One drawer. One-fourth of a closet. Four women sharing a single room inside Marshall University’s Buskirk Hall during the fall of 1968.
“There were two sets of bunk beds,” Morris recalled with a laugh. “Each of us had one drawer and two of us shared a closet.”
For Morris, those early memories of campus life remain vivid more than five decades later. So vivid, in fact, that when she returned to Buskirk Hall during Marshall’s first Community Cares Week to help paint bathroom stalls, it felt like stepping back in time.
“I said, ‘It’s in great shape, but it hasn’t changed,’ ” she said. “I saw a room and it still looked the same. So that was neat.”
Now in its fifth year, Community Cares Week has become a meaningful tradition for Marshall students, employees, alumni and community volunteers who spend the week helping beautify campus through service projects large and small.
And Morris has been there every step of the way.
A 1972 Marshall graduate with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, Morris returned this year for her fifth consecutive Community Cares Week volunteer experience — continuing a relationship with Marshall that has spanned nearly 60 years.
“It’s just nice to be able to give back in this way,” she said. “Everyone’s always wanting money — the financial part — and this time, it’s if you’ve got the time, which I do.”
That spirit of giving has followed Morris throughout her life.
Originally from Mason County, she spent 10 years working in education before serving another 22 years in Kanawha County, eventually retiring as principal of Shoals Elementary School.
After helping care for her parents in their later years, Morris and her husband relocated to Huntington in 2019, settling into a home just across from Marshall’s soccer field.
“When my friend saw it, she said, ‘I don’t think you could be any closer than if you were in the dorm,’” Morris said.
Living so close to campus deepened a connection that had never really faded.
The couple became regulars at Marshall sporting events and performances, attending everything from soccer matches to concerts at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center. They joined the Marshall Recreation Center, became active supporters of athletics and immersed themselves in university life once again.
But Community Cares Week offered something different.
“This is giving of time,” Morris said. “It’s also good to meet young people, too, that work here now and have a different perspective.”
Over the years, Morris has volunteered in the bookstore during renovations, worked in the university’s childcare center and assisted with projects tied to sustainability efforts. This year, she volunteered at Marshall’s thrift store as part of sustainability initiatives on campus.
For her, the projects themselves matter — but so does the feeling behind them.
“Whether you’re a Marshall grad or not, it’s a way you can contribute a couple of hours of your time,” she said. “It’s time — we all have it. It’s just how we use it.
“It gives you a nice, pleasant feeling in your heart to think you’ve done something that has maybe helped the campus look prettier, or a certain part of campus to make it look nicer.”
Long before Community Cares Week existed, Morris was building memories on the same campus she now helps care for each spring.
After spending one semester in Buskirk Hall, she moved to Laidley Hall, where she later served as a resident advisor.
“The biggest thing about being an R.A. was controlling the use of the phone in the hallway,” she said. “It had a 20-minute limit, I think. And I think about that now.”
Other memories are harder.
Morris was living in Laidley Hall in 1970 when the Marshall plane crash happened.
“It was a rainy, dreary night,” she said quietly.
She remembers classmates who never returned to their seats. The silence that followed when students returned to class. The grief that settled over campus.
“I told my husband, ‘I lived this,’” she said, recalling the emotions she felt years later while watching “We Are Marshall.”
Through every chapter — student, educator, alumna, volunteer — Marshall has remained a constant thread in Morris’ life.
And each year during Community Cares Week, she returns once again — not for recognition, but for the simple act of helping.
“I’m glad they started it,” she said. “There’s things you can do if you want to give your time.”
For Morris, giving back to Marshall has never been about grand gestures.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as showing up, picking up a paintbrush and helping care for a place that has always felt like home.
—
Learn more about Community Cares Week and remember to check back next spring to sign up to volunteer!
