Mt. Zion Church to be Restored as Vibrant Community Center: Ohio University student team helps them win a $75k grant

 

Mt. Zion student team. Photo provided by Dr. Trevellya Ford-Ahmed, fondly known as "Dr. Tee." 

“Hey, have you seen that abandoned church at the intersection of Carpenter and Congress?” Ohio University undergrad student Hannah Mehalik asked a community member a couple years ago. “Well… that’s the Mt. Zion church, and we’re trying to preserve it!” 

That’s how most of the interviews started as undergrad students Hannah Mehalik, Austin McClain, and five other students began what they thought was just a class project. By the end of the project, they would observe the strength and passion of the community, garner ideas for the development of the Mt. Zion church, and ultimately, help win a grant that would impact Mt. Zion. 

Earlier that semester, each student sat in Professor Paul Benedict’s management class, where they each heard about a variety of organizations from people in the Athens community. Their class project? Partner with a local organization and create a recommendation for them based on their needs. 

They were captivated listening to an inspiring woman named Dr. Trevellya Ford-Ahmed, or as they would later fondly know her -- Dr. Tee. Dr. Tee has been involved with Mount Zion Baptist Church Preservation Society 501(c)3 nonprofit organization for more than three years now, where she has worked as the grant writer and the specialist in charge of Communications & Media.

Dr. Tee said, “I was invited to come to [Paul’s] class and make a pitch, and tell them what we wanted to do… There were eight students who decided that they would like to help design a future for Mt. Zion.” 

As the students learned from Dr. Tee, the Mt. Zion church is rich with history, dating back 115 years. According to the Mt. Zion website, “At the turn of the 20th century, a community of free-born and formerly enslaved Black Americans built the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Athens, Ohio as a place of spiritual solace and social connection.” 

Dr. Tee became involved with Mt. Zion church when the president came to her and said that she thought they might tear Mt. Zion down--one of the last buildings built during the time of the Underground Railroad. 

The president said to her, “And it’s a beautiful, iconic structure, and will you come on to help us save it?” That’s exactly what Dr. Tee did. 

Dr. Tee shared, “When I came on board, I gravitated right towards the university… I had started the Public Relations Student Society of America at the institution where I was, and I knew what kind of work students could do.” 

Austin, Hannah, and the rest of the team worked to learn about Mt. Zion and its rich and inspiring history. Austin reflected, “We had a really good team. We would go to meet people on the board of Mt. Zion and go to the site itself.” 

He shared that he had the opportunity to go to a Mt. Zion community meeting, “It was very cool to see how many people were interested in this. There were about 40 people there, and it was on a Saturday. So for 40+ people to come out on a Saturday and talk about this area, this building, and how to keep it preserved as volunteers, is very impactful.” 

Inside of Mt. Zion church. Photo provided by Dr. Tee. 

The church building itself had been deteriorating for some time. Hannah remembers that two years ago, they needed a new roof, there was mold, and the basement had flooded. Dr. Tee said, “Had we not had the attention of the students… I’m sure the whole building would be covered with ivy and green.”

With the building deteriorating, the students and the community of Mt. Zion have an opportunity: they can rebuild the space as a cornerstone for the Black community. According to the Mt. Zion website, “The region was once nationally renowned for Black entrepreneurship, education, and community building.” 

Dr. Tee said that Edward Berry moved to Athens and founded the Hotel Berry. “Then enters Edward Berry, a Black entrepreneur and probably the richest Black man in Ohio… The Hotel Berry was kicking, they were making money. President Harding was coming through there, Teddy Roosevelt was coming through there.” 

This history is what connected the students to the project, and what inspired many in the community to help save this historic building. As part of the project, Hannah, Austin, and the rest of the team reached out to the community to suggest ways that the building could be repurposed. 

Austin reflected, “We get to do something real and have an impact.” 

Dr. Tee said that their group presented “us with a 39 page narrative with financial future planning. They did research with alumni. They talked to current students, and they even interviewed uptown businesses.” 

The student team knew that the Mt. Zion board did not want to repurpose the church as another church. With this in mind, the students based their recommendations for the space on community suggestions. The team suggested that the church be remodeled as a space for Black community members as an event venue, catering space, and a revenue generator. This would make the space sustainable and accessible to anyone in the community.  

Dr. Tee remembered, “We found out that among the number 1 thing that everyone wanted was a Soul food restaurant… but [the team] also realized that our facility was not such that we could have a restaurant in that basement. So what did they come up with? Catering services! And then they went on to name who our competition would be in catering. I mean, they were so thorough.” 

 

Mt. Zion building exterior. Photo provided by Dr. Tee.

 

Dr. Tee was able to use the 39-page narrative that the students had compiled and submit it for a new grant—the National Endowment of the Arts Citizen Institute for Rural Design (CIRD). Mt. Zion was able to use their research, along with data from the Athens, Stewart, Tablertown, and Kilvert communities. This compiled data from the student team and surrounding communities helped win the CIRD grant, which was worth $75,000. 

These students were able to impact the purpose of the space by inviting community members to share their voices and compiling intensive research. This impacted the grant that Mt. Zion received. 

Austin and Hannah also shared what it was like working on the project. Hannah said, “I’d say all of us were very different people… Working collaboratively with different minds and different backgrounds definitely helped in terms of teaching us what different views would want to see for use of the space.” 

Hannah continued that for the community, “Mt. Zion was like a second home. It was their community; it was their friends; it was their family--that’s what they saw. And that was the end goal of the overall proposal.”

 

Mt. Zion Baptist Church window. Photo provided by Dr. Tee.

 

Austin shared, “It was beyond doing typical homework… It was great working with Dr. Tee. She’s so kind and smart… Working with her was inspiring.” 

Dr. Tee loved working with the students, and she shared, “Opening the minds of young people who are so creative and so gifted—that’s my passion.” 

With such a rich history and a dedicated team, Mt. Zion is staying true to their mission statement as they continue “Building Our Future by Preserving Our Past.”  

Want to get involved with Mt. Zion? Check out http://mountzionathens.org/involvement/. To learn more about Mt. Zion, check out http://mountzionathens.org/.