Expectations of Service Learning

Jonathan Ocampo

Service Blog Post #1

09/17/17

Expectations of Service Learning

 "As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace" 1 Pt 4:10). This quote echoes my love and passion for serving others that I began to obtain in my high school years. I attended Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland where service was essential in our school community. The administration always had reiterated that giving back to the community is the best way to use the gifts God gave you. As I entered a new community, Loyola University, I saw similarities in substantial influence service had on its students. This is one of the many reasons why I chose to become a member of the Greyhound community, and spread my love for service around the city of Baltimore.

            As I began to read “Accident, Mass Ave.”, by Jillian McDonough, I began to understand the theme of the poem and connect its meaning to my previous experiences in serving the Baltimore community. As a junior and senior in high school, I had the privilege of serving at Our Daily Bread in Baltimore City. I recall my first time there I was very nervous about serving the homeless because I felt exposed and vulnerable. As a sea of homeless families, veterans, addicts, ect. came flooding into the dining area I didn’t know how to go about interacting with them. My first encounter was a large fellow in the front table, and as I served him his food he smiled and gave me a look of pure joy. As I reflected on this poem the theme of expectations vs. reality made me immediately remember this encounter with the homeless man. As the narrator states at the end, “We were scared, weren’t we? And she nodded and laughed.” She realizes she went about handling the situation in the wrong manner. This connects to my service experience because I went in scared and nervous for something that continues to teach me valuable lessons and gives me more visibility to the real world.

            As Catholics, we have various ways to serve the community through shelters, food kitchens, nursing homes, and other programs. The message Frances E. W. Harper reflects through his poem, “Learning to Read”, is the willing to try new things in life before it’s too late. I experienced trying a new way of serving the community by enrolling in a service class my senior year of high school, where I volunteered at a nursing home. I have never had experience at a nursing home, and did not know what to expect from it. Since I tried something new, I made valuable connections with patients that sometimes wouldn’t remember who I was the following day. “Learning to Read” obtains a valuable message that when you try new things you might turn out to bring back valuable experiences due to your willingness and drive.

            In Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” he states, “We keep the wall between us as we go.” (25) I interpreted that quote as a major characteristic for community vs. isolation. You can connect this particular theme with the homeless in Baltimore as well because through service connections with them can stimulate moments of revelation. Some of these revelations can include noticing that the homeless and in dire need of help and that they are human beings, not people to be scared of.  Service throughout my life has made me feel a sense of gratification for what I obtain in life, and to not take what I have for granted because some people out there in the community are not as lucky as I am. The homeless people of Baltimore who feel isolated from their former communities, I promise you that I will always make sure you have a place in the heart of Baltimore.

            Finally in the last reading written by Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach called “The Service of Faith and Promotion of Justice in Jesuit Higher Education”. Brings forth a message of service and faith in the quote, “Congregation wanted our preaching and teaching not to proselytize, not to impose our religion on others, but rather to propose Jesus and his message of God’s Kingdom in a spirit of love to everyone.” This spirt of love that is mentioned can be seen through serving others because if those in need receive love they will feel a sense of belongingness in the community. Since those in need do not feel love or wanted, it is our job as Jesuits to spread the love of God to all. My best experience of spreading God’s love was through the Baltimore Saints Ice Hockey program. I got the honor of teaching children how to skate and play hockey. As they began to learn, they would feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, and that made me want to see more kids feel the way I had impacted the ice hockey team.

In conclusion, service learning at the Tumbridge School has me very excited about meeting these children. I expect not only to have fun doing service learning, but also help various kids learn more than what they had previously expected. I am very proud and elated to take charge in the next step of service learning, and cannot wait to start!