Serve901

Back in March, Jeff was pulling into the Crosstown Concourse garage looking for a parking spot when he noticed a young woman walking out wearing a Serve901 t-shirt from a design we haven't used in years.

He stopped to say hello.

As it turned out, she was leaving and he was able to claim her parking spot. But before she drove off, they got to talking.

She shared that she had come to Memphis with Illinois State a few years ago. Then came the surprise: she's now an MTR Resident serving students in Memphis classrooms. And the first time she heard about Memphis Teacher Residency was at a Serve901 info session during her trip.

We had no idea.

Moments like this remind us why we do what we do. Every year, students come to Memphis to engage, serve, and learn. Most return home after a few days. But every now and then, someone discovers a calling, a city, and a community they can't quite shake.

Years later, they're still here—investing their lives in Memphis.

Sometimes all it takes is a chance encounter in a parking garage to be reminded that the story doesn't end when the trip is over.

📍🎷

“Say Less” — presented to Chaynj from RIT.

Because a photo dump with Memphis blues in the background somehow captured an entire alternative break experience better than words could.

Serve. Learn. Explore. Repeat.

Still thinking about Memphis? Katie is—and she didn’t miss a moment.

This Start to Finish superlative goes to Katie from Iowa State, who fully leaned into every part of the week. Her post walks through it all—the serving, the learning, the exploring, the in-between moments—and you can tell… she ate it up.

From start to finish, this trip didn’t just fill a schedule—it sparked something. The kind of experience that leaves you energized, reflective, and ready to engage the world a little differently.

That’s the goal. Not just a week in Memphis—but a shift that sticks.

the “bestest ppl” 🫶

there’s something special that happens when a group shows up ready to serve, learn, and lean into a new city together. somewhere between early mornings, shared meals, and long days in Memphis… strangers start to feel like family.

we loved hosting Vienna + the Stony Brook crew and getting to witness the kind of community that forms when you choose to be present with each other and the people around you. that’s what these trips are all about.

our hope? that this doesn’t stop when you leave the 901. that you keep seeking out spaces where you can know people deeply, serve intentionally, and build community wherever life takes you next. because the need for that kind of connection doesn’t end after college—it’s just getting started.

Memphis was better with y’all in it ❤️

Some things you hear on Night 1 don’t stay in the room.

“Be dangerously unselfish.”

Dexter gave that charge at Bluff City Beginnings—not just as a phrase, but as a framework for how to see Memphis… and how to live.

This post was a powerful reminder of that. Reflecting on the beauty and the brokenness of the city—and naming how it will stick with her long after the trip—that’s what it looks like when the message lands.

Not just something you heard. Something that sticks with you!