I’m done with my Honors Service Learning class! As I wrote before, I partnered with the UMW Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM), although I honestly got a lot of my hours from various events on campus as well. The class is a one-credit class where we met about once a month for 50 minutes to discuss different facets of volunteerism and community engagement.
I’m involved quite a bit in community service on campus, and I enjoyed the challenge of making sure I got to 20 hours this semester. I especially liked working with the CCM to help facilitate Micah Ministries’s Coldest Night of the Year Walk, which raised money to serve the impoverished in Fredericksburg, VA. My campus minister and I directed traffic so the walkers could safely cross the street.
Here are some pictures of the outfit I wore for the walk!
All in all the class was a good experience and a positive part of my spring semester.
Here is my final reflection on the service learning project:
For my honors service-learning project, I partnered with Mary Washington’s Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM). My goal was to utilize my time and skills to further the CCM’s mission of encouraging students “to recognize the purpose for which we’re each created and called, and to learn to serve God and neighbor as we live out that calling” (umwcatholic.org). They do this mainly by establishing a strong presence on campus through events such as Mass Under the Lights (a church service in the Anderson Center to pray for athletes), as well as through their works of mercy (ex. packing backpacks with school supplies for children in need).
My biggest accomplishment was being a part of making the CCM a friendly and welcoming place to all UMW students. One of the ways I did this was through our Grilled Cheese Fridays; every Friday during Lent we hosted a dinner where people could come together and share a meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup for just $2. We also set out tabletop games to foster a friendly environment. My main role for these dinners was to handle the money and take orders. All proceeds went to Catholic Relief Services.
Perhaps the most challenging thing I did to spread awareness about the CCM on campus was to help film content for our social media. We went around and asked people some fun trivia questions such as, “Who said it: MLK Jr. or Pope Francis?” All participants got donuts as a thanks. It’s nerve-wracking to walk up to random people, but it was a fun time. On Valentines Day, I also helped pass out valentines that had chocolate and an invitation to Mass and Grilled Cheese Fridays. Most people were very friendly and willing to accept free chocolate!
Even though these were all relatively small things, I believe that they go a long way to making students feel welcome to come visit if they ever get curious.
As a church, the CCM strives to bring people closer to Jesus and aid those most in need: the spiritually and materially poor. My involvement in particular addressed the community issue of loneliness; there are many UMW students who feel lost and in need of friendship and community—the CCM serves as an opportunity for just that!
I feel as if I made a meaningful difference for this reason: all clubs and organizations are in need of people who aren’t afraid to go out and invite others in because that is how you grow (and in the case of the Church, that’s how you share the very good news). By being the person who’s willing to put myself out there on campus, talk to new people, smile and greet those who are curious enough to poke their heads in etc., I’m helping to welcome people into our community. If we do a good enough job of it, they might even return!
You can sometimes tell when someone wants to be a part of a community but is just too nervous to start conversations. At the various events I volunteered at, I was blessed to be in a position to take that step and say, “Hello, welcome! We’re so happy to have you here!”
This project contributed to my overall educational experience by highlighting the needs of both UMW (the need for community and a sense of purpose) and the greater Fredericksburg area (those experiencing poverty and domestic violence). As someone who was raised Catholic, it was also very eye-opening to hold religious conversations with people who haven’t been to church before. While I was inviting people to join us, I had to remember that not everyone has heard or understands the jargon or teachings that I take for granted.
I believe that my service this semester helped me to develop my critical thinking skills, as well as my ability to communicate with and exercise compassion and understanding toward those with different life experiences to mine. I really got the chance to go out and practice the Honors motto of “Be More.”
Additionally, this gave me a small taste of what missionary work can look like. I greatly enjoyed playing a small part in evangelization, and it deepened my desire to explore how I can use my degree for good—perhaps nonprofit work?
In both my macro- and microeconomics classes we’ve discussed economic welfare and overall wellbeing. However, it’s impossible to get a real world feel of socioeconomic disparities in a classroom setting alone. The CCM hosted numerous talks throughout the year from people who serve the poor, and it was incredible to hear their stories. Even more moving was the opportunity to serve. We packed the aforementioned backpacks, as well as made self-care kits for the women and children served by a transitional housing shelter downtown; my favorite service event was when we did yardwork for that house so that neither the woman who runs it nor the people she houses had to worry about doing that cleaning on top of their busy loads.
My work with the CCM was similar to my community service with my church back home. In my junior and senior year of high school, I was a peer mentor to teenagers making their Confirmation in the Church, so I feel very comfortable having those kinds of conversations with people and sharing my own faith journey. Talking with and inviting in non-Catholics was new to me, but something I really liked. It has certainly influenced me to want to consider missionary work in the future.
I encountered lots of people with different life experiences than myself! On a college campus, there are people from all walks of life and from all over the globe. I learned that you really can’t assume much about people. Also, you must treat every person in front of you as totally different and separate from whomever you were talking to before, even if they start to blend together in your mind due to the number of people you’re meeting. We are all unique, and it’s fun to learn all the different strengths and characteristics people bring to the table.
I plan to continue my community service with the CCM, and, in fact, I will be on the Liturgy team next year! This means that I will work with my co-lead to make the weekly schedule for lectors and altar servers, set up for Mass at our fall retreat, as well as organize and coordinate Holy Week. I’m incredibly excited to get more involved and bring more people into our wonderful community!
