Here is an article written by Elizabeth Pontes, a sophmore at Emmanuel, concerning community service.
Community service is an opportunity for one to see the heart of Christ in the eyes of the poor. If you’re not sure about what you want to do with your life post college, and don’t want to jump right into a career I suggest looking into serving others for a year.
Boston, MA- As spring begins to creep into the minds of students, especially seniors, these soon-to-be grads aren’t just searching for job opportunities like typically expected. They are contemplating dedicating time to volunteering.
This generation is concerned with life experience and the giving back aspect of life. One junior I interviewed said “I’ve always wanted to do it and I feel like now would be the best time, while I’m not so tied down to a career or relationship”.
It is typical for a college student to be asked what their major is and what they would like to do with that, but over the past few years these answers seem to be met with greater amounts of uncertainty.
These students are part of a generation that suffer the stereotype of ‘selfish or self-centered’ but it seems they are ready to prove themselves as a more humane and socially aware group. They are choosing to go against tradition and volunteer, whether it is for a few months or two years.
Volunteering is clearly visible on one Boston college campus, Emmanuel College. This small Catholic liberal arts college prides itself on the efforts students make to give back to the Boston community.
As a freshman at Emmanuel your first day of college is spent volunteering at different community service sites the school has been affiliated with over the years. This “Day of Service” for freshmen is becoming something many clubs and organizations have built their mission statements on. The Student Government Association has recently recognized the popularity and goodness of community service on the campus and has implemented a Day of Service open to the entire student body which will be held April 12th.
These events at Emmanuel influences its students to take an active role within the Boston community but it also challenges them to look outside of this level of locality. One of the most popular breaks for Emmanuel College students is spring break. These students’ destinations aren’t very typical. About 60 students use this week off to travel to either Phoenix, Arizona or New Orleans, Louisiana in order to volunteer. These students spend their time working with the Nation’s most homeless and deprived. Alison Hurney, a junior at Emmanuel College, says “participating in ASB 2007 when I went to Phoenix for a week, that experience made me realize how fortunate I am, and how simply a smile and a hug can make someone’s day.”
Some graduates from Emmanuel College have decided to take a year off before joining the workforce or attending graduate school. One such graduate is currently volunteering in Uganda aiding the Uganda Women’s Efforts to Save Orphans. There she is working to improve the health program as well as work with the children that have been left orphaned after the AIDs epidemic.
Graduates like these are influencing the current students at Emmanuel and all over the nation to seriously contemplate time off. Hurney also feels motivated to join all those before her in volunteering before real or career life sets in, she says “I can. I am a young woman and have very little responsibilities yet. It will give me a year of experience and time to think about what I am truly passionate about. You only live once.”
