Community-Based Learning Blog

Courtney Esteves ’19 is taking a new CBL class for second semester seniors entitled, “Seeking Justice.”  The class recently read excerpts from Robert Lupton’s “Toxic Charity” as well as Rabbi Sacks’ “To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility.” In response to this week’s class readings, Courtney wrote the following reflection:

There are many different directions in which I could take this reflection, because I so appreciate much of what these readings had to offer! That said, one meaningful connection I drew between Sacks and Lupton is the critical importance of the “joining” or “marriage” of interrelated concepts. For example, Sacks writes that the untranslatable word “tzedakah” “joins together two concepts that in other languages are opposites, namely charity and justice” (32). Lupton offers a similar assessment, but in his case, about justice and mercy. More specifically, Lupton highlights the frequently quoted verse from Micah with his own spin on it — he writes that “Twinned together, these commands (act justly and love mercy) lead us to holistic involvement. Divorced, they become deformed” (41).

I believe both of these points to be at the core of the authors’ arguments. In my own experience, I have come to understand that charity/mercy and justice must be intertwined, reinforcing, and mutually informing for progress to happen. Furthermore, not only must they be intertwined, but their separation may very well cause more harm than good, as Lupton points out. Additionally, another connection I made was in the way Lupton describes mercy as “a door, an opening, an invitation to touch a life, to make a difference. But it is not a destination” (42). This immediately reminded me of Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ’s image of service as the “hallway to the ballroom” and “exquisite mutuality” as the ballroom itself. In justice-oriented efforts, I believe it is critically important to not throw out service or mercy altogether. Rather, it is important to continue service-oriented and mercy-driven initiatives with a critical awareness that these are merely steps along the way to a greater good (justice and exquisite mutuality, for example). And yet, to only vie for justice or exquisite mutuality without participating in the work of service/mercy can also lend itself to issues.

Quite literally, how can we reach the “destination” or the “ballroom” if we do not open the “door” and walk through the “hallway”?

I was first introduced to community-based learning (CBL) through my Montserrat course, “Exploring Differences”. To be honest, at first I was pretty ambivalent about it. The idea of going to St. Mary’s Healthcare Center once a week and visiting with a resident seemed a bit mundane. After all, what would I really be doing?My previous service experiences had always been concrete. I went in with a purpose like making sandwiches at a soup kitchen, or tutoring elementary school students. My professor’s recommendation to “avoid expectations” and just see what happened seemed a little impossible given my goal-oriented personality. But nonetheless, I decided to try.

By the time I completed my first semester of CBL, that all changed. I was hooked. I was in awe of just how much I had learned by simply showing up, and being present at St. Mary’s. My visits mostly involved listening to my resident talk about her childhood, and filling her in on the details of my life. Objectively, it didn’t seem like very important work. But after she asked for a hug and told me that she loved me after one visit, I realized that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.

This experience prepared me for my first internship as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitanand Seventeen magazines because in a lot of ways, an internship is a similar to a CBL experience. Since you’re not in a concrete position, you’re basically required to show up and do whatever needs to be done, pitching in any way you can. You’re also not usually doing the “important” work. While this can feel disappointing to some, when I began to think of it in relation to my CBL experiences, it didn’t bother me. I realized that the small, sometimes tedious tasks of interns are often necessary in order to keep the larger operations running. So in that sense, the work is actually is pretty important and meaningful, you just have to look at it in a new way.

I enjoyed my CBL experience so much that I decided to apply to be a CBL Intern during my sophomore year. If you’re unfamiliar, the position involves assisting the daily operations of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning and deepening one’s understanding of community engagement. The application process requires a resume, a detailed application, and an interview. Considering I was still a first-year when I applied, this was my first real experience with applying and interviewing for an internship position, so the process served as a great learning opportunity for me.

After being accepted, the CBL Intern program also greatly prepared me for my first internship in the real world. As a CBL Intern, I learned how to interact professionally with supervisors, collaborate with team members, and assist in day-to-day operations of an office. It served as a great stepping stone before venturing into an internship position that was unaffiliated with Holy Cross. Without my CBL office experiences, I definitely wouldn’t have been as confident in my abilities to successfully contribute to a working team.

All of this is to say: take advantage of leadership and community engagement opportunities at Holy Cross whenever possible. They are a great low-stakes way to test the waters and get some experience in the outside world while still having the support of the Holy Cross community when you need it.

Kara Cuzzone ’19 is a senior Anthropology major. Read more of her work at karacuzzone.com

On February 2-5, I traveled with four other members of the Holy Cross community — Yankelly Villa ‘19, Jennifer Feraud ‘21, Motherlove Agbortoko ‘21, and Robert Jones, Associate Director of the Office of Multicultural Education, to the 2019 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG) in Washington, DC. CSMG is an annual conference sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) with the professed purpose of “bringing together hundreds of participants whose faith inspires them to respond to pressing current domestic and global challenges relating to poverty, war, injustice and the promotion of human life and dignity.” Yankelly, Jennifer, and Motherlove were invited to attend the conference as part of their work as Multicultural Peer Educators (MPEs) here at Holy Cross, and I was invited because of my role as a CBL intern. We were all part of the CSMG’s Young Leaders Initiative, which gathers students from colleges and universities across the country to connect with and learn from one another about working toward social justice and the tenets of Catholic social teaching.

The theme of this year’s CSMG was Let Justice Flow (cf. Amos 5:24): A Call to Restore and Reconcile. CSMG organizers were open from the start of the conference about the Catholic Church’s many recent struggles, from the new revelations about clerical sexual abuse to concerns about racism within the Church, especially prompted by the USCCB’s November 2018 Pastoral Letter Against Racism. Restoration and Reconciliation were indeed the key words of the CSMG, acknowledging the Church’s institutional shortcomings but also highlighting the important social ministry that is still occurring within the Church and reaffirming the Church’s commitment to safeguarding the dignity of all peoples.

Over the four days of the conference, we attended a variety of panel discussions, reflection sessions, and community workshops, touching on a range of subjects, including racism, immigration policy, the environment, crisis pregnancies, affordable housing, nonviolence, and many more. I was particularly struck by the CSMG’s commitment to diversity. Throughout the weekend, we heard from a variety of voices within the Catholic church: clergy and laity, men and women, wealthy and working class, African-American, Asian-American, Native American, and Latinx. I was reminded of the true meaning of the word “catholic:” universal. The CSMG stressed that the Catholic Church is not just for one group of people, it is for all.  After a year of scandal and betrayal that has left me questioning the core values of my childhood faith, I was encouraged to hear from all of these voices and to see that the Church carries on, attempting to do better and to minister to and protect the dignity of all people.

On Tuesday, the final day of the conference, CSMG participants broke into state delegations to make advocacy visits to Capitol Hill. Rob Jones, Yankelly, Jennifer, Motherlove, and I traveled with the Massachusetts delegation to meet with Representative Jim McGovern, the congressman representing Worcester. In our meeting, we stressed some key issues: finding permanent legal solutions for Dreamers and TPS holders and maintaining protections for unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers; funding poverty-reducing international development and humanitarian programs; preserving funding to nutrition programs; investing in affordable housing; and supporting environmental stewardship. Representative McGovern expressed a shared interest in and commitment to addressing all of these issues.

I come away from the conference both encouraged in having met a diverse, vibrant community of Catholics committed to social justice but also aware of my own responsibility to bring my new knowledge of these many pressing social justice issues back to the Holy Cross campus in my work as a CBL intern and beyond. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to work in the Donelan Office every week and see how Holy Cross students put Catholic social teaching into action. I would encourage any Holy Cross student who has the opportunity to do so to attend a CSMG in the future as a way to bring greater context to Holy Cross’ mission to be “men and women, for and with others.”

I recently spent last fall semester in Washington, D.C. There, I was fortunate to witness the legislative angle of service, and get a sense of how lawmakers, government agencies and interest groups alike interact to fight for those in need.

Many of the programs, talks, formal events, and happenings around D.C. are designed primarily around the focus of enacting social good. In fact, some of our community partners may even interact with the federal programing and funding that gets discussed on Capitol Hill. Here, agencies are grappling with questions like: how much money should we allocate for this federal grant? Is this government program still working and feasible? Does this issue affect our constituency? What government agencies are currently playing a role in confronting this issue?

Unfortunately, however, far more political topics end up taking hold of Washington, and the greater media landscape as a whole drowns out a lot of these critical questions. Amidst this reality, I believe CBL can be a source of comfort and inspiration for anyone grappling with questions of social justice. In CBL, we are constantly exchanging stories and perspectives that, in my opinion, are critical to engaging with a globalized, empathetic, and critical view in our communities.

Notably, the Washington, DC media landscape offers its viewer a fair share of dramatized, “us versus them,” reactions to American politics. However, I think that when it comes to gaining a perspective on social justice issues, Holy Cross’s CBL program is an incredible place to start, and build an informed lens amidst today’s faced-paced society.

Often, I would find myself wondering what Washington politics would be like if our elected leaders committed themselves to a CBL program as well. Perhaps they might partake in the same gifts we exchange with our community partners – the beauty of listening and experiencing perspectives that differ from our own day-to-day.

It is so wonderful to be back on the Worcester Hill, and be around the incredibly impactful CBL community here at Holy Cross again!

“If I had the chance to become a CBL intern, I wish to not only explore but also spread Worcester’s beauty and diversity among the student body here at Holy Cross.” I remember expressing this during my CBL interview. To this day, I remain passionate about this. Within the past several months, I was able to achieve this in a multitude of ways, which is only made possible by being a part of CBL in the Donelan Office.

One way that I was able to experience and bring a little bit of Worcester back to the hill was by volunteering at a local elementary school called, Woodland Academy. Volunteering at Woodland Academy was a trip down memory lane for me, because it was actually my elementary school. Woodland Academy is very close to my heart because is it the place that taught me my first English word and allowed me to fall in love with learning. To this day, I not only love attending classes and expanding my knowledge, but I also love going out and learning about my community, and what I can do to better it. At Woodland, I tutor sixth graders on the subject of math. The two hours that I get to spend at Woodland is what I look forward to most. The grand smiles that I get to witness after the students bravely conquer a math problem truly make my day. Being able to observe Woodland and the significant impact they are having on these students’ life makes me very proud of where I came from.

In addition to volunteering at Woodland Academy each week, I was also fortunate enough to be able to experience another aspect of Worcester through the 2019 Non-Profit Careers Conference (NPCC). This particular conference served to introduce participants to the wide range of career options in the non-profit sector, engage participants upon reflections on how they can implement their skills in service to the broader society, and prepare them for public service by providing various experiences and skills. The main reason I was interested in the NPCC is because of my strong desire to serve my community and learn more about the non-profit sector. Before the NPCC, I was not very educated on the various options out there, nor the business side of non-profits. In fact, I did not think there were any career options in the non-profit sector for dentists, which is the field I am currently pursuing. Just a few days in, I was proven wrong. There are so many organizations and services that I can take part in, and if I wanted to, I can even start my own organization, which was something the NPCC relayed to the students. From networking and talking to Holy Cross alumna, Amy Fitzpatrick, I learned how important it was to be passionate about the mission that I will be participating in, to know about the business part of non-profits, and, lastly, how to write grant proposals. The Non-Profit Careers Conference solidified my desires to work for a mission, rather than a paycheck.

In addition to equipping participants with various skills needed to succeed in the non-profit sector, participants were also placed in groups to work with a community partner in Worcester. I was fortunate enough to work with four other Holy Cross students to aid the St. Mary Health Care Center, which is a Catholic rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility near the Main South neighborhood of Worcester. The challenge that St. Mary and Metz, St. Mary’s food service provider, is currently facing is that residents, their families, and staff are giving feedback that the meal selection is limited. In addition to this, some residents, especially Spanish residents, do not understand what meals are offered and the alternative options. Lastly, St. Mary staffs work hard to serve hot meals to the residents during meal times; however, once residents actually receive their meals, the food is sometimes cold. To assess this challenge, we conducted a survey to find out more about the residents, their families, and the staff’s opinion on the dining and eating experiences. Specifically, we focused on the seven key areas of Metz food service, which includes the quality of food, variety of food, temperature of food, quality of service, friendliness of staff, accuracy of order, and attention to residents’ needs. With this, the team pooled the data together and were not only able to successfully present it to the St. Mary staff, but also gave some suggestions as to how they can approach the feedback they received. It was truly an honor to work with St. Mary and their residents, who made me feel at home while talking to them one on one. I cannot say enough about my experiences at the NPCC, and I hope that people take advantage of this amazing opportunity next year!

As a second semester senior, I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect back on my community-based learning experience since my first year on the hill. I became involved with the CBL community through my Montserrat course, “Identity, Diversity and Community,” taught by the wonderful Prof. Virginia Ryan. This CBL course required a two hour per week service commitment, and based purely on my class schedule and convenience, I began volunteering at the Marie Anne Center. At first, I was nervous about the time commitment each week, going off campus, and driving a van. However, unbeknownst to me at the time, this experience would become one of my favorite parts of the week.

The Marie Anne Center is an after-school program run out of St. Bernadette’s Church and as a volunteer, I was responsible for tutoring children in the after-school program. Two memories that stick out most in my mind from my time volunteering at the Marie Anne Center are working with a large family who immigrated to the United States from Central Africa, and being asked to facilitate a girls-only group called Girl’s Circle. First, working with the family of brothers and sisters from Central Africa, I was able to utilize the French I was learning at Holy Cross to help them with their homework. Seeing the light bulb go off when I was able to explain something in French and then English was fulfilling. Being able to communicate with them in two languages also taught be much about these kids, their stories, and what they had to contribute. All of the siblings loved to dance, which is a shared passion of mine, so we always had a lot of fun together.

Girl’s Circle was initiated by Sister Michele, the director of the Marie Anne Center, and she asked me to be its first facilitator. Those sessions with girls ages ten through twelve were extremely eye opening. As females, all of us shared similar obstacles, but these young girls were also forced to think about their race on a daily basis, something that I, as a white woman, do not think about as often. Their stories and experiences were sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting, and other times their stories were hilarious and fun.

Through my growing passion for service, Professor Ryan’s engaging class discussions, and the biweekly reflection sessions lead by Isabelle Jenkins and some past CBL interns, Mary Angevine ‘17 and Elaines Peña ‘18, I was inspired to join this community and do more. Discussions with the interns and my classmates illuminated important topics such as toxic charity, the two feet of service (charity and social justice) and the danger of a single story. Now, as an intern in the Donelan Office, I am lucky enough to have these interesting discussions often with other interns as well as through facilitation in other CBL courses. I am so grateful to be a part of this community of giving, thoughtful people and am doing everything I can to cherish these last few months of CBL on the hill.

If I could give one piece of advice to new CBL students, it would be to go into the experience with an open mind. It’s easy to get frustrated with the time commitment, but going into service learning with a positive attitude and a willingness to open yourself up to learn from those in the Worcester community is an invaluable experience.

This past summer, Holy Cross alumna, Maria Palacios ’15 was invited to join a group of Catholic Charities volunteers to assist families at the U.S./Mexico border to assist in the reunification of parents who had been separated from their children when entering the U.S. to seek asylum . Maria was invited to participate because of her fluency in Spanish, her experience with immigration legal work, and because of her post-graduate service experience in the AMA program in Chaparral, New Mexico.  The AMA program is a post-graduate service program that assists in the work of the Assumption Sisters in the U.S. and abroad. The work includes teaching, youth ministry, community development, ministry to migrants and advocacy.  Maria first became involved with the Assumption Sisters through a CBL course, “Filmmaking in Spanish.” Maria was a part of a film crew that created a film for the Assumption Sisters about the programs they offer in the Worcester community.  Maria then decided to volunteer with the Assumption Sisters’ post-graduate year of service program where she was placed in Chaparral, New Mexico.  In the most recent version of the AMA newsletter, Maria wrote about her most recent experience at the border. Read her post below to see how CBL can be the doorway into professional opportunities!

Maria Palacios, AMA Alum Chaparral 2015-16 , “Reflections from the Border”

As the crisis of family separation at the Border worsened every day, I felt helpless as I watched the news and read articles of the horrible conditions the families were going through. I could not believe that this was happening in this country and in this time. Never would I have imagined that I would witness firsthand the pain, the sadness, but above all, the faith of these families seeking refuge.

My journey began when Sister Norma Pimentel from Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley put out a call requesting deployed Catholic Charities professionals to provide support to her team at the Border. As the government scrambled to meet the Family Reunification deadline at the end of July, the Catholic Charities Respite Center in McAllen, Texas saw itself overflowing with families that had just been reunited and needed immediate assistance. And so when my supervisor at Catholic Charities of Fairfield County asked if I wanted to join Sister Norma’s mission at the Border, without hesitation I answered “yes.” I was not thinking of the danger or the obvious trauma that I would endure, but rather my desire to contribute some assistance to the families. I was selected from my agency because I speak fluent Spanish, I have experience in immigration legal work, and most of all, because of my Border experience as an AMA in Chaparral, NM.

To say that my nine day journey was overwhelming is an understatement. From my arrival on July 24th to my departure on August 1st, the work never stopped. Each day we assisted over 200 different families that had just been released from ICE custody. The days were very fast moving from assisting clients with organizing their ICE documents for their upcoming court dates, making travel arrangements to get to their families in other parts of the country, to giving them a clean set of clothes, food and most important, a listening ear. As one of the only fluent Spanish speaker volunteers, I found there was always a line of people waiting to ask me questions. Though this was overwhelming at times, it gave me the opportunity to connect with the families. It showed that they felt comfortable enough to approach me and ask me questions and wanted to tell me their story. Most of the families were from Central America and embarked on the long journey from their home country to McAllen TX escaping the obscene gang violence in their countries, never expecting the harsh conditions that would welcome them in the ”Land of the Free.”

Most parents had spent between two to four months separated from their children. Parents were placed in one detention center near the Border, while their children were dispersed throughout the nation. With tears in her eyes, one mother from Honduras described to me how Border Patrol officers ripped her daughter away from her arms. She was able to describe to me that day in such detail since she had relived that exact moment in her head every day until she was reunited with her daughter. She didn’t want to stay in this country anymore; she just wanted her daughter back. As I worked with the parents in filing change of venue and address forms for their court date, their children waited anxiously next to them. Though the lines were long, the children held their parent’s hands and stood in line with them for hours.  They did not want to leave their sight. As they waited in line, some children would recite the Pledge of Allegiance while others would point at different items and say the color in English.

It has been just about four months since my experience at the Respite Center in McAllen Texas and reflecting back on it today is a little bittersweet. I miss reading with the children and playing soccer in the 103 degree weather, and to those that know about my experience in Chaparral, the heat was the only thing I didn’t enjoy (besides toritos.) I tried to bring some joy to the children at the Center because I could only imagine the trauma they encountered at the detention centers when a simple peanut butter cracker would trigger them to retreat. During my year in Chaparral, I missed my mom tremendously but spoke to her over the phone almost every day, which made missing her more bearable. If I in my mid-20s missed my mom so much, knowing I would see her again and could talk to her on the phone, my heart breaks to think that these children went to bed every night not knowing if they would ever see their moms and dads again. I spent my mom’s birthday in McAllen and even though I was sad I couldn’t be there with her to celebrate, I could not think of a better way to honor my mother than to be helping these families.

The families were all extremely grateful for the work we were doing; never in my life have I been blessed so many times by so many people! I don’t remember most of their names, but if I close my eyes, I can picture all their faces. My work there not only helped me grow professionally but I think it showed me that when you let God guide your work, even if your body and mind are tired, God will keep you going. I am so happy that I was able to be part of such a beautiful mission to provide some positivity to all the refugee families that I encountered during my time there but also saddened that this chaos has not ended. My hope is restored by the commitment of so many to lend a hand in this time of need, especially by the Sisters in Chaparral; as well as by all the Catholic Charities volunteers, by the thousands of donations received from every corner of the country and by the community of McAllen that didn’t let hate separate them from strangers. We welcome the stranger because at some point we have all been strangers.

During my time in McAllen, I tried to keep a journal for the Catholic Charities website. If you would like to read some of those entries please visit, https://www.ccfairfield.org/journal-entry-maria-palacios/.

Note: this article was originally published by “A Contest of Ideas” on 11/20/18.

CBL Student, Courtney Esteves ’19 has been published in “A Contest of Ideas.” Her article, “Understanding the ‘with’ in ‘for and with others,'” discusses the importance of mutuality in service and immersion experiences, two concepts necessary for rich, meaningful, and truly reciprocal CBL projects and placements to occur. Courtney has taken numerous CBL courses including her Montserrat course, “Identity, Diversity, and Community,” Spanish 301, “Liberation Theology,” “Social Ethics,” and “Social Justice in Context.” Courtney also spent the second semester of her junior year abroad in Argentina through the CASA program, which is rooted in Ignatian ideals and includes a praxis component. See below and navigate to the “A Contest of Ideas” webpage to read her article.

Most individuals with any affiliation to a Jesuit institution recognize the call to be people “for and with others” as a foundational part of Jesuit education. Yet few people our age are able to trace the history of this phrase back to an address given by Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the former Superior General of the Jesuits, to the Tenth International Congress of Jesuit Alumni of Europe in Valencia, Spain, on July 31, 1973. In his historic address, Fr. Arrupe’s fervent call to action was marked by an insistence on change within and beyond Jesuit institutions. Although Fr. Arrupe used the phrase “men for others” since he delivered his address at an all-male institution, the language of his address has since been edited to reflect a more gender-inclusive message. Thus, co-educational Jesuit institutions have replaced “men for others” with phrases such as “men and women for others.” In a similar vein, and in order to move beyond gendered language to include all members of our community, I will use “people” in place of “men and women.”

The modifications that colleges and universities have made to Fr. Arrupe’s phrase extend beyond gender inclusion, though. Some institutions, including the College of the Holy Cross, have added the word “with” to Fr. Arrupe’s phrase as well, calling us to be people for and with others. Although all 28 members of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities have some variation of the Arrupe-inspired phrase as a central part of their philosophy and mission, only 12 of the 28 institutions explicitly convey the importance of being “with” others in their language surrounding this phrase.

Thus, the inclusion of “with” is not merely an addition of a common preposition. It is rather an intentional invitation to move beyond a service-only mindset and to consider how to exhibit a radical presence and a profound sense of solidarity with others. An Australian artist, activist, and academic named Lilla Watson wrote, “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Watson’s insight is a critical bridge between traditional service (“for”) and interpersonal engagement (“with”). So what does being “with” others in this mutuality entail? Additionally, why is is important that we include this word in our Holy Cross mission?

I propose that at the heart of being “with” others is a willingness—an eagerness, even— to “enter into the chaos of another,” as Fr. James F. Keenan, S.J. writes. I would argue that, as Jesuit-educated students, we have the responsibility to “enter into the chaos” of everyone, from a seemingly overwhelmed student whom we get to know through a Holy Cross seminar to an individual experiencing homelessness whom we get to know through community engagement in Worcester or an immersion trip. Moreover, we are also called to “enter into the chaos” of everyone in between.

Alongside “entering into the chaos” of others is reflecting on their experiences in a manner that propels future action and engagement. A critical element of Jesuit education is the “well educated solidarity” that can come from learning both within and beyond the walls of a classroom. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, described the goal of Jesuit education in the following way:

When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is the catalyst for solidarity, which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection.  Students, in the course of their formation, must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering, and engage it constructively.

These five elements of direct experience—a challenge to change one’s mind, personal involvement with injustices, solidarity, intellectual inquiry, and moral reflection—are ones that can undoubtedly come from interactions with all fellow members of our college community. Yet, these elements come alive in a direct way when students are exposed to the “gritty reality of this world” in marginalized and impoverished communities beyond the Hill. For example, coming into contact with marginalization and injustice in a way that permeates one’s very being can be a catalyst for the critical thinking, genuine responses, and constructive engagement that Fr. Kolvenbach pushes for. Not only is it a privilege to be welcomed into spaces that can allow for this type of formation, but it is also a responsibility to respond wholeheartedly to this call to be people “with others.”  

My firm belief in the aforementioned call made by Fr. Kolvenbach is grounded in my own personal experiences of accompanying others, which have been made possible throughout my formation as a Holy Cross student. For example, I spent last semester in Córdoba, Argentina engaging in an immersive study abroad experience called CASA de la Mateada, a program rooted in the Ignatian tradition and founded on the pillars of community, accompaniment, spirituality, and academics. During my time in Córdoba, I lived in community with students from other Catholic (predominantly Jesuit) institutions in which we enjoyed and were challenged by experiences of accompanying one another and those we met at the margins of Argentine society. We also spent our time sharing in spaces centered around spiritual exploration and taking courses centered around themes of social justice. Although several experiences have shaped my coming to understand the “with” in “for and with others,” I would like to share one in particular. There was a week of many sequential days of thunderstorms in Córdoba, during which I witnessed and experienced first-hand the devastating effects of thunderstorms in a way that I had not previously. I saw flooded streets with cars stuck, water creeping in under doors, soaked mattresses, clothes left out to “dry,” and containers strewn about in an effort to catch water leaking in. For me, thunderstorms have always been, at best, an excuse to stay inside with a good book and hot tea while listening to the sounds of the storm, and, at worst, a minor inconvenience. For the people I grew to know and love in Nuestro Hogar III, an impoverished area on the outskirts of the city in which I spent two days a week, these storms affected their entire day and had lasting impacts. For example, it was heart-wrenching to sit there on a Tuesday afternoon with six-year old Lara as she cried about not being able to go to school that day because the woman who normally drives her could not get her car out of the flooded street. It was upsetting to walk through their house with Lara’s mother Yiya and see the extreme water damage all around. Yet, I also stood in awe of how, in the face of this damage, they thanked God for having a stable roof when so many others did not. The following day, at the adult literacy center where I helped teach English, it was painful to see the empty seats where Isa and Sara normally sat and to hear from their teacher Adriana that they could not attend class because their children were sick after being exposed to the storm. Although my emotions varied from week to week during my time abroad, this week was a particularly upsetting one.

As I sat with those unsettled feelings that week, I also continued to think about questions swirling around my head. Why am I able to enjoy any more security and stability than these individuals do? How do families who have even less than my friends in Nuestro Hogar III cope with storms? At night, as I lay in my warm bed, I could not help but wonder if Yiya’s family, along with countless other families, would be able to sleep that night. Were their beds too soaked to lie on? Were the pouring rain and thunder keeping them up? Were they too worried and anxious about the damage to their home to fall asleep? As I considered these questions, I also wondered—what are the questions that I cannot even think to ask? I felt so far removed from their reality that I questioned whether my questions were even valid themselves. I can only imagine that the concerns at the top of their minds are ones that would never even cross mine…

Continue reading in “A Contest of Ideas.”

Living and Learning in Community

Throughout this past year I’ve learned a lot about what it means to live and learn in community. From Casa de la Mateada to Community-Based Learning, I have been both challenged and embraced by a sense of community and what it means to live and learn alongside the ‘other’. Last semester I was abroad in Córdoba, Argentina, with the Casa de la Mateada program. Casa’s main goal is to foster community building with the other students you are living with, and with the people of Córdoba, specifically those at the various praxis sites in the city. My site was called La Luciérnaga, where young adults from the streets are given the opportunity to sell magazines and are offered various support services. Finding common ground with many of these young people was challenging in the best way, and forced me to confront aspects of my own life through a new lens. I come back from Córdoba with new friendships and gratitude to have been part of a community that extends so much farther than my own Casa experience.

CBL is very similar to Casa in the sense that it promotes community building both on campus and within the Worcester community. We are encouraged to learn from each other as CBL Interns, as well as to educate ourselves on the wider world by working with community partners in Worcester. Since my first year at Holy Cross I have volunteered with Ascentria Care Alliance with the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program. This opportunity has broken down my single story of what it means to be a refugee and also has taught me the value of learning through lived experience.

Creating a sense of community that transcends societal barriers and individual backgrounds is not always easy. However, it is through these relationships and shared moments that we are able to find a sense of belonging to each other and to the human experience. Mother Teresa once said that “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” I reference this quote to say that it is so easy to get caught up in our own reality and to forget about the world beyond us and our responsibility to those that face injustice and suffering. We so often forget to look past ourselves and to remember that we hold the power to go outside of our comfort zones to greet the ‘other’ and build relationship with that person.

I am so thankful to CBL and to Casa for having given me the opportunity to do just that. To learn beyond the classroom, beyond my peers and teachers, beyond my native language, and beyond my own life experience—to forge bonds and communities with people of various backgrounds and perspectives. I am a better person because of these opportunities and I have a greater sense of myself for realizing that my responsibility to the world is really my responsibility to the people around me, no matter where I situate myself in the world.

When I was a first-year student at Holy Cross, I took a Montserrat course that had a CBL component. For my CBL, I decided to serve at a high school program called Positive Directions at South Community High School. At this site, I had the opportunity to serve first-year high school students with their academics and also serve them as a friend or mentor. During the year, I was able to connect with the students since both the students and I were going through important phases in our lives where we were transitioning into a foreign place. Serving at Positive Directions allowed me to feel like I was giving back to my community because as a first-generation college student, I know how difficult it can be at times to believe that you can achieve your academic aspirations, and sometimes you need someone whom you can look up to. When I was in high school, I was part of a program called AVID, which serves first-generation college students. If it weren’t for the volunteers that came into the classroom to tutor and mentor me, I feel I wouldn’t be in the position that I am in now. Thanks to their mentorship, I had someone I looked up to, and, on top of that, I had someone who believed in me. Those emotions that I felt as a freshman in high school is what I hope I can radiate to my students when I go to my CBL site. Now as a sophomore on the hill, I continue to work with Positive Directions and it has been an amazing journey to meet new students who have joined the after-school program and continue working with the students who I also worked with last year. Observing their progress and interest in school is what makes my service worthwhile and makes me feel like I have a purpose in my community that I am residing in.