2008 Woodie Awards
Ignatian Corner: Service takes Hawks to new classrooms
Greg Norton '08
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Features
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As the 2007-08 academic year gets into full swing, many students at Saint Joseph's University are searching for something. Some are searching for a coveted spot in the Mandeville parking lot, while others may simply be searching for the mysterious "B/L 40."
Even after a parking spot is found and the classroom located, a few students are still left looking. The answer these students seek is not found on a campus map or in the kind words of a fellow Hawk, but can be found within.
Attempting to live up to the Jesuit ideal of "being a person with and for others" can be a daunting task, especially because there are many ways in which a person can do so. One of the most popular ways here at St. Joe's is through service.
Each year, students can be seen lending helping hands and minds on a global scale from Neon, Kentucky in the Appalachian mountains, to the African country of Tanzania. While these service trips are some of the most popular on campus, many students are unaware of the service opportunities that exist, quite literally, in our own backyard.
For many years, students have been volunteering their time and effort at the Catholic and public schools and parishes in the St. Joe's community. Their efforts have ranged from working at after school programs to teaching catechism classes on weekday nights. Louis Gretta, '08, has been volunteering in this capacity for over five years. He has been teaching religion classes since he was 13. As a freshman, Gretta continued these efforts at the Saint Matthias Church in neighboring Bala Cynwyd.
"Because St. Joe's emphasizes the worth of community service so much, I thought I'd continue the tradition," said Gretta.
Now Gretta is actually the program director and several other St. Joe's students are some of his weekly teachers.
Service in local Catholic and public schools also extends to those in West Philadelphia, who always find them quite eager to have St. Joe's students within their institutions. Mary Hrycenko, '08, volunteered over two semesters at the Our Mother of Sorrows School in West Philadelphia. As an education major, Hrycenko is currently completing her student teaching requirement at the Gesu School, a Jesuit grade school located in North Philadelphia. Hrycenko is sharing what she has learned as a volunteer at Our Mother of Sorrows at the Gesu.
Even after a parking spot is found and the classroom located, a few students are still left looking. The answer these students seek is not found on a campus map or in the kind words of a fellow Hawk, but can be found within.
Attempting to live up to the Jesuit ideal of "being a person with and for others" can be a daunting task, especially because there are many ways in which a person can do so. One of the most popular ways here at St. Joe's is through service.
Each year, students can be seen lending helping hands and minds on a global scale from Neon, Kentucky in the Appalachian mountains, to the African country of Tanzania. While these service trips are some of the most popular on campus, many students are unaware of the service opportunities that exist, quite literally, in our own backyard.
For many years, students have been volunteering their time and effort at the Catholic and public schools and parishes in the St. Joe's community. Their efforts have ranged from working at after school programs to teaching catechism classes on weekday nights. Louis Gretta, '08, has been volunteering in this capacity for over five years. He has been teaching religion classes since he was 13. As a freshman, Gretta continued these efforts at the Saint Matthias Church in neighboring Bala Cynwyd.
"Because St. Joe's emphasizes the worth of community service so much, I thought I'd continue the tradition," said Gretta.
Now Gretta is actually the program director and several other St. Joe's students are some of his weekly teachers.
Service in local Catholic and public schools also extends to those in West Philadelphia, who always find them quite eager to have St. Joe's students within their institutions. Mary Hrycenko, '08, volunteered over two semesters at the Our Mother of Sorrows School in West Philadelphia. As an education major, Hrycenko is currently completing her student teaching requirement at the Gesu School, a Jesuit grade school located in North Philadelphia. Hrycenko is sharing what she has learned as a volunteer at Our Mother of Sorrows at the Gesu.
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