There is no doubt this past year has been challenging for many reasons. For Community Based Learning, one of my concerns was not feeling connected to the Holy Cross and Worcester communities and our own Intern community. Of course, I had faith that this group of wonderful people would rise to the occasion, but I knew the community would look and feel different. This year, I had the privilege of being one of the Community Development Coordinators. I had the opportunity to help plan our Intern meetings that were focused on building and strengthening our Intern community. The first semester, we read Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk about Race? and had very lively book club meetings. The passion for social justice and engagement with important topics was as intense as ever. It gave me hope that I could still talk with other people who wanted to be part of these discussions and make meaningful contributions and changes to our community. During the spring semester, we focused on community building. We played games over Zoom, such as Scatttegories and Skribblio, and also had purposeful discussions about our goals for the semester and how we wanted to achieve them. We learned more about each other and made new connections. Reflecting on this past year has helped me realize that the Intern community is one that does not shy away from challenges, but rather chooses to engage with them and come out even stronger. I am thankful to be part of such an incredible community that is dedicated, supportive, and extremely welcoming.
