"The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart,
a revolution which has to start with each one of us."
-Dorothy Day
I have found a home in Xavier's Dorothy Day Center for Faith & Justice.
I was introduced to this office when I went on Get Away as a first year student and joined a Christian Life Community (a small faith sharing group) upon my return. This group allowed me to make my Catholic faith my own and discover the person I want to be at Xavier and beyond. Later that year I took on a leadership role in the office as a group leader of the Journey retreat.
My sophomore year I continued my leadership by being a small group leader for Rooted, a program designed to help first year students find a sense of community and learn more about the CFJ and the programs the office offers. Out of this program, I began to lead a Christian Life Community of first year students. I also was involved in STAR, a weekly service program, and attended the Approach retreat. In addition, I went on an Alternative Break trip and worked with L'Arche in Mobile, Alabama learning about adults with disabilities and their model of community living.
I found a new passion for social justice through my involvement my junior year. That summer, through Xavier's Dorothy Day Center for Faith & Justice, I was a Summer Service Intern at United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati. When school started, I was a member of the upper-class group called Contemplatives In Action, which has weekly discussions on life's big questions and social justice issues. I also served as a group leader for the Encounter Retreat and continued leading the same Christian Life Community. I also had the opportunity to go on my second Alternative Break trip which focused on the Conversation of our native ecosystems. This trip allowed me to connect with nature as my group camped all week on the beautiful Catalina Island and worked with the Conservancy there.
I spent the summer leading up to my senior year as an employee of this office through Xavier's Summer Service Internship, an opportunity that I cannot express my gratitude for. As the school year starts, I am serving as co-director of the Encounter Retreat and am also leading the same Christian Life Community, in our third year together.
I was introduced to this office when I went on Get Away as a first year student and joined a Christian Life Community (a small faith sharing group) upon my return. This group allowed me to make my Catholic faith my own and discover the person I want to be at Xavier and beyond. Later that year I took on a leadership role in the office as a group leader of the Journey retreat.
My sophomore year I continued my leadership by being a small group leader for Rooted, a program designed to help first year students find a sense of community and learn more about the CFJ and the programs the office offers. Out of this program, I began to lead a Christian Life Community of first year students. I also was involved in STAR, a weekly service program, and attended the Approach retreat. In addition, I went on an Alternative Break trip and worked with L'Arche in Mobile, Alabama learning about adults with disabilities and their model of community living.
I found a new passion for social justice through my involvement my junior year. That summer, through Xavier's Dorothy Day Center for Faith & Justice, I was a Summer Service Intern at United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati. When school started, I was a member of the upper-class group called Contemplatives In Action, which has weekly discussions on life's big questions and social justice issues. I also served as a group leader for the Encounter Retreat and continued leading the same Christian Life Community. I also had the opportunity to go on my second Alternative Break trip which focused on the Conversation of our native ecosystems. This trip allowed me to connect with nature as my group camped all week on the beautiful Catalina Island and worked with the Conservancy there.
I spent the summer leading up to my senior year as an employee of this office through Xavier's Summer Service Internship, an opportunity that I cannot express my gratitude for. As the school year starts, I am serving as co-director of the Encounter Retreat and am also leading the same Christian Life Community, in our third year together.
Brueggeman Fellowship
The Brueggeman Center allows for a group of selected students to do a year of independent research and then go abroad to finish their studies on a topic of their choice. It is a chance for students to engage with each other and professionals about the concerns and issues of our age and to learn for the sake of learning. I am a Fellow for the 2013-2014 school year and will be studying occupational deprivation in prisons and the potential of occupational therapy to lower recidivism rates through work therapy.. In the summer of 2014 I will be traveling to England to investigate the work therapy programs that are a part of 131 of their prisons.
Interfaith medical mission trip
For spring break my senior year I traveled to Guatemala for Xavier's Interfaith Medical Mission Trip. The trip wouldn't have been complete without our two doctors, two nurses, two Interfaith staff members, photographer, and 11 other students studying medical professions. We worked as a team to run a clinic in Patanatic - shadowing the doctors, learning how to write and fill prescriptions, teaching children to brush their teeth, fitting people with glasses, and praying with patients before they left the clinic. During our time there, I was fortunate enough to watch an exam of a three year old girl with Cerebral Palsy, Luisa (pictured left). I also got the opportunity to go to Luisa's home with her mother to assess what kind of walker the 2015 team could bring back for her. You can read more about Luisa and our team's experiences on our blog!
Manresa
I have also been involved in Xavier's first-year orientation program, Manresa, for each of my four years at Xavier. Run through the Office of Student Involvement, Manresa gives first-years an opportunity to connect with upperclassmen, meet their peers, and learn about the culture of Xavier. I have served as a group leader for three years after participating my first-year. As a group leader my senior year, I also performed a monolouge for Real World: Xavier, a show that allows students to hear real-life experiences of Xavier students dealing with issues such as eating disorders, homesickness, and relationship abuse.