By Maureen Paley, serving with Mercy Volunteer Corps in Sacramento, CA “Maureen, what living in community does,” she paused—a note of gentle, knowing laughter in her voice—“is unearth all of your personal demons.” I was sitting in McKinley Park in Sacramento, about a mile from the house I share with three community mates and fellow […]

By: Ari Alvarez, Current Loretto Volunteer   Realizing that I am halfway through my Loretto experience, I can’t believe how fast time has gone…and how slow it has gone. These past five or so months have come with great highs and great lows. But, the most freeing realization is the acceptance that this is to […]

By Nya Brooks, serving with Vincentian Mission Corps in St. Louis, MO Prior to my year of service, I was aware that education inequities existed across the United States, mainly affecting low income communities of color. When I moved to inner city St. Louis, I quickly learned that this city has a polarized education system. […]

By Kate Ulfers, Mery Volunteer Corps, serving in Detroit, Michigan Teaching is hard. As a student, I took my teachers for granted; I complained about the tactless and un-passionate ones, and mildly sassed the effective but boring ones. As a student, I had zero appreciation for the time and energy my teachers spent on incorporating […]

By Nya Brooks, Catholic Volunteer Network Recruiter One great aspect of being a recruiter for CVN is the interactions with students. Often service corps are not a common topic of discussion for career development on college campuses (at least for my undergraduate experience.) Unless you participated in a service immersion trip, know someone who has […]