Community-Based Learning Blog

This year, I have the amazing opportunity of serving at Ascentria Care Alliance as a Legal Intern. Being in this role has allowed me to feel that I am making a direct impact on the community that I am serving. With our current administration, the pathway for asylum, residency, and citizenship has been harder for individuals to attain. Being an intern at Ascentria has been challenging both professionally and emotionally, but it has allowed me to further understand the legal process of what an individual goes through when seeking a path to receive legal stay in the United States.

One of the challenges that I’ve faced while working at Ascentria is practicing self-care after a long day at the non-profit. Reading the testimonies that individuals who are seeking asylum share are hard to read or listen to, but it also gives me strength. Whenever I receive a new case to work with, I am very hopeful that everything will work out well for the individual seeking a pathway to remain in the United States.

Being part of the CBL Intern program for a second year has prepared me for the service that I now do in the organization. One of the skills that I’ve practiced and developed is the importance of creating connections and relationships with those around you. When I am at the organization I engage in conversations with those who I am working for, so I can also learn about their passions that have led them to this path of serving others who seek opportunities in the United States. When I am interpreting for a client, I create a conversation with them to ensure that everything will be okay and that this is a safe space for them. Language is a privilege in and of itself, and being at Ascentria has made me aware of that.

Growing up, my parents decided to teach me Spanish before I learned English. My dad would share with me the importance of learning both English and Spanish to create a bridge of the two identities I carry as a Mexican-American. Now, that is not to say that language is the only way of creating relationships, but I do think it gives an additional outlet that allows one to communicate with others who do not speak English. Since I was a child, I would interpret for my parents or translate documents for them. Originally, I only used this skill to serve my parents and to personally practice my bilingual capabilities. But now, I am thankful for having this skill because I can apply it in spaces where it is needed, like in Ascentria.

Many of the clients that I work with personally are younger than me. Knowing that I can speak to them and create a bridge among those who are not Spanish speakers, warms my heart because a simple life skill that my parents instilled in me, including the values that I’ve learned through the CBL program, has prepared me for this exact moment. Serving at Ascentria has been an amazing journey that I will be continuing into next semester.

Also, if you want to learn more about immigration and difficulties that individuals around the globe who come to the United States face, I recommend the documentary series titled “Living Undocumented” on Netflix. One of the testimonies that were included in the documentary still impacts me to this day.

“I want you to imagine waking up one morning, and your father is just gone. I want you to imagine going home and trying to tell everybody that everything will be okay when you aren’t even sure of that. And imagine every night trying to sleep, only to find yourself lying awake for hours because you can’t sleep. That worry will end you. And it will try to break you. You can watch a documentary and say ‘this is too bad’ but at the end of the day its just something that you are watching on tv and you can turn it off and you can go about your life.”

If how undocumented individuals are being treated is bothering you, please take the following actions:

1. Inform yourself of what is going on with immigration policies/ the treatment of undocumented individuals through different sources .

2. Take action by writing letters to your representatives about your worries.

The past few weeks in CBL with WPS Transition program have been off to an incredible start. We have had a cooking class, a garden club presentation, and more, and we are only halfway through the semester. I would like to take a moment not just to reflect on my experience with some wonderful students on-site but also some really thoughtful and reflective students off-site. I spent my Friday before October break with my fellow CBL Interns leading some Spanish 301 discussion sessions. These classes demonstrated some of the most compelling and reflective discussions I have ever been a part of. We spoke in Spanish and in English making connections between lessons learned at CBL and in the classroom. Even more profound, is that my groups easily passed through questions about basic daily-life at their sites and dove deeply into the difficult questions of asset-based and deficit-based lenses in a volunteer setting.

Leaving these sessions was like leaving a meditation class–through a tough week filled with the typical worldly negative news, I was the one who needed to hear the sincere and positive comments made by my fellow classmates. In CBL, we often get backlash. Students feel that this should not be a requirement and feel forced by their professors to volunteer. In moments like this, when the student can surpass this feeling of requirement they open up to such interesting discussions and possibilities within their CBL sites. I am so grateful to Kevin, Beth, Wendy and so many more of the new students at the WPS Transition Spanish program on Wednesday mornings. They come into CBL with a smile on their face ready to interact even if their Spanish, like my own, has good and bad days. They are dedicated on-site and also in their discussion in the classroom, which I was so grateful to be a part of last Friday.

That “aha” moment that we as interns seek to inspire in CBL students is often difficult to conjure. Sometimes it never comes and other times it has been there the whole time. This week, I am grateful for every CBL student, even the ones who don’t always want to be there but still go. Thanks to the Donelan Office and Michelle and Isabelle, I was able to get a sneak peek into the minds of so many wonderful human beings.

This semester, I’m taking an introductory creative writing course. Each week, we are asked to write short pieces of nonfiction, responding to prompts designed to get our ideas flowing, reflecting on our past experiences. Last week’s prompt was to write a letter to a stranger: someone we had met only briefly, but who had some effect on our lives. After thinking for a while, I decided to write to one of the hospice residents I visited in my freshman year, through my CBL Montserrat course: Death and Society.  It’s a raw, fairly unedited piece of writing, but I wanted to share it here as I continue to grapple with how to put my CBL experience into words.

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To the woman who died six hours after my visit

I don’t remember your name. Actually, maybe I never knew it. They’d rather us just know initials, because of HIPAA regulations. You were my only “emergency” patient. I’d just been making my normal weekly visit with your neighbor down the hall — we’ll call her Olga (HIPAA again). Olga was my first hospice patient. She spoke only Russian, but we’d managed to build up some level of rapport, using a mix of google translate and Tchaikovsky music. Despite her advanced dementia, Olga seemed to know who I was each week and started calling me “my girl” every time I came to see her. It made me feel good to be recognized.

But this week, Harriett the volunteer coordinator, had asked me to visit you, too. You weren’t doing well. For a hospice patient, this was an especially serious description. I walked down the hall toward your room, wincing at the huddle of patients in wheelchairs around the elevators, longing to see a visitor. Like every other room in this nursing facility, yours looked more like a hospital than a residence: powered bed, hand-rails on the wall, pastel wallpaper, faint smell of urine masked by lemon disinfectant. A crucifix — definitely yours in this Jewish facility — hung on the wall. You were sitting in your wheelchair, painfully thin and hunched. Your mouth constantly moved as you muttered under your breath. Your eyes roved, seeming to focus on me for a second, but then looking away. Did you even know I was there?

I sat down in the metal folding chair next to you and tried to think back to my seminar class. It seemed incredible to me that what I was doing right now was part of a syllabus: hospice volunteering, 15%. We were studying death and dying, what it meant to die a “good death,” but here I was confronting this question in a decidedly non-academic setting. What was I to do? There was no professor, no trainer here to guide me. All I had to go on was your patient file that said you were a devout Catholic.

I took your hand, remembering from dementia training that touch could be powerful when words weren’t an option. Your muscles were tense, your hand crumpled up but began to relax as I rubbed back and forth with my thumb. I hope I was being gentle enough. I took out the plastic rosary the facility chaplain had given me on my first day, and placed the beads between my hands and yours. You looked at me and clutched the beads. I said the Rosary prayers, praying for you as I said the words. The whole time I felt unsure: should I stop, did you even know what was happening? At the end, you made the Sign of the Cross on your own. I guess you did know.

A week later, I visited again. We prayed the rosary again. I sang to you a little. You continued to mutter under your breath — the only word I could make out was “wonderful.” But you did not make the Sign of the Cross this time. A few hours after my visit, I received a phone call that you had passed away, and I cried a little back on my college campus. I hope someone was there with you when you died. I hope your death was easy. I hope my awkward, college freshman presence was somehow pleasant and not disturbing. I don’t remember your name, but I will never forget the way we met.

Last March, CBL Intern, Kara shared on the J.D. Power Center Blog five things she’s learned from experiential learning. As CBL students get started with CBL, we would encourage you to keep Kara’s learning in mind! Stop by the Donelan Office to learn from other CBL Interns about what they’ve learned as well. CBL Interns hold weekly office hours (the schedule is posted on the Donelan Office door and on our website).

Between three community-based learning (CBL) sites and two internships, I’ve had my fair share of experiential learning opportunities during my time at Holy Cross. It’s ironic because when I started college, it wasn’t even on my radar. Sure, I had chosen a Montserrat course with a CBL component, but that was more about wanting to pursue a service opportunity, not an interest in learning outside of the classroom. Considering I’m writing this blog post, it’s safe to say that I’ve come a long way. That’s why I thought I would share some nuggets of wisdom I’ve picked up along the way. Below, find the five things I’ve learned from experiential learning.

You’ll Never Feel Fully Prepared, Go for It Anyway

This is one factor that scares students (and even professors). Because classroom environments can be planned and structured, they are a lot more predictable than an experiential learning environment. As a result, you probably won’t feel totally ready before your first day, or even your first month, at you CBL site or internship position. That’s okay. In fact, these are often the experiences where deep learning occurs because lessons aren’t rigidly planned, so there’s room for discovery.

Be Open to What You Can Receive in CBL, Not Just What You Can Give

If you had told me in the beginning that I’d still be visiting my CBL site, St. Mary’s Healthcare Center, I don’t think I’d believe you. After all, I wanted to dosomething, not just sit and talk with my resident. I doubted that I was even making an impact there. Then, I started to just show up and be present. Almost immediately, the experience changed. I realized that not only was I forming a relationship with my resident, but she was having a profound impact on me. I always left our visits with a new perspective on life and a smile on my face. There is always something to be gained when engaging with those who are different from us, you just have to be open to seeing it.

Not Everything Can be Learned in the Classroom

It’s just true. You can read, study, and analyze a subject all you want, but until you get out and engage with it, you won’t get the full picture. I noticed this particularly through the Education Department’s Student Mental Health seminar I took this fall. In part of the course, we learned about trauma-informed teaching practices, and how to implement them to create a safe, welcoming environment for all students. That said, I didn’t fully grasp the importance of these practices until I witnessed them firsthand through a site visit at Woodland Academy. It took the conceptual and made it real.

Take Advantage of the Holy Cross Network

I know you’ve heard this one before, but I mean it. The New York Semester Program opened my eyes to how not only willing, but genuinely excited Holy Cross alumni are to mentor current students. Almost every week during the program, we attended a lunch or dinner colloquium where we heard from an alum about their career path and their current role. Through one of these colloquia meetings, I met an alumna who has provided me with invaluable advice and even helped me secure a summer internship.

Make Time to Reflect on Your Experiences

During my Montserrat course, we were required to write weekly reflections about our CBL experiences, and while I don’t do it weekly anymore, this is still a practice that I come back to. Experiential learning in itself is great, but sometimes I don’t even realize the lessons I’ve learned, or revelations I’ve had, until I sit down and write about them. By taking time to slow down and unpack what you’ve experienced, you’ll be able to gain new insights that you might’ve missed along the way.

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

CBL Intern, Delaney Wells ’20 spent her summer as a Research Fellow at EmbraceKulture. The organization works to develop the capacity of organizations serving children and youth with developmental and/or cognitive disabilities in Africa. Specifically, Delaney researched the Amaanyi Center, a project of EmbraceKulture and the first and only center in Uganda dedicated to empowering youth with special needs to achieve their potential. The following post is Delaney’s final reflection on her experience in Uganda and how it relates to other experiential learning experiences she has had at Holy Cross (Community-Based Learning, the Spring Break Immersion Program, and the Washington Semester Program).

Crazy, crazy to think that my almost 10-week experience in Africa is concluding. I contemplated for a bit which word to use in place of “experience” in my last sentence, but “visit” did not feel just right. I am very aware that I am a visitor here, and there is so much to learn about where I am. Yet, Lunyo Village has truly begun to feel like home to me. From early morning singing during Assembly, walks to church, the neighborhood goats and chickens that roam about, it is hard to believe that very soon this will not be my reality.

The last few weeks have been very special… beginning to realize my time was winding down, I was able to reallllly think about and practice living in the moment. There have been many situations that have served as reminders of the importance of presence. The very, very finicky wifi and electricity which initially was very frustrating quickly became opportunities where I could step back and take a deep breath; to learn to live in the moment. I have found that sharing time at L’Arche communities (which I did through the Spring Break Immersion Program and the Washington Program) has really reminded me of intentionality and presence, and the Amaanyi Center (where I have been spending my time this summer through the Summer Research Program) is no different. Within Disability Theology there is a writer who wrote of L’Arche and “time as experienced in L’Arche”. This revolves around the idea that time does not exist in relation to real life, things move at a truly human pace. This allows for core members and assistants alike to appreciate each moment, and feel no pressure to rush (I wrote about this a good deal in my thesis if you have more questions !!). This means that a walk that may take one person 20 minutes may take a core member an hour, and there is no shame or annoyance in that. Rather, there is just an appreciation for living life at the speed we dictate, instead of society and others dictating for us. I can attest that time as experienced in the Amaanyi Center is quite similar. We have a schedule for classes and meals throughout the day, but this is in no way binding. If our students using walkers are not in Literacy right at 9 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, we do not rush them. This applies to all members of the Amaanyi Center if teacher Rosemary needs another moment before class to finish preparing for our lesson.

I think that is where the beauty of L’Arche and the Amaanyi Center lies, in the recognition of the inherent importance of a person. Once you prioritize the person instead of the event you are late for or the deadline you are rushing to complete, you can fully appreciate them as a human being instead of a nuisance or something slowing you down. Yes, this may sound incredibly similar to the practice of patience, but I believe it is much greater than that. I just wrapped up my first flight from Entebbe and I re-read parts of “Tattoos on the Heart” by Father Greg Boyle as I tried everything I possibly could to distract myself from the mix of sadness, appreciation, love, and loss I felt after leaving the most special students behind (I think the woman next to me on the plane thought I was truly a mess). Father Boyle speaks of a parable involving a woman named Carmen, who came in to talk to him at what he felt was the wrong time. He was rushing to a Baptism and didn’t want to be bothered with whatever trouble she had gotten into. After she opened her heart to him, explaining her story, he writes “suddenly, her shame meets mine. For when Carmen walked through that door, I had mistaken her for an interruption”. In such a fast-paced world, everything that is not matching or exceeding our speed slows us down and is annoying to us. What if we spend time slowing down, to walk with someone, like Maureen, who moves more slowly? Or spent time really ensuring we hear what someone who may be hard to verbally understand, like Ketty, is saying? What if we could take the rush out of our lives and just appreciate the company of one another being human in this journey together?

Through CBL and other opportunities at school and outside of campus, many of us have come to understand the power of presence; of sitting, or standing, with someone else and engage.  To truly value humanity you must spend time with the other, this is the importance of mutuality-in-community where a relationship can be introduced where people are transformed and taught how to be human. Transvaluation, a notion held central to Disability Theology and one that KEEPS coming up in my life is discovered in personal encounters with people with profound developmental/intellectual disabilities and initiates a movement towards a radically new system of evaluation. When people meet together and engage in mutually constructive relationships of friendship with people who have profound developmental disabilities, they are changed and transformed. Disability is no longer seen as an inconvenience or devaluing concept, simply just differences among people. Really, it is the practice of engagement with respect for all involved that can allow for genuine humanity to be practiced among one another. This is something that takes practice, but what a beautiful skill to hone. If this could be the reality of our world, a real inclusive society built on genuine respect for one another, a gospel of love that is lived out instead of just a faraway notion that is easily forgotten in the day to day busyness.

Father Boyle’s book title is the perfect description for the lessons I learned through my fourteen most amazing students, the staff, neighbors and all who I encountered during my time in Lunyo Village, they have truly left tattoos on my heart. I hope we can all try to take a moment to remember and recognize the humanity among us all as we move to transition into another busy (in a wonderful way!) year. Through this, we can begin towards the inclusion we ALL, people with and without disabilities, need in order to allow for humanity among us all to be celebrated as it ought to be. Love and care for one another, how can you say no to that?

 

CBL Intern, Jerome Siangco ’19 was selected to compete in the first-ever senior exit talks competition: “Share your Magis.” In this competition, those selected to speak were tasked with sharing something about their Holy Cross experience in three minutes with no notes, no props, and no visuals. Jerome came in second place with his speech, “Filling an Empty Car.” Featured in his speech was how CBL was one of the experiences that he filled his car with while here on the hill. Congratulations to Jerome!

Filling an Empty Car

Saturday. August 29. 2015. Move in day for the Class of 2019 and with it, Mass of the Holy Spirit. Near the end of mass Fr. Boroughs, as he does with every incoming class, makes a fun yet serious joke of families departing with an empty car and one less passenger. First years hug their families, some shed a tear or a dozen, and then walk over to the Orientation Leaders both excitedly and hesitantly, to begin their Holy Cross journeys.

Four years later, I think of this joke, of the empty car, and of how the car is symbolic of everyone’s Holy Cross journey.

As a first-year student, everyone comes into the college essentially empty. Some may have Google searched Holy Cross a trillion times, others may be legacies, while some like myself, may have come to Holy Cross knowing nothing about the school, except that it was in a city I could not pronounce. Emptiness comes in the form of not knowing what to realistically expect from college.

However, the years goes by, and one becomes less empty. One is filled daily with new experiences, new memories, that one carries with them until they drive away four years later. A car filled with yes, clothes, books, and other items, but also the individual themselves filled with the memories they have created on their Holy Cross journey. Driving away, they are no longer a Holy Cross student, but a Holy Cross graduate.

Here are three examples of how I have filled my car these four years:

Athletically, I was able to walk onto the Men’s Rowing Team and create stories of freezing outside in the brisk morning air on Lake Quinsigamond.

Spiritually, I was able to participate in a five-day silent retreat where I learned the power of silence and to be comfortable with my own thoughts.

Academically, I was able to take classes that challenged me, meet professors that I now call mentors, and be involved in Worcester through Community-Based Learning.

I provide these three examples from my own life, not to say everyone at Holy Cross should have had similar experiences, but that through these examples, people begin to think of how they have been filled throughout their Holy Cross journey.

As first-years excitedly and hesitantly walked over to their Orientation Leaders, I as a graduating senior and my fellow piers alongside me, all walk, excitedly and hesitantly towards Graduation.

At Graduation seniors will hug their families as they did on move-in day, but they will also hug their new family, a family that was built over four years. As the Holy Cross mission invites everyone into communion with one another, the mission creates an extended family for every Holy Cross student. It is this family, our Holy Cross family, that we do not say good bye to on Graduation, but thank you.

Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the laughs, the tears, the 3 AM trips to Boulevard Diner, every single interaction that has formed our Holy Cross community into a family.

The Donelan Office thanks our senior CBL Interns for their service to our office, to the Holy Cross campus, Worcester, and beyond. Our senior Interns are: Mattie Carroll ’19, Maya Collins ’19, Kara Cuzzone ’19, Caroline O’Connor ’19, and Jerome Siangco ’19. Their efforts and engagement have expanded and deepened the work of our office greatly. Each of the seniors has facilitated reflection sessions, planned Donelan Office events, collaborated with community partners, advised and supported CBL students, served as role models to their fellow CBL Interns and peers, and served as inspiration to us and to so many throughout their years at Holy Cross. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with these students. We will miss them greatly but are also excited to see them take their next steps and continue to enact change. Continue reading for reflections from the seniors on what they are taking away from their time as CBL Interns.

Mattie: The CBL Intern Program has led me to grow as a person and leader. Being an Intern has helped me to realize my own leadership capacities and has pushed me to develop my understanding of the issues I am passionate about in Worcester and beyond. CBL Interns have become a community of people that I look to in times of struggle and in times of great joy throughout these past years. We have pushed each other and supported each other (and eaten many delicious cookies together) in the CBL Office. I could not be more grateful for all that the CBL program has given me and I know that going forward I desire to build community with those around me, no matter where I find myself. 

Maya: As I enter the real world into a clinical research coordinator role, I hope to take with me from the CBL Intern Program the sense of community and support I was so lucky to have in my time at Holy Cross. I don’t think that the Donelan staff and other Interns realize how much they inspire me and how much their work means to the Holy Cross and Worcester communities. Ending my time with this program and cohort of Interns is one of the hardest things to leave behind at Holy Cross, so I hope to create a similar support system in my new job. That being said, the knowledge I have gained from the role will last always, so I hope to take a critical, social justice lens to all that I do and be with others, not just for them. 

Kara: During my time as a CBL Intern, I have grown more than I could have ever imagined. Initially, I sought out the program in the hope of connecting with other students who were passionate about social justice. What I didn’t realize, however, was how much this community would help me hone my leadership skills. Their support and guidance has allowed me to take ownership of who I am and become a strong, confident leader in the process.

Caroline: Through my involvement with the CBL Intern Program, I have learned more than I would have ever thought possible. I have been afforded the opportunity to build transformative relationships with other Interns, community partners, and faculty and staff. These relationships have prompted me to develop a more critical consciousness about our world, our structures, and the way that I exist within them. I have been encouraged and supported in finding my voice, and using it to question the perpetuation of problematic policies and systems. Most importantly, I have found a home among some of the most compassionate, intelligent, loving, and supportive individuals I have ever met. As I move into the real world, I carry with me all that I have learned from each person that I have met through my experience with CBL. For all of this, I will be eternally grateful. 

Jerome: From the CBL Intern program, I will take with me the humility to lead. Thinking of the process to become an Intern, I talked about my achievements and how I would be a good CBL Intern. As an Intern, I had opportunities to speak on panels, and with the Board of Trustees and other College guests. What I take away is not my persuasiveness, but rather the unease I felt during each experience. The unease came from me wanting to listen to what others had to say, rather than share my own experience. I realize now that this unease I felt was me wanting to be humble. As a CBL Intern, I grew an awareness of my own humility and how being humble is an important leadership trait. I am humbled and thankful for how the CBL Intern program has shaped me into the graduating senior I am today.

In Medium, Jake Medina ’16 writes about his experience leaving investment banking to pursue social entrepreneurship. Jake discusses his experience as a CBL Intern and his work with Ascentria Care Alliance as being foundational to his education and factors for his recent career change. Read Jake’s entire post on medium.com.

An excerpt from Jake’s post:

While my pursuit of an investment banking internship took up some time, it was only a small part of my liberal arts education. My days were spent studying, hanging out with friends, and volunteering in the Worcester, MA community. I was originally drawn to Holy Cross for its mission of educating “men and women for and with others” and this mantra permeated every facet of life at Holy Cross. From day one, it was ingrained in students that an education is not meant to only serve you — you are also meant to use it as a tool to serve the world.

In a sense, Holy Cross was a little gated utopia of academic rigor. Nestled on a hill, there was a constant flow of vans coming to and from campus, whisking students off to volunteer in various parts of the city — food banks, middle schools, immigration centers, and more. As a young civic minded individual, this was captivating and I wanted to know where I could make my mark.

Perhaps because my father is a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States as a child, I was drawn towards working with Spanish-speaking immigrants. While my childhood was sheltered, filled with rigorous academic study and a splattering of extra-curricular activities, I always knew that I had it good. Whether from a story told by my father, speaking with my grandparents through a mix of broken Spanglish, or watching my parents’ relentless work ethic, I knew that my opportunities were built upon generations of sacrifice. I threw myself into my studies accordingly.

Now at Holy Cross, watching those vans travel to and from campus, I finally felt like it was my chance to give back. All the studying, generations of sacrifice, and relentless work ethic would finally be put to use solving the world’s problems. When I was presented with the option to tutor refugee children who came to the United States by themselves, I jumped at the opportunity.

I remember pulling up to a tucked-away parking lot, walking up two flights of stairs, and seeing a number of nervous students there to meet us. I felt stupid and out of place in my Vineyard Vines pullover, but was quickly paired with a student who needed help with math as he studied for his GED (high school equivalency) test. Over the coming months, I would work with a number of students, teaching everything from algebra to the alphabet.

Needless to say, I quickly learned that I couldn’t change the world in one day. Back at Holy Cross, once the vans returned, students would huddle up and discuss our experiences while asking hard questions. How did it come about that a 15-year-old has only a 1st grade education? Why are so many former prisoners struggling to adapt to life outside the prison walls? Why are the local food pantries so busy?

Our college professors encouraged us to engage with the gritty reality of the world, to constantly question and search for answers, even if the answers were unsatisfactory. We learned that, while we weren’t changing the world, we were changing ourselves — challenging our world views, checking our assumptions, and growing in the process.

 

This month’s blog post is a collaborative effort by three CBL interns of varying class years who share time with young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the Worcester Public Schools Transition Program (Caroline O’Connor ‘19, Jack Chaffee ‘20, & Caitlin Grant ‘21).

In light of recent political events and proposed budget plans, we believe that the community engagement and relationships formed in programs such as the WPS Transition program are of the utmost importance. These relationships defy the culture of exclusion that is perpetuated through proposals to cut funding to the Special Olympics and special education programs. Our experiences have exemplified the importance of inclusive and mutually transformative relationships, as well as highlighted the reality that no budget plan or monetary value can be placed on them. Through funding cuts and the diminishment of the value of programs that support individuals with disabilities, we all suffer. Further, enacting such cuts diminishes the worth of these programs.

As outlined in their mission statement, the Worcester Public Schools Transition Program aims to “prepare students with disabilities for adult life, as lifelong learners and productive community members. Students are provided the opportunity to learn and grow through community learning experiences, travel training, internships, and functional academics based on their needs, interests and vision for their future.” Each of us has been able to share time with young adults in the WPS Transition Program in different ways. Holy Cross students and WPS Transition students partner through various avenues. Throughout the week, Holy Cross CBL students travel throughout the city to meet with WPS Transition students, and on Wednesday mornings the WPS Transition students visit Holy Cross through a Spanish-speaking collaboration.

Jack: Through the WPS Transition Program, I have been able to form relationships with young adults and explore their academic interests during our time together. One of the students recently expressed an interest in science and animals, so we decided to visit the Science Complex at Holy Cross. My academic interests lie in economics and international studies, so it was rewarding and interesting to explore some of the laboratories for the first time together. Together, all of us came across a laboratory with huge stuffed, taxidermist animals and plenty of animal skeletons. While some of the other CBL students were not overly interested, and even possibly grossed-out, it was a lot of fun for all of us, and important to express support for the academic interests of the young adults. I found this to be a meaningful experience because the CBL students were able to learn more about a department none of us had extensive experience in and the WPS Transition students were able to dive more deeply into a subject they love. We all enjoyed the time we shared together.

Caroline: In the time that I have been able to share with the students at WPS Transition program, I have had the opportunity to build meaningful relationships that defy socially constructed norms of friendship. Unfortunately, these inter-ability friendships are uncommon within our contemporary society. Through being in relation with students, we have been able to push each other out of our comfort zones. Last semester, along with many of the WPS Transition students, and a cohort of students from Worcester State University, I had the opportunity to participate in an inclusive theater program. While theater is definitely not one of my strong suits, this diverse community proved to be very supportive and encouraging as I stumbled over lines and very often made a fool out of myself. In allowing myself to be vulnerable among the group of individuals with whom I was working, the relationships formed proved to be very meaningful. This semester, as I continue to work with many of the same students, I am able to continue to strengthen the bonds that I began to form last semester, and which were formed out of shared experience and vulnerability.

Caitlin: The WPS Transition Program has granted me with the opportunity to form friendships with students who I typically would not have had the ability to meet and spend meaningful time with if it were not for my participation with CBL. I began to engage with WPS Transition last semester and have continued to build and strengthen my friendships with the students into this semester.  Each week both the Holy Cross and the WPS students participate in different activities during our time together. One of my favorite activities that we all had a lot fun with was when we made empanadas! We met in the Brooks-Mulledy Residence Hall kitchen, turned up some fun reggaeton music, and everyone was given a different task. Some cleaned the food, others cut and prepared the meat and vegetables, and a group began to heat up the oil that the empanadas would cook in. Until this activity, I never realized how cooking can provide a group with such an effortless opportunity to bond.  There was a task for everyone and it allowed for each individual to contribute to the final product in some way, we all could share in the end goal (the empanadas) equally. Many of the WPS students shared that empanadas were something they ate commonly at home, and having never tried them before it was a great experience to try someone else’s version of “comfort food.” Through working together to make the food and then sharing in a meal together we became a closer group. I believe that Holy Cross students, who are “for and with others,” can share in the WPS Transition mission as “lifelong learners and productive community members.” As cooking highlighted, we all have the opportunity to engage in an activity that may seem unfamiliar to us but that will ultimately lead us to learning something about ourselves and others.  These friendships and bonds that we create enhance our community; we all have something special that we contribute to the community and vital programs like WPS Transition facilitate the ability to share in this.

CBL students and WPS Transition Students visit the Science Complex at Holy Cross.

Last semester I took a course titled “Bilingualism in the Spanish Speaking World” through the Spanish department with Professor Alba-Salas. This class opened my eyes to the encompassing and expansive nature of the concept of bilingualism. I think I found it to be particularly fascinating after studying abroad and more fully understanding what it means to use two languages on a daily basis and to encounter errors and challenges that come with transferring between the two languages in my brain. In class we discussed many of the cognitive benefits that can come with being bilingual, but also about the negative outlook that so many people have toward bilingualism in the United States and how that can contribute to a deficit-based lens among bilingual people and the wider community.

I am currently taking “Seeking Justice” with Professor Michelle Sterk Barrett, in which we are to complete a CBL justice-based project to be accomplished throughout the semester. I have worked with Spanish-speaking populations in Worcester since my first semester at Holy Cross and became eager to share the knowledge I had gained through the “Bilingualism” course with all those I knew as bilingual (or multilingual) in the Worcester community. My goal was to promote bilingualism among the youth I have come to know at Ascentria Care Alliance and the New Citizens Center Young Adults Program. My first step in achieving this CBL project was to meet with Professor Alba-Salas to craft a workshop around the theme of bilingualism to be presented at Ascentria during one of our mentoring workshop sessions. Professor Alba-Salas came to the session with us and helped me to explain the myths of bilingualism and how we can work to promote asset-based views of bilingualism for ourselves and society.