On Aug. 30, more than 350 students from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health teamed up with Hands on Atlanta to participate in the first-ever "Rollins-teer Day."

As part of orientation, students spent the day working with local charities that help people in need. Students worked with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Atlanta Union Mission, Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta, Medshare International, Project Open Hand, Samaritan House, Senior Citizen Services and West Oakland Community Park.

Laurel Curry, a second-year master's of public health student, was part of a team that painted homes through Senior Citizen Services.

"It was shocking to see the conditions in which some people live," she said. "It's one thing to learn about things in the classroom and quite another to see the problems, but I was glad to see people helping. It was a good experience."

First-year master's student Shantrice Jones spent the day at Café 458 at Samaritan House, where homeless people order lunch from a menu and receive help with meeting personal goals toward becoming self-sufficient.

"I got to be a waitress and interact with the people who came in," Jones said.

She thinks that a restaurant run by volunteers is a great concept for helping homeless people.

"It was an amazing day, and I appreciated Rollins giving us the opportunity," she said. "When you plan to work in public health, it's a good idea to get out in the community and meet people."

Students spent the day "learning by doing, and began to think about how to tackle issues that adversely affect thousands of people in Atlanta," said Kristin Unzicker, assistant director of international affairs and special programs at the Rollins School of Public Health.