Community-Based Learning Blog

Over the past four years I have had a lot of time to reflect on the realities of my surroundings. Being a part of the Holy Cross community and the Worcester community has taught me many things. It is heartwarming and easy to name an endless amount of memories that ground me in my love for Worcester. Things that were once so new and a bit scary, are now things that feel familiar and comfortable four years later. As you may have guessed, community-based learning has contributed to my love for Worcester, and has given me numerous opportunities to not only explore my passions, but has also fostered my personal growth as a student and a Worcester community member. Although I am thankful to look back at these sweet moments, my reality at Holy Cross and in Worcester are not the realities of everyone. Participating in CBL has taught me that. It has been genuinely eye-opening to reflect on three CBL experiences of mine that have awakened new passions in me and have inspired new beginnings. 

It seems all too recently that I was volunteering at Worcester East Middle School as my CBL placement for Spanish 301. Having previously volunteered at different school programs before, I had an interest in further exploring education-based service experiences. At Worcester East I tutored native Spanish speaking students, most of whom were recent immigrants to the United States. I was stunned when I came to find that besides the two hour weekly block that I volunteered, the students had no other resources to assist them with the language barrier. No language programs, no Spanish speaking teachers, no assistance. I couldn’t possibly imagine going to school for eight hours a day not understanding anything that was being said or taught to me, let alone at the young age of nine or ten. Wake up call number one: the reality is that there are deep educational inequities in the world. Although this reality was hard to see, I found it to be a pivotal point in sparking my passion for education. Academically and service-wise, I found myself reflecting on my own education realities and feeling eager to somehow pursue this social justice issue further. I soon declared the education minor, and found myself looking forward to other CBL courses that offered placement sites at schools or with kids. And now, a senior heading into my last month of college, I am finding myself exploring careers in education policy, and education based nonprofit work. 

As overwhelming as this last semester of college has been, it was hard not to take on every unique opportunity that came my way. In a combination of fear that I didn’t know what I was going to pursue post-grad, and a budding love for education and non-profit work, I applied to participate in the Non-profit Careers Conference, taking place the last week of winter break. I had been involved with non-profit organizations before, through volunteer experiences in high school, CBL courses at Holy Cross, and academic curriculum, but this was my first time engaging with non-profit work as an exploration of potential career paths. It was exciting for me to have the opportunity to work in collaboration with a local Worcester non-profit (The Mustard Seed), and equally exciting for me to also use this conference as a way to enhance the plethora of learning experiences I had been gaining during my first semester of being a part of the Donelan Office as a CBL intern. NPCC introduced me to my second wake up call: food insecurity. I am extremely fortunate to live in a reality where food insecurity is not something I have to think about. But it is the reality for many in Worcester. NPCC opened my eyes to a second social justice issue I am passionate about, and taught me the importance of commitment, the power of deep seeded care for others, reflection, and confidence in oneself. 

After these experiences, I had to ask myself, what do I do now? My passions were clear, my career goals were getting clearer, and I had one last semester to make the most of my Holy Cross education. Taking a course called “Seeking Justice” sounded like the right way to go. This course has provided me with the space to turn my passions into new realities and reflect on my academic and personal growth over the past four years. To see this come to fruition through my CBL project for the course, has given me confidence in my abilities to lay the course of my next couple of years. On April 20, 2022 my fellow “Seeking Justice” classmate, Molly and I put on a panel discussion on food security in Worcester and beyond. After months of planning and organizing we were both proud and excited to share with the Holy Cross and Worcester community our devotion to educating people on the issue of food insecurity and how we can all be active and intentional in navigating the best ways to target this issue through both charity and justice. I was able to collaborate again with familiar organizations such as the Mustard Seed (with whom I had worked with during NPCC) and new organizations like Project Bread and the Worcester County Food Bank. The panel was a success, and was an amazing close to cementing my identities as a Holy Cross student and a Worcester community member. I am excited to use these experiences as the foundation for a new beginning following graduation and am forever grateful for the Donelan office of Community-Based Learning for being a light of guidance along the way.

My experience with the CBL Intern Program began nearly one year ago. Looking back on the past year as an intern, I am so grateful for all the experiences this opportunity has provided me. Since my acceptance into the program, I have had the chance to meet so many wonderful people within the Holy Cross and Worcester communities. From my involvement at Holy Cross through the program, it has been a sincere joy to get to know members of the Donelan Office and the J.D. Power Center. Through reflection sessions, interviews for the J.D. Power Center newsletter, and office hours, I’ve been able to connect with so many different students, faculty, and staff members. Conversations with all these individuals have taught me so much more about community engagement, other student organizations, and Holy Cross as a whole. It also has been truly fulfilling working with a community partner site as well. Every Tuesday morning, I visit St. Mary Health Care Center where I get to chat with elderly residents and participate in their morning activities. I had not been able to visit a site for community engagement since 2020 so getting back to this weekly practice has been very special to me.

Amidst all these wonderful developments this year, it still seems like yesterday that I was applying to be an intern. I can remember filling out my application with so much excitement last spring. After the fall semester at home in 2020, I realized how important participating in a community was for me. I really had missed meeting new people, learning about others, and working together with peers. At that time, I also recalled how much I enjoyed working with the interns in Professor Ryan’s Montserrat course, “Identity, Diversity, and Community.” The interns really had a positive impact on my class and our learning—whether it was through their reflection sessions or office hours, they really helped us to embrace the process of learning both in class and at our CBL sites. These prospects of being able to participate in this process of education and engaging with others, as well as the chance to join a new community on campus, really motivated me to apply to be an intern.

I still can remember the mixture of nerves I had the day of the interview. Interviews were conducted online last year over Zoom, and I recall fidgeting at my desk in front of my computer as my interview time approached. While I had prepared all I wanted to discuss, studied the program itself, and even formulated possible questions to ask, I still felt a bit worried about how the interview would go. These worries gradually subsided a little after the interview began. Everyone on the call was so welcoming and friendly, and I soon found myself talking about my experiences and qualifications for the program with ease. I felt so grateful for the amount of preparation the interns did for the interview as well as their ability to make me feel comfortable. From the very beginning, even this early in the process, I felt truly welcomed by the CBL interns. Such a welcome only continued upon my acceptance as an intern and into my junior year—making intern training and further engagement with the rest of the Donelan Office even more special.

The interview stage of CBL intern selection begins again for this year. I am excited to see this side of the interview process and to hear about other students’ experiences. I really look forward to extending this same tradition of welcome to all candidates now and into next year. Serving as a CBL intern has been such a highlight to my experience at Holy Cross, providing me with practical experience, cherished friendships, and ample opportunities to learn about others and myself. I can’t wait for our future interns to experience this as well in the year to come.

Reflection is something that may seem unappealing to many at first glance. To some it may seem unnecessary or cringe, to others it may seem to force meaning into things that do not have much of it. During the majority of my first year, I easily fell under this category. Although I understood that the reflection aspect of service was important and was able to participate in related exercises, I never was able to truly find its significance within myself.

Once I became a CBL intern, my job was to lead reflections and other discussions in a plethora of CBL classes. These were mostly Montserrat classes for first-years that were in positions similar to mine just a year ago. Much like my first-year self, many first-years understand that participating in CBL and doing service is good, but have yet to discover how much it can really do for them and for others. The way I discovered this was by embracing the process of reflection.

You may be asking, “How exactly can I ‘embrace the process’ of reflection?” While it may seem straightforward, embracing the process of reflection is something that I always struggled with. Being a discussion leader as a CBL intern I’ve learned the importance of being an active participant in discussions and finding meaningful ways to interpret my experiences as well as learning from the experiences that others may have at their sites. Understanding that you can learn directly from the experiences of others is also key to gaining meaning from reflections. When sharing my experiences, I’ve learned to focus on the impact of stories that I share and less on the actions themselves. Many students go into reflections with the intentions of telling interesting stories or acts of kindness that they performed or someone did for them. While these actions are important, focusing on how these stories made you or someone else feel is how we grow from the reflection process. This is embracing the process. Being able to bring out your emotions to learn about yourself from your service experience as well as how certain actions can impact the lives and feelings of others. By letting our guards down and accessing our true thoughts we are able to reflect more productively on our encounters and mature as humans. That is how we learn from our CBL experiences and how CBL reflections have changed my life for the better.

In my CBL site at the Nativity School of Worcester I have been tutoring middle school students once a week this past school year. At first, I knew that what I was doing was good, but I wasn’t sure why it was beneath the surface. Once I started reflecting on my experiences with others, I found the true meaning in my service. For example, I often draw with some of the students when they finish their homework as opposed to forcing them to do extra math problems. The action itself seemed rather insignificant to me. However, by reflecting on the story, I realized that doing this made the students really happy which in turn brought me joy as well. This is because I was building true connections with the students I was tutoring, which made both them and myself feel part of a greater community and friendship.

Reflecting on my experiences has allowed me to discover why I do service. Being able to reflect has allowed me to find purpose in my life and my everyday activities. While service can seem very surface-level at first, allowing yourself to be vulnerable and express your emotions through reflection can make a once a week experience last a lifetime.

If you asked me at the beginning of my Spanish 302 class what CBL meant to me, I would not have been able to answer. After a semester spent in Ascentria, I now truly understand what it means to be a woman for and with others. Helping others is not meant to simply be a good feeling for individuals with privileges or something someone does during holiday seasons. Helping others is something implemented in people’s lives. Let me elaborate by going back to my time in high school. 

 

At my high school, there were required volunteer hours for every student called “Christian Service.” At the time, I had not yet understood how important our service was and how it affected our community. Similarly to Ascentria, I volunteered most of my time at Sacred Heart Nativity School where I would volunteer with young elementary and middle school students. I truly did enjoy tutoring and spending time with these kids, especially considering that they were all first generation students. I loved volunteering my time at a placement where I could relate with the young individuals I was working with. 

Growing up I had never had the opportunity to be in an after school program, where English speaking individuals could help me, but my parents persevered and helped my brother and me through most of our teaching. Although my parents’ native language was Spanish and they did not finish high school, they put their all into helping us navigate the world around us in the U.S. They are part of the reason as to why I understand the need to help our neighbors daily, address social injustices, and even if we do not understand others and their point of view, we still love them as God’s creation. 

As I previously mentioned, I would volunteer through my high school, but I had not yet truly understood why I should help others. To be honest, I used to think it was not important and often thought there were several other people who could have done a much better job than I did at my placements. That doubt and self consciousness followed me all the way up until my fall semester of my first year at Holy Cross when I was introduced to CBL. In my Spanish 302 course, Español Para Hispanohablantes, I was introduced to CBL. Sadly, I was unable to volunteer due to unprecedented issues during COVID-19 pandemic. When I made it to the end of the semester there was a classroom visit where I distinctly remember Dora Calva, facilitating a talk about Ascentria. When she spoke about Ascentria, I remember being moved by the work she was doing, along with some of my classmates that volunteered at this placement. 

That is when it struck me. Volunteering was not just something to do to be a good person or something you do to make up for a wrong you have committed, it is something you do for and with others in order to immerse yourself in a community and understand how your work or volunteering has an impact on those around you. Once CBL applications came out, I knew I wanted to show others the way Dora and the other CBL Interns impacted my view on volunteering. All volunteering is amazing, if you think you are doing a terrible job, you are not. You are putting yourself out there, helping the Worcester community or even other communities. Now as a sophomore and a part of the CBL Intern community, I am able to talk to students and educate them on what CBL means to the Worcester community. I cannot wait to continue my journey with Ascentria and see where it takes me these next few years at Holy Cross.

During the last week of winter break, I participated in the annual Non-Profit Careers Conference. I was involved with the planning and facilitation of the NPCC as a CBL Intern, but this was also my first time attending the conference in any capacity. I was already exposed to a lot of the material through my academic program and extracurriculars: I have taken a seminar on nonprofits and government agencies as part of the academic internship program; I have spent nearly four years engaging with the Donelan Office; and I have interned, worked, and volunteered with several non-profit organizations. Despite my previous learning, I am so grateful for my experience with NPCC and for the new, invaluable lessons it taught me about discernment and fulfillment.

As a second-semester senior, I have been feeling overwhelmed as I try to determine what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life. Throughout my time at Holy Cross, everyone reminded me that I still have time to figure out what I want to do – college is meant for intellectual exploration, after all. It felt safe not to know while I was a student, but now that graduation is nearing, I feel extremely vulnerable. It’s unsettling to not have an idea of the future, and the wide-range of potential careers that once felt exciting is now paralyzing. It’s been so difficult to sit with this confusion that, candidly, I’ve been ignoring it; I’ve focused my energy on upcoming deadlines for courses rather than reflecting on ‘far-off’ (but now fast-approaching) opportunities after graduation. 

The NPCC showed me that I am not (and have never been) alone in feeling unsure of what comes next. It is so rare to have a linear path through life – to have known what it is that you want to do from the outset of your education and to continue with it for decades. It is equally rare, according to several of the speakers at the NPCC, to always want to do the same sort of work. There is not just one way to lead a fulfilling life, but in order to live one, you need to continually reflect on which aspects of your current work have brought you the most joy; work will always be work, but it can still excite and inspire you. The position you will hold in ten or twenty years may have little to nothing to do with the courses you are taking now, but as long as you remain open to the world and to your unique gifts, you will find a meaningful way forward. It’s difficult and oftentimes uncomfortable to acknowledge our gifts. In a culture of perfectionism, we often focus on what needs improvement or only consider traits to be gifts if they are marketable. The NPCC provided me with the space to reflect on my gifts and to consider how these traits have shaped my academic and professional interests. I did not leave the conference with any concrete answers about what I will do after graduation, but I feel much more confident in my ability to navigate the upcoming months and years. 

During the conference, Frank Kartheiser ‘88 spoke to us about his decision to leave Holy Cross in the late 60s and begin working as a community organizer during the Vietnam War. He had told himself that he needed to “get a life”, so he founded the Mustard Seed and created a livelihood devoted to social service and action. This sentiment of choosing and purposefully getting a meaningful life has stuck with me since. It is so important to identify what impassions you and to pursue it, and this lesson holds true even if you do not choose a career in the non-profit sector. I highly recommend the NPCC to all Holy Cross students – whether you are a first-year student or are months from graduation, whether you already feel set on working at a non-profit or are feeling just as lost as I have been – there are so many ways to live well and do good, and it is not a one-time choice. This work is not finished once you accept an entry-level job or are ten years into your career. It is critical that we continue to choose to use our gifts to positively impact the world around us, to continue to grow, and to continue to ask: what now?

Just because things hadn’t gone the way I had planned didn’t necessarily mean they had gone wrong. It took me a long time of pulling racks of scorching hot glasses out of the dishwasher, the clouds of steam smoothing everything around me into a perfect field of gray, to understand that writing a novel and living a life are very much the same thing. The secret is finding the balance between going out to get what you want and being open to the thing that actually winds up coming your way. What now is not just a panic-stricken question tossed into a dark unknown. What now can also be our joy. It is a declaration of possibility, of promise, of chance. It acknowledges that our future is open, that we may well do more than anyone expected of us, that at every point in our development we are still striving to grow. There’s a time in our lives when we all crave the answers. It seems terrifying not to know what’s coming next. But there is another time, a better time, when we see our lives as a series of choices… It’s up to you to choose a life that will keep expanding. It takes discipline to remain curious; it takes work to be open to the world—but oh my friends, what noble and glorious work it is.

-Ann Patchett, “What Now?”

Being introduced to Community-Based Learning when I was a first-year student became one of my greatest experiences at Holy Cross. My Montserrat, Exploring Differences with Prof. Ryan first introduced me to CBL. Soon enough, I began my journey with Ascentria Unaccompanied Refugees Minors Program. It has now been four years since I started tutoring at Ascentria and three years as a CBL intern with one of my roles as Ascentria’s program coordinator. Each semester, I have gotten to know a different set of students eager to volunteer and participate. From previous years, I have gotten the chance to tutor in person and develop a genuine relationship with some of the students. 

Volunteering at Ascentria has been a rollercoaster with part of my experience over Zoom. At first, it was difficult to adjust to tutoring the students online and even getting the technical aspects of Zoom, however, nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy. Through my CBL office hours with Isabelle Jenkins, I was able to converse and reflect with her on the challenges over Zoom. Zoom impeded engagement with the students because there were times that the internet would cut off or their audio would not work in the middle of tutoring. I was able to overcome some challenges by reminding them to log out and log back in. If they were able to log back in, I would stay overtime to ensure the student was having as much of the tutoring experience. I tried to connect my Zoom college experiences with the students and express understanding for how hard it must be to be remote.  Through this volunteering experience over Zoom, I gained patience. I have been able to work through the difficulties and become a better mentor for the Holy Cross students. I have also reflected on why my role is needed in the first place. I began to wonder why our educational system is failing my Ascentria students, who are exceptionally intelligent and eager to learn, however, depriving them from the opportunity to grow because of their linguistic status. Ascentria is one of the community partners that Holy Cross has that brings awareness to some of the social justice issues occurring in Worcester, MA. 

Engaging my time and energy at Ascentria was a rewarding experience for me as I was able to learn about the city of Worcester and have a community at Holy Cross. The Donalen Office has been a safe place for me, and I am so grateful for having Isabelle and Mattie. I am also grateful to have gotten the opportunity to know the Holy Cross and Ascentria students, as well as the staff at Ascentria. As a first-generation student with an immigrant background, I see my Latinx role interconnecting with my future career. Being an educated Latinx and a voice for those whose voices are not heard or listened to, it is our duty and responsibility to do everything we can to help students with long-term social justice issues find solutions that are not only on a community level but also on a national level.

As the semester comes to an end, the Holy Cross atmosphere is filled with many things. A predominant one is stress for finals and upcoming assignments. But I am a firm believer that there’s beauty and joy in the midst of our student chaos. I found that joy as a freshman when my Social Ethics class introduced me to CBL. When I first came into Holy Cross, I was afraid I wouldn’t connect with my community and who I am; little did I know! I had the fortunate opportunity to volunteer at the Marie Anne Center and work with English Learners. I met people from all over Latin America, mainly from Brazil, who aspired to become fluent in English to achieve the dreams they shared with us.. But beyond the learning portion, it was a moment to reflect and share about who we are and where we come from. We used to always go back to food as one of our main topics of conversation. The students shared about the delicious dishes they have at home and family gatherings. I then understood the deep meaning of our roots and how we can always go back to something as a reminder of our identity, whether that be food, music, language, etc. CBL allowed me to return to a part of mine. Being with the students felt like we were creating our sense of community, a family. 

Almost two years and a pandemic later, I built upon that same sense of community through CBL. This year I am working with the Worcester Public Schools Transition Program twice a week. Our students come from a variety of different backgrounds, from Worcester to the Dominican Republic. While WPS might be a different site from my previous one, there are some essential similarities. For instance, we had an activity led by Professors from the Spanish department to talk about our culture. Some students brought their Puerto Rican flag and others an ingredient from their favorite dish. Other days, students pick songs by their favorite artists and teach us how to dance. Just like at the Marie Anne Center, we continue to learn about each other by sharing our roots and how they have shaped us.

So, what does my Holy Cross atmosphere look like? Certainly stress and nervousness for finals, but it is filled with immeasurable joy. I have had the privilege of learning about the lives of students from Marie Anne Center and WPS. But as I said, this has been different from the usual way we learn in the classroom. Our identities have shined through all of our conversations and activities. I also have to say that gratitude fuels my atmosphere. After COVID, I wasn’t sure what college and life would be like, and I admit that I was afraid about how different CBL would be this time. Although life is not back to normal, I am endlessly grateful that I had the opportunity to do it again, to regain what I thought was a lost sense of community.

This semester, I officially began my junior year of college. Even just typing that is scary for me. I have no idea how I suddenly have less than two years to be a student. Though I’ve loved this year so far, the fact that I am now an upperclassman has made me appreciate every moment I have here a little more. Holy Cross helps me to seek discomfort and grow as a person every single day. However, I always worried that once I left Holy Cross, such opportunities for growth wouldn’t be possible anymore.

On December 1st, I had the chance to participate in a Community-Based Learning Dialogue Session called “Where Do We Go From Here? Living a Life of Service and Justice.” At the session, we discussed careers focused on service and justice with three alumni: Theresa Becchi (‘10), the Associate Director at Counterpart International, Jack Chaffee (‘20), an Assistant at L’Arche Jacksonville, and Paulina Martin (‘21), an AmeriCorps Volunteer at Maggie’s Place. It was so interesting to hear about their occupational journeys and perspectives on their time at Holy Cross. 

It’s hard to pick out just a few things that struck me about the session. However, each speaker had so many interesting things to say, and important takeaways they wanted the students to have. Paulina talked about how her year of service has taught her to measure productivity in a more meaningful, qualitative way, and implored students to trust where their gut “tugs” them in navigating life post college. Jack Chaffee also emphasized the idea of trusting your gut, and discussed how engagement with his community was what ultimately gave him clarity on what he wanted to do with his life. Theresa spoke about the benefits of seeking discomfort and being persistent in finding your place. Ultimately, I walked away from this dialogue session still appreciating the fact that I’m a Holy Cross student, but also feeling more optimistic about the days when I’m not anymore. Because of this dialogue session, I understand that as long as I cherish connection with others, step outside of my comfort zone and trust myself and my abilities, I will be able to find meaning and fulfillment in whatever career I choose to pursue.

I was first introduced to CBL by Professor Cohen. She had emailed me about applying because she thought that it would be something I like. At that time I didn’t have a clear image of what CBL was, because, although my Jan term course with Professor Cohen was a CBL course, I never got to go volunteer somewhere as I took the course online. As I did more research I fell in love with the CBL program because it gives students the opportunity to connect and form relationships with the people of Worcester. Being here for only my first semester and then being sent home resulted in a loss of time for me to learn about Worcester, which I had always hoped to do. At that moment after being on the CBL website for an hour I decided I had to apply. The application process was very nerve-wracking for me because I really wanted this position. And thankfully I did get the position. I remember opening the decision letter and being so happy because I would be able to give back to the community while also learning more about Worcester. 

My first semester as a CBL intern has been wonderful. I have been able to go to downtown Worcester and see amazing art by many different artists, talk to other students about CBL, and also facilitate reflection on what volunteering means. As a CBL intern, I am one of the leaders for Ascentria tutoring and also one of the CBL interns helping in the preparation of the Non-Profit Careers Conference. Being a tutor for Ascentria has been a very rewarding experience. At the moment tutoring is still done through Zoom but I have been able to learn what are the best ways to help Ascentria students. Although at first, it was a challenge teaching through Zoom, I am very grateful because I get to help students learn English, something that I have been doing most of my life with helping my parents learn English at home. This week will be our last day tutoring for the semester and I would like to say that I am very thankful for Dora, the other CBL leader at Ascentria, the Holy Cross tutors, and the students from Ascentria for making this a very insightful experience. As I wrap up on tutoring with Ascentria I, along with the other CBL interns, have started to prepare for the Non-Profit Careers Conference and I can’t wait to meet other students who are also interested in the Non-Profit sector.

The Academic Internship Program that’s supported by the J.D. Power Center consistently offers enriching opportunities to synthesize both academics and real world experiences through its seminars that are exceedingly interesting and relevant to world affairs. One of these seminars, Policy and Politics in America, taught by former congressman Tim Bishop ‘72 and longtime political consultant Peter Flaherty ‘87, is an impressive academic course centered on student engagement with the real world of politics. The winter 2019 issue of the Holy Cross Magazine reported that through the mission of fostering opportunities for experiential learning in mind, the J.D. Power Center supported the creation of this course to cover experiences in and around politics. Two educators were then selected so that the course did not have a partisan bias. This course intends to provide students with comprehensive understandings of important House and Senate races in midterm elections, particularly the 2022 midterm elections, in tandem with the following result’s consequences on policy debates. One of the goals that this seminar has is to transcend partisanship and engage in more productive political conversations. Guided by well qualified instructors and frequent guest speakers, students participate in high level discussions and develop deeper comprehension of the political system in the United States and of the various career opportunities that grow alongside government ones such as grassroots organizing, voter outreach, and campaigning. 

The co-teachers, Mr. Bishop and Mr. Flaherty, both also exemplify how purple runs deep, and that the Holy Cross community is full of support networks and exciting connections. Bishop graduated from Holy Cross in 1972, followed by his brother Chris ‘74, and he has remained in contact with a fair number of his classmates, including Fr. Hayes of the Chaplains’ Office. Flaherty graduated from Holy Cross in 1987. His brother, Chip, graduated in 1986, his son, Peter Flaherty III graduated in 2021, and two nieces are alumnae and one is a current student. Even though 15 years and differing political orientations may seem to separate these two alumni, they really do practice what they preach. Coming from different backgrounds has not been a barrier between a joyful friendship built on mutual admiration. Teaching a seminar, engaging students, and inspiring up and coming political leaders, has further forged their bond, and this is reflected in the strength of their course. 

Bishop’s favorite part of teaching the seminar is interacting throughout the years with “uniformly impressive” students. He says that they are consistently, “bright, engaged, committed, interested in playing their part to make the world a better place, and also committed to the central ethos of HC-education for others.” Flaherty echoes this sentiment as he says, “The prism through which the Holy Cross students see the political landscape is rooted in an admirable and refreshing selflessness with an eye toward contributing to solutions, rather than focusing on divisive rhetoric.” This praise of students is hopeful for the future of our country considering both he and Peter Flaherty have supported a fair amount of students in getting jobs in politics, government, political consulting, and more. Notably, with Flaherty’s help, a class of 2019 graduate, Carter Mitchell, obtained a position with a political consulting firm. Mitchell will also be a guest lecturer for the class on October 26. Students who have taken this course also have held a various array of internships that adds interactions with colleagues and coworkers to the academic experience. Some of the internships that students in the course hold this semester are with the Federalist Society, Worcester Court Service Center, Framingham Centre Common Cultural District, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Worcester District Attorney’s Office, Gray Panthers NYC Network, City of Worcester Elections Committee, Coresight Research. There are often students in gubernatorial and congressional internships and respective campaigns as well. 

To expand upon to the course’s relevancy to current political conversations, the co-teachers consistently bring in highly qualified guest speakers. Some of the names on the expansive list include:

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Governor Walz of Minnesota, Governor Inslee of Washington, Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Representative Linda Sanchez of California and Representative Adam Schiff of California, former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, Former White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and former Governor of New Hampshire John Sununu, Former U.S. Senator and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown, Former Whitehouse Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Barack Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe, President Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jamie Harrison, Pollster for President Trump James McLaughlin, and pollster for Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg Jef Pollock, one of President Trump’s lead attorneys Jay Sekulow, political consultant John Lapp, Dana Bash, John Berman, Chris Cuomo and Kasie Hunt of CNN, Phil Rucker and Ashley Parker of the Washington Post, and more.

Students in Policy and Politics in America have the priceless opportunity to hear from high powered figures with diverse voices and opinions. The guest speakers hail from almost every aspect of politics, from elected officials, big names in media news, and everything in between. Every speaker brings important insight to the class that helps further mutual understandings of politics and the reality of the political sphere. Bishop says that, “listening to both Jim Clyburn and Jamie Harrison speak about growing up Black in rural South Carolina and then rising to the heights they have achieved was both powerful and inspiring, and hearing a no nonsense guy like Governor Sununu talk about his focus on results as opposed to politics was a real lesson in what is missing in our current political discourse.”

The mission of this course was reiterated by October 19th’s guest speaker, Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey, who said that there’s a current desire from the nation for more humble and grounded politics. That’s exactly what Bishop and Flaherty aim to teach and instill in Policy and Politics in America, and they are having excellent success with it. 

Holy Cross Magazine: https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2019/01/07/two-alumni-political-world-veterans-teach-course-examining-politics-from-inside-out/