By Dianne Frances D. Powell
Classes may have been canceled at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Tuesday but students still experienced a different kind of learning. It was the kind that can only be gained by doing.
Freshman Drew Arnold of Carmel has never touched alpaca fiber until he volunteered at the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice on Tuesday. The graduate of Guerin Catholic High School chose a volunteer project for Foundation Day of Service that would allow him to expand his experiences: cleaning alpaca fiber (a process known as skirting). “It’s something different. I’ve never experienced this before,” he said.
Arnold was among 180 volunteers — students, faculty, staff and alumni — who worked on various service projects around campus for the second Foundation Day of Service: from creating clay bowls for a Catholic Charities fundraiser and painting bikes to removing old books and landscaping.
Freshman Abbey King of Indianapolis spent the first part of her day with the Sisters of Providence and other residents of Providence Health Care and the second part in the SMWC Office of Advancement to stuff envelopes. “It [service] is important to me,” she said. Its emphasis at The Woods is part of the reason why she chose the College, she added. “Going to a school that shares the same values is really awesome,” she said.
King and fellow freshman, Bridget Gutish, both welcomed the day to focus on service, a “breather” from exams and homework, they said. Gutish volunteered for the pottery project and like Arnold, spent the afternoon skirting at the White Violet Center. “I enjoy art but I’m an elementary education major so I don’t get to do it a lot. I thought it would be fun to do that as a part of service,” Gutish, a Terre Haute resident, said of the pottery project.
As she molded clay inside Hulman Hall, another pottery volunteer, Emma Newton, said she is grateful for the community service and leadership opportunities at The Woods. The type of education that incorporates service helps students like her “become a more well-rounded person,” the freshman from Greencastle said.
Foundation Day of Service began with a beautiful prayer service in the Church of the Immaculate Conception featuring music from the SMWC Chorale and Woods Vocal Ensemble, readings from the journals and letters of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and prayers led by students and the new campus minister/chaplain Friar Mario Serrano. Foundation Day commemorates the arrival of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and five other Sisters of Providence to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods where they founded SMWC and a Catholic religious congregation, the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
“On Oct. 22nd 1840, Saint Mother Theodore and her companions finally made it across the Wabash River to this sacred land to begin her mission of a school for girls,” said Janet Clark, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs, during the welcome remarks. “Countless individuals before us have worked diligently in keeping this mission, in growing the Academy into the College that we now know today.
“Therefore, it is fitting that we, as a community, take time to honor the legacy that has shaped where we are today. We have chosen to do this with our day of service, a day where we take time to reflect on our past, help those around us and shape our future.”
SMWC President Dottie L. King, Ph.D., said Foundation Day of Service has become a new Woods tradition. During the prayer service, she reflected upon the values of Saint Mother Theodore — values which served as SMWC’s foundation: persistence, forward-thinking, service and trust in Providence.
King said Mother Theodore and her companions came to Indiana to meet the needs of a society and they did so in an inclusive way. By the same spirit, she encouraged attendees to live their lives in service to one another, especially those who are marginalized.
“I believe Mother Theodore aspired higher,” King said. “The God of Providence uses our lives to weave a tapestry in which the larger picture is only known in a grand design. At once, there are purposes to accomplish in the here and now while, at the same time, we are building toward larger purposes that will outlive us. In God’s hands, our work is able to accomplish both aims.
“May we live lives that will leave something positive and lasting for the future benefit of others. For me, that is the essence of aspire higher.”
See photos on Flickr