Wake Forest’s annual DESK event took place on Tuesday, April 1, on Davis Field, bringing together student organizations from across campus to paint personalized desks for elementary school students in the Winston-Salem community. This year, 68 desks were painted with the help of the students and their families.
Junior Remy Cush has been involved with DESK since her freshman year, serving as community outreach chair in her sophomore year and a director for this year’s event. To her, DESK is a unique opportunity to engage directly with students in the community and support educational equity.
“It’s one of my most favorite days of the year, being able to work with local elementary school kids,” Cush said. “Being able to have an impact on someone else while also raising money and awareness for promoting educational equity through DESK is such a unique opportunity. Education is great, but not all people are given the same opportunities, so having a chance to promote educational equity and accessibility is a very unique opportunity that DESK provides.”
DESK stands for Discovering Education through Student Knowledge and was founded in 2004 when Wake Forest students noticed a lack of study spaces in the homes of students they tutored. The event began a partnership with Old Town Elementary and was later expanded to partner with four Title I elementary schools — Old Town Elementary, Cook Literacy Model School, Kimberly Park Elementary and North Hills Elementary.
Junior Chelsea Njei is in her second year as a director for DESK and believes in the impact the event makes in creating environments that promote learning and creativity.
“DESK impacts our community by providing a space for elementary students to be creative and also be part of an event that will help promote learning,” Njei said. “I believe everyone should have the opportunity and space to advance their learning, and there’s no better way to support that than by painting a study space for the kids to be able to do so.”
Beyond the desk painting initiative, DESK also raises money for the Freedom School in the months leading up to the in-person event. The Freedom School is a program for elementary students led by Wake Forest students each summer to boost reading skills and prevent “summer slide.”
DESK fundraises for the Freedom School through a Crowdfund and further engages the student body through t-shirt sales, candygram sales and a fundraising trivia night at Campus Gas.
Along with fundraising, the in-person DESK event is meant to promote a connection between the Wake Forest student body and the Winston-Salem community. Cush commented on the importance of bridging the gap within our city.
“These people are our neighbors and I think it’s important to break outside of the walls of Wake [Forest],” Cush said. “We’re all so privileged to go to such a prestigious school and I think part of that privilege is now giving back to the school and giving back to the community and getting to learn about the individuals that we live with.”
In the years since DESK’s start, the event has received impressive amounts of student interest. Campus clubs and organizations sign up to paint a DESK and then show up on painting day with energy and excitement to meet their assigned student and spend an afternoon crafting and making connections.
“There’s definitely been an increase of interest from the student organizations on campus,” Njei said. “To have this level of support is honestly amazing because it shows that many students want to show up and support the kids in the Winston-Salem community. It also shows that they are aware of the DESK initiative and what the event truly means. Without the student organizations, DESK wouldn’t be possible.”
Sophomore Katie Posnanski volunteered at the event and was inspired by the opportunity to meet the student whose learning she is hoping to impact through the project.
“I just love interacting with the kids and doing something small that will impact their whole school year,” Posnanski said. “We’re painting for Zoe and she came and started painting with us and it’s just lovely to see firsthand how one small action can mean so much.”
The DESK event often leaves an impact on Wake Forest students as well, serving as a way to engage in community service while making memories alongside new and old friends. Junior Libby Webster volunteered at the event and shared that each year, DESK allows her time to de-stress through painting while supporting a good cause.
“DESK is actually my favorite philanthropy event that we do on campus,” Webster said. “I’ve found that the timing of it always aligns with when I’m really stressed and it’s relaxing to be able to just paint for a few hours for a kid and for a good cause. I also like doing it with my friends, it really brings us all together.”
DESK is a unique opportunity to engage directly in a philanthropic activity. Student volunteers commit their time and creative skills to personalize a study space for an assigned student and often work alongside the kids themselves. The event brings together Winston-Salem families and college students, creating impactful connections across differences within a shared community.
“We encourage the participating families and students to come to the school and meet the team, be hands-on and get the paint all over themselves, write their names on their desks, paint their favorite books, sports, movies and hobbies,” Cush said. “They’re able to create this desk with their own interests that they will use at home and see the fruits of their labor further in life. I think it’s a very positive and validating experience for students.”
