Students express love for community service

By Allison Sundaram

For many students, an Arrupe placement is extra work on top of an already overloaded schedule.

But sophomore Jessica Meyer sought out her own placement, and found that something as simple as keeping an old man company on a walk made her feel more connected to the community.

Meyer volunteers at HOPE Senior Center as an assistant with the "walking club." Her job is to accompany mentally and physically disabled senior citizens on walks into the community for physical exercise and companionship.

During her first placement with the group last spring, one of her clients was slower and unable to keep pace with the rest of the group so Meyer stayed back and talked to him.

"They have club awards, and so at the club awards he came up and he got to say something, and all he could keep saying was 'I thank her.' And he could barely say it, but that meant a lot," Meyer said. "That's what was so exciting for him over those weeks that he went on the walking club, that I got to come with him and walk with him, and that he had someone to walk with."

While most students take on a placement to fulfill a class service requisite, 18 this quarter are pursuing placements without the requirement.

The Arrupe Center currently has over 40 placements in the Santa Clara valley, and involves an average of 400 students per quarter doing some kind of outreach work.

"I enjoy it. It's a great escape. I think we're stuck in a bubble here and students don't get enough exposure," junior Katie Omura said.

Omura chose her placement, Yu Ai Kai, a Japanese elderly care center, to compliment her fall quarter Japanese class.

But even after dropping the class, Omura continued working at the placement for the experience.

"They speak only Japanese. It's really great exposure to the language for me. I'm studying Japanese and I figured I'd learn more out of the classroom with this kind of studying," she said.

Laurie Laird, associate director for community-based learning at the Ignatian Center, said independent students bring a welcome perspective to their placements.

"Since the students are choosing to be there and trying to choose what career and vocation they might have, they're entering with an openness that's really appreciated by our community partners," she said.

Arrupe placements are also an option for students wanting to break out of their comfort zone. Sopomore Hilary Edwards works in the nursery at the Sacred Heart Community Center in Saratoga. Her clients are lower income children whose parents are taking classes in job skills or English during the day.

"Over the summer I worked at my church's nursery, and it's all middle or upper middle-income families and all their kids speak English or they don't talk, because they're babies. And here it's a completely different experience, so I wasn't really prepared for it, but I think it's been good for me," she said.

Of the students interviewed, all said they would like to continue on with their placement once the quarter has finished. Students who continue with their placement can provide added benefits, with their knowledge of the organization and their familiarity with the program methods.

"That is invaluable for our partners, who often feel that a quarter is not nearly enough. When students are able to stay longer, they are able to give back much more to the community," Laird said.

For many, it's the love that keeps bringing them back.

"I love just working with the people there, and seeing in their smiles how appreciative and happy they are to have someone to talk to, be with, and just kind of to share life with for two hours every Wednesday," Meyer said.

Contact Allison Sundaram at (408) 554-4546 or asundaram@scu.edu.