community member, member of faculty and staff, and students who participated and supported us. It was a phenomenal year, and we are so excited to keep checking in as Students of Rural Studio continues to evolve!