Author: khauver

As the semester comes to an end, the Holy Cross atmosphere is filled with many things. A predominant one is stress for finals and upcoming assignments. But I am a firm believer that there’s beauty and joy in the midst of our student chaos. I found that joy as a freshman when my Social Ethics class introduced me to CBL. When I first came into Holy Cross, I was afraid I wouldn’t connect with my community and who I am; little did I know! I had the fortunate opportunity to volunteer at the Marie Anne Center and work with English Learners. I met people from all over Latin America, mainly from Brazil, who aspired to become fluent in English to achieve the dreams they shared with us.. But beyond the learning portion, it was a moment to reflect and share about who we are and where we come from. We used to always go back to food as one of our main topics of conversation. The students shared about the delicious dishes they have at home and family gatherings. I then understood the deep meaning of our roots and how we can always go back to something as a reminder of our identity, whether that be food, music, language, etc. CBL allowed me to return to a part of mine. Being with the students felt like we were creating our sense of community, a family. 

Almost two years and a pandemic later, I built upon that same sense of community through CBL. This year I am working with the Worcester Public Schools Transition Program twice a week. Our students come from a variety of different backgrounds, from Worcester to the Dominican Republic. While WPS might be a different site from my previous one, there are some essential similarities. For instance, we had an activity led by Professors from the Spanish department to talk about our culture. Some students brought their Puerto Rican flag and others an ingredient from their favorite dish. Other days, students pick songs by their favorite artists and teach us how to dance. Just like at the Marie Anne Center, we continue to learn about each other by sharing our roots and how they have shaped us.

So, what does my Holy Cross atmosphere look like? Certainly stress and nervousness for finals, but it is filled with immeasurable joy. I have had the privilege of learning about the lives of students from Marie Anne Center and WPS. But as I said, this has been different from the usual way we learn in the classroom. Our identities have shined through all of our conversations and activities. I also have to say that gratitude fuels my atmosphere. After COVID, I wasn’t sure what college and life would be like, and I admit that I was afraid about how different CBL would be this time. Although life is not back to normal, I am endlessly grateful that I had the opportunity to do it again, to regain what I thought was a lost sense of community.

This semester, I officially began my junior year of college. Even just typing that is scary for me. I have no idea how I suddenly have less than two years to be a student. Though I’ve loved this year so far, the fact that I am now an upperclassman has made me appreciate every moment I have here a little more. Holy Cross helps me to seek discomfort and grow as a person every single day. However, I always worried that once I left Holy Cross, such opportunities for growth wouldn’t be possible anymore.

On December 1st, I had the chance to participate in a Community-Based Learning Dialogue Session called “Where Do We Go From Here? Living a Life of Service and Justice.” At the session, we discussed careers focused on service and justice with three alumni: Theresa Becchi (‘10), the Associate Director at Counterpart International, Jack Chaffee (‘20), an Assistant at L’Arche Jacksonville, and Paulina Martin (‘21), an AmeriCorps Volunteer at Maggie’s Place. It was so interesting to hear about their occupational journeys and perspectives on their time at Holy Cross. 

It’s hard to pick out just a few things that struck me about the session. However, each speaker had so many interesting things to say, and important takeaways they wanted the students to have. Paulina talked about how her year of service has taught her to measure productivity in a more meaningful, qualitative way, and implored students to trust where their gut “tugs” them in navigating life post college. Jack Chaffee also emphasized the idea of trusting your gut, and discussed how engagement with his community was what ultimately gave him clarity on what he wanted to do with his life. Theresa spoke about the benefits of seeking discomfort and being persistent in finding your place. Ultimately, I walked away from this dialogue session still appreciating the fact that I’m a Holy Cross student, but also feeling more optimistic about the days when I’m not anymore. Because of this dialogue session, I understand that as long as I cherish connection with others, step outside of my comfort zone and trust myself and my abilities, I will be able to find meaning and fulfillment in whatever career I choose to pursue.

I was first introduced to CBL by Professor Cohen. She had emailed me about applying because she thought that it would be something I like. At that time I didn’t have a clear image of what CBL was, because, although my Jan term course with Professor Cohen was a CBL course, I never got to go volunteer somewhere as I took the course online. As I did more research I fell in love with the CBL program because it gives students the opportunity to connect and form relationships with the people of Worcester. Being here for only my first semester and then being sent home resulted in a loss of time for me to learn about Worcester, which I had always hoped to do. At that moment after being on the CBL website for an hour I decided I had to apply. The application process was very nerve-wracking for me because I really wanted this position. And thankfully I did get the position. I remember opening the decision letter and being so happy because I would be able to give back to the community while also learning more about Worcester. 

My first semester as a CBL intern has been wonderful. I have been able to go to downtown Worcester and see amazing art by many different artists, talk to other students about CBL, and also facilitate reflection on what volunteering means. As a CBL intern, I am one of the leaders for Ascentria tutoring and also one of the CBL interns helping in the preparation of the Non-Profit Careers Conference. Being a tutor for Ascentria has been a very rewarding experience. At the moment tutoring is still done through Zoom but I have been able to learn what are the best ways to help Ascentria students. Although at first, it was a challenge teaching through Zoom, I am very grateful because I get to help students learn English, something that I have been doing most of my life with helping my parents learn English at home. This week will be our last day tutoring for the semester and I would like to say that I am very thankful for Dora, the other CBL leader at Ascentria, the Holy Cross tutors, and the students from Ascentria for making this a very insightful experience. As I wrap up on tutoring with Ascentria I, along with the other CBL interns, have started to prepare for the Non-Profit Careers Conference and I can’t wait to meet other students who are also interested in the Non-Profit sector.

The Academic Internship Program that’s supported by the J.D. Power Center consistently offers enriching opportunities to synthesize both academics and real world experiences through its seminars that are exceedingly interesting and relevant to world affairs. One of these seminars, Policy and Politics in America, taught by former congressman Tim Bishop ‘72 and longtime political consultant Peter Flaherty ‘87, is an impressive academic course centered on student engagement with the real world of politics. The winter 2019 issue of the Holy Cross Magazine reported that through the mission of fostering opportunities for experiential learning in mind, the J.D. Power Center supported the creation of this course to cover experiences in and around politics. Two educators were then selected so that the course did not have a partisan bias. This course intends to provide students with comprehensive understandings of important House and Senate races in midterm elections, particularly the 2022 midterm elections, in tandem with the following result’s consequences on policy debates. One of the goals that this seminar has is to transcend partisanship and engage in more productive political conversations. Guided by well qualified instructors and frequent guest speakers, students participate in high level discussions and develop deeper comprehension of the political system in the United States and of the various career opportunities that grow alongside government ones such as grassroots organizing, voter outreach, and campaigning. 

The co-teachers, Mr. Bishop and Mr. Flaherty, both also exemplify how purple runs deep, and that the Holy Cross community is full of support networks and exciting connections. Bishop graduated from Holy Cross in 1972, followed by his brother Chris ‘74, and he has remained in contact with a fair number of his classmates, including Fr. Hayes of the Chaplains’ Office. Flaherty graduated from Holy Cross in 1987. His brother, Chip, graduated in 1986, his son, Peter Flaherty III graduated in 2021, and two nieces are alumnae and one is a current student. Even though 15 years and differing political orientations may seem to separate these two alumni, they really do practice what they preach. Coming from different backgrounds has not been a barrier between a joyful friendship built on mutual admiration. Teaching a seminar, engaging students, and inspiring up and coming political leaders, has further forged their bond, and this is reflected in the strength of their course. 

Bishop’s favorite part of teaching the seminar is interacting throughout the years with “uniformly impressive” students. He says that they are consistently, “bright, engaged, committed, interested in playing their part to make the world a better place, and also committed to the central ethos of HC-education for others.” Flaherty echoes this sentiment as he says, “The prism through which the Holy Cross students see the political landscape is rooted in an admirable and refreshing selflessness with an eye toward contributing to solutions, rather than focusing on divisive rhetoric.” This praise of students is hopeful for the future of our country considering both he and Peter Flaherty have supported a fair amount of students in getting jobs in politics, government, political consulting, and more. Notably, with Flaherty’s help, a class of 2019 graduate, Carter Mitchell, obtained a position with a political consulting firm. Mitchell will also be a guest lecturer for the class on October 26. Students who have taken this course also have held a various array of internships that adds interactions with colleagues and coworkers to the academic experience. Some of the internships that students in the course hold this semester are with the Federalist Society, Worcester Court Service Center, Framingham Centre Common Cultural District, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Worcester District Attorney’s Office, Gray Panthers NYC Network, City of Worcester Elections Committee, Coresight Research. There are often students in gubernatorial and congressional internships and respective campaigns as well. 

To expand upon to the course’s relevancy to current political conversations, the co-teachers consistently bring in highly qualified guest speakers. Some of the names on the expansive list include:

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Governor Walz of Minnesota, Governor Inslee of Washington, Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Representative Linda Sanchez of California and Representative Adam Schiff of California, former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, Former White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and former Governor of New Hampshire John Sununu, Former U.S. Senator and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown, Former Whitehouse Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Barack Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe, President Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jamie Harrison, Pollster for President Trump James McLaughlin, and pollster for Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg Jef Pollock, one of President Trump’s lead attorneys Jay Sekulow, political consultant John Lapp, Dana Bash, John Berman, Chris Cuomo and Kasie Hunt of CNN, Phil Rucker and Ashley Parker of the Washington Post, and more.

Students in Policy and Politics in America have the priceless opportunity to hear from high powered figures with diverse voices and opinions. The guest speakers hail from almost every aspect of politics, from elected officials, big names in media news, and everything in between. Every speaker brings important insight to the class that helps further mutual understandings of politics and the reality of the political sphere. Bishop says that, “listening to both Jim Clyburn and Jamie Harrison speak about growing up Black in rural South Carolina and then rising to the heights they have achieved was both powerful and inspiring, and hearing a no nonsense guy like Governor Sununu talk about his focus on results as opposed to politics was a real lesson in what is missing in our current political discourse.”

The mission of this course was reiterated by October 19th’s guest speaker, Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey, who said that there’s a current desire from the nation for more humble and grounded politics. That’s exactly what Bishop and Flaherty aim to teach and instill in Policy and Politics in America, and they are having excellent success with it. 

Holy Cross Magazine: https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2019/01/07/two-alumni-political-world-veterans-teach-course-examining-politics-from-inside-out/ 

On October 6th, the Holy Cross Community Engagement Committee had the pleasure of hosting its annual Community Partner Appreciation Reception. Held at the recently opened Polar Park, the occasion recognized and celebrated the many meaningful partnerships Holy Cross has with organizations throughout Worcester. Community partners are vital for a number of opportunities at Holy Cross—community based learning, internships, academic research, and so much more. Representatives from these agencies, Holy Cross faculty and staff, and students had the opportunity to engage and socialize over light refreshments, and there were several speeches made by student leaders and President Rougeau. 

One of the speakers, Lauren Vitelli ‘22, shared her experiences with SPUD and the special ways in which her involvement at the Marie Anne Center has shaped her experience at Holy Cross. Working in the ESL classes, Lauren helps to facilitate the learning of English to students at the center. In her speech, she expressed her gratitude for this opportunity which has facilitated meaningful relationships, new perspectives, and growth as a teacher. Lauren recognized and thanked the community partners for helping to create such wonderful opportunities for Holy Cross students. She later reflected that her experiences have helped her to discern what will be next for her after graduation: “Engagement has helped me determine what I want to do in my future career and encouraged me to take a service year before heading to graduate school.”

The second student speaker, Sabrina Ramos ‘22, spoke about her involvement with Working for Worcester. Having started community engagement her first year at Holy Cross, Sabrina also participated in SPUD and CBL, both of which have given her plenty of opportunity to explore Worcester beyond campus. In her speech, Sabrina reflected on these opportunities, stating that “community engagement has been really important to me because it makes me feel connected to Wocrester in a way that I can’t experience just by being on campus.” Through Working for Worcester, Sabrina helps to tutor in Worcester Public Schools. Like Lauren, Sabrina also reflected on the special connections she has formed with her students and the personal growth such relationships have fostered: “I have learned to listen to what the community actually needs to help develop education and support for our youth, and how to overcome the structural inequalities presented in education that would limit children from dreaming big.” Sabrina currently is one of the co-executive directors of Working for Worcester, and from her experience, she recommends students interested in new opportunities on campus not to hesitate in getting involved. She advises, “I recommend attending a meeting/event with a club that interests you and talking about your interests with other group members! Talking with peers is the best way to make new connections and feel comfortable joining new clubs.”

Finally, Julianne Esteves ‘22 also attended the Community Partner Appreciation Reception as a CBL intern to work the check-in desk. Reflecting on the event, Julianne explained that the event’s in-person nature was very exciting and special, especially with things having been virtual for such a long time: “For me, I have either heard of many people’s names or been on Zoom calls with them over the past year, so it was very meaningful to actually connect in person. I even got to meet Debbie, one of the directors of my CBL site this year, in person. We were able to introduce ourselves and share in our excitement.” Julianne also shared that events like this reception are important in that they further facilitate connections across the community, concluding that “Events like these remind students that our college experience is not limited to the gates of our campus, but rather closely tied with the Worcester community. Hearing as many stories and reflections from Worcester residents should be a priority of ours, and this event was just one example of how those connections can be fostered.”  This Community Partner Appreciation Reception was one of many ways Holy Cross can continue to further engage with its wonderful community partners in Worcester. We look forward to recognizing these special connections in future opportunities this year!

 

 

I was introduced to Community-Based Learning in my Montserrat course, Death and Dying. My classmates and I volunteered at various hospice homes in Worcester; my site was Rose Monahan Hospice Home. Although it was unlike anything I had ever experienced,  I immediately felt connected to the site. I found it incredibly meaningful to spend time with this population, so I continued volunteering through my sophomore year. When Covid hit, my time at Rose Monahan came to an end. Because nursing and hospice homes did not allow in-person volunteering, in my junior year, I volunteered virtually with St. Mary Healthcare Center. Once a week, I would Facetime my resident and we would talk for hours. As hard as it is for me to believe I am already a senior, I knew during my senior year that I wanted to incorporate my unique experiences at Rose Monahan and St. Mary’s with my sociology major. This year, I am writing my sociology honors thesis on the emotional labor of volunteers in different hospice homes. In my Montserrat class, I heard many different perspectives of volunteers depending on the facility they were volunteering at. I used this thought to come up with the question of how the volunteer experience is different in different locations. I’m using Hochschild’s concept of emotional labor, which describes how workers must express or elicit particular feelings as part of their occupations. I will compare the volunteers’ experiences at different hospice homes to gain an understanding of their emotions while volunteering. I am continuing to volunteer at Rose Monahan and am doing an internship through the Academic Internship Program at St. Mary’s. While the sites are very different, I enjoy my time at both of them, for I learn different things at each of them. There’s very little research about how hospice care differs across these different types of settings, so I am hoping to help fill a research gap. I think one of the best things about CBL is the ability to connect what you are learning inside of the classroom with the world outside of the classroom. For example, it is one thing for me to read scholarly articles on volunteering, but it adds a whole new dimension to actually be at the sites volunteering. I am grateful for CBL for introducing me to a field I feel passionate about, and I am very excited to continue to work on my thesis and learn more about volunteering from past and current volunteers. 

I am very excited to be fully back on campus this year, with in-person classes, events, and CBL! It did not take very long, though, for the busyness of a typical Holy Cross semester to ramp up — my Google Calendar has been quickly filled with classes, extracurricular meetings, college events, and coffee dates with friends. As a senior, I am very aware of my fleeting time as a student at Holy Cross, which means I am trying to make the most of each week, embracing all of the opportunities in front of me and going down my “HC Bucket List.” 

While I receive a lot of excitement and energy from running between these various events and commitments, it is a challenge to also stay on top of my coursework and take care of myself. It can be rather problematic that Holy Cross students pride themselves in how “busy” they are, not recognizing the importance of slowing down, reflecting, and resting. I have always found that engaging with CBL and my role as an Intern has, despite being another activity, given me a chance to slow down. I quickly learned in my first CBL experience with the Marie Anne Center that it would not offer me or the students any benefit if I was distracted, consumed with where I had to go next or what I had to complete before midnight. CBL offered me an intentional space where I could just be with people, with sometimes no set agenda or direction. Whether I was engaging with the Marie Anne Center, Ascentria, or other Interns at bi-weekly meetings, CBL has always been such a meaningful “break” in my Holy Cross schedule. And, these times were an important reminder to truly give myself the break and rest. 

I am excited about a new Intern role that I have this year which fits nicely into the theme of “pausing.” I am serving on the Student Leadership Team for the PAUSE Project. The PAUSE Project started out of Professor Cohen’s 2019-2020 Montserrat course, and it seeks to create a one hour block in the Holy Cross weekly schedule where no events and classes would be scheduled. During this time, all members of the Holy Cross community would be encouraged to take the hour off for reflection and self-care, engaging with optional communal offerings provided. This year, I am working as an Outreach Programmer, working to make connections with other student groups in order to collaborate and receive feedback on how best we can implement the project. With this outreach, it is our hope that more students on campus will learn about our initiative and want to be more engaged with it. I believe that this initiative is so needed on our very busy campus, and I cannot wait to see where this year takes the PAUSE Project. My CBL experiences have always enforced the importance of stepping back, pausing, and reflecting, so I am very grateful to be broadening my capacity as an Intern in this role and fully embracing those important elements! 

Welcome back to the CBL Intern Blog for 2021-2022! I am currently experiencing two overwhelming emotions as I write this post: gratitude and excitement. Both of these feelings stem from the fact that this year many CBL students have the chance to return to in-person community engagement. It has been well over a year since I last sat in one of the Holy Cross vans silently reflecting on the time I spent at Ascentria Care Alliance and eagerly imagining the next time I would get to go back. I still remember the anxiety I felt walking into the English-speaking class at Ascentria for the first time during my second semester at Holy Cross, and the immediate relief I felt when one of the participants waved me over to sit next to him. Now I am finally able to say that after a year of Zoom calls, internet connection issues, and beginning to talk while I’m still muted, I will be returning to in-person engagement.

I think many can agree that forming new, meaningful connections has not been easy in the time of COVID-19. I felt disconnected from my fellow Holy Cross students and faculty, and I felt almost as if my relationships with the Worcester community were entirely severed. This semester, CBL students at the college have the privilege to build new relationships and strengthen old ones with our community partners, many of whom surely missed our presence as well. I am excited to begin my time at Brookdale Eddy Pond, an assisted living community about ten minutes away from campus. While I have not spent much time in nursing homes in the past, I recognize that the elderly are one of the most vulnerable communities due to the pandemic. Many residents have been separated from family members, friends, and at times other residents for prolonged periods of time. I am looking forward to the opportunity to provide any sense of relief or comfort in a time that has proven to be unprecedented for the residents at Brookdale.

Although all my typical first day of engagement worries still linger, I am going into this semester of service with a greater sense of gratitude than I have in the past. I am grateful for the chance to sit in a room with another person who does not attend or work at the college. I am grateful that I will once again have a reason to leave the hill and our Holy Cross bubble every week to learn more about the people in the Worcester community. Finally, I am grateful that I will soon experience the mutualistic relationships that are born from community engagement. So, whether you are beginning community engagement at Holy Cross for the first time this semester or returning to it, I implore you to recognize your own gratitude for the opportunity that lies ahead.

I’m sitting down to write this blog post right before I head out to Fitton Field for the 2021 Baccalaureate Mass. This Mass strikes me as the perfect bookend to my Holy Cross — and especially Community-Based Learning (CBL) — experience. I began my time at Holy Cross at another Mass on Fitton Field, all the way back in 2017. I remember my parents sitting next to me crying, being surrounded by hundreds of unknown faces, and being a little overwhelmed by all the new that was around me. But the rhythm of the Mass gave me a sense of comfort, and the homily’s focus on Jesuit spirituality gave me my first glimpse into the foundation in service, prayer, and reflection that my Holy Cross education would have.

Since that Mass of the Holy Spirit, CBL has been a constant reminder of that same foundation throughout my time at Holy Cross. My first CBL experience came in my first-year Montserrat course, called “Death and Society”. All of us trained as hospice volunteers, visiting for a couple hours each week with nursing home residents around Worcester, as part of their hospice care team. It was intimidating and hard at times to walk into the room of a complete stranger, but as I met with different residents throughout the year, I began to learn their stories and to look forward to my times with them.

Finding this Montserrat CBL experience so powerful, I applied to be a CBL intern for my sophomore year. I had so looked up to the two CBL interns who had visited my Montserrat to lead reflection sessions — Jerome Siangco‘19 and Will McAvoy ‘20 — and hoped to pass on the gift of CBL to new students by becoming a CBL intern myself.

I count my sophomore year as my most difficult at Holy Cross, as I struggled to get my bearings and sometimes felt isolated. But during that sophomore year, through CBL, I also had the privilege of visiting and forming a close relationship with a hospice resident who treated me as one of his own grandchildren. I would bring him my political science papers, listen as he told stories about his time in the military, and got to meet his family. We happened to have the same birthday and got to go to his nursing home’s birthday celebration together. I never would have met this man if it hadn’t been for CBL, but his constant joy during our visits together were a bright spot in a year full of challenging growth for me.

Junior year, during the fall, I continued to work as a CBL intern, planning dialogue sessions, leading reflections, and visiting with hospice residents. I felt much more settled than I had during sophomore year and felt that I was hitting my stride. But then, just a few days before I was due back on campus for the spring semester, I was injured in the Women’s Rowing team van accident. Although of course the accident is a painful memory, I will always remember the love that the CBL community showed me during that time. I was welcomed back on campus by the van drivers whom I had come to know in checking out Holy Cross vans for weekly visits. I received letters from hospice residents’ families who had heard what happened. And the Donelan Office staff and my fellow interns sent me a beautiful care package in the mail. I felt so loved and cared for in those days, as I hope all who encounter the Donelan Office feel.

Senior year has been different, of course. COVID has made it difficult to continue volunteering in hospice and made it more challenging to fully engage with other CBL students (though I am still always impressed by the insights that come out of Zoom CBL reflection sessions!). I have really, really missed my hospice visits in this past year, and this underscores for me that, as I step forward into post-graduate life, I need to prioritize integrating service into my routine. CBL has introduced me to new people, allowed me to hear the powerful reflections of so many Holy Cross students, and encouraged me to live a life of service after graduation. I will always be grateful for my time with the Donelan Office and for the chance to serve as a CBL intern.

When I woke up on the morning of April 3, 2020, I had no idea how much one message would change the rest of my college career. As I started my day during the height of the lockdown, I anxiously checked my email to see if I had heard back from the CBL intern program to find out if I had been accepted after my in-person interview a few weeks prior. Though I understood that it was an incredibly difficult time for people to meet and discuss the intern selection process, I was very nervous about my future at the time due to the incredible amount of uncertainty caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, when I gained the confidence to check the final decision, I was relieved and ecstatic to find out that I had been accepted into the CBL intern program for the 2020-2021 academic year. As I read through the acceptance letter, I realized that my acceptance into this program would provide me with various opportunities that could deepen my understanding of social justice. One specific opportunity, which I immediately took advantage of, was enrolling in Professor Michelle Sterk Barrett’s course “Community Engagement and Social Responsibility.” Although this class is generally taken by seniors at the College, myself and one other sophomore CBL intern (Jocelyn Hernandez) had the privilege to take the class after our acceptance into the CBL program. At first, I was intimidated by the prospects of participating in a class with a majority of upperclass students. However, these nerves were soon put to ease on the first day of class as I realized how the very small class size (of about eight students) could inspire vulnerable discourse regarding prevalent social justice issues like immigration and income inequality. Throughout the course of the semester, Prof. Sterk Barrett provided intriguing material from notable authors which helped me recognize how interconnected the causes of various social justice issues are. One specific piece which sparked great conversation amongst my classmates, and my fellow Interns as well, was a book by Ijeoma Oluo titled, So You Want to Talk About Race. The incorporation of this book into the curriculum of my class with Prof. Sterk Barrett, along with its addition to the CBL Intern book club, significantly impacted my understanding of race and its diverse impact on contemporary American society. As I continued to learn about these various social justice topics, I also enrolled in the Civitas Leadership Institute with hopes to apply some of the information I had learned in class. The institute provided me with a space to discuss social justice issues regarding community engagement with other like minded individuals.  Overall, my experience with the academic opportunities provided by the CBL program have certainly deepened my compassion for service because I better understand the positive impact that individuals can make on others through effective community engagement.