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Lost and found is filled to the brim

An Apple Watch, a pair of Beats headphones and flash drives don’t have much in common at first glance, but currently, they are all residing in Tech’s Lost and Found collection point waiting to be reclaimed.

In the Volpe Library, the collection point is behind the front desk. All a person needs to do is simply go up to one of the workers and tell them what has been lost. The library staff usually receives flash drives, glasses, phones and clothes, among other things. After about a month, the library staff send any unclaimed items to the Campus Compass desk, librarian Rose Black said.

The Campus Compass desk is in the lobby of the Roaden University Center. Behind the desk is a cabinet filled with a variety of items.

“We have all sorts of things, like headphones, wallets, and phone cords,” Jesse Jeffers, a student worker, said. “We have to throw out water bottles because we don’t know what’s in them.”

Whenever the workers receive an item, they attempt to contact the owner through email. When attempting to claim an item, the person who lost the item is required to describe the item in detail.

Jerry Keeton, Dean of Students administrative associate, said that Tech keeps all unclaimed items for a year. After that, the clothing is donated to Goodwill, while electronics and other items are sent to the Facilities and Business Services building by Sherlock Park.

Once at the facilities, Rex Miller, a facilities associate, looks over the property. He evaluates if the items have market value. Anything that can make a profit are put up for bid on Govdeals.com, while items deemed not worth the effort are sent to the Cookeville Recycling Center.