Kellom Community Service Journey Paper

“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” According to Nelson Mandela, we should all be restless until everyone is equal. During the past semester, I have strived to help impoverished students receive an education equal to the education given to children in private schools. As a result, I have acquired an expansive knowledge regarding injustice and have grown as a person. For my service work this semester, I volunteered at Kellom Elementary. At Kellom, the faculty envisions a “Kellom Community fosters globally responsible, compassionate, resilient and productive citizens.” I tend to avoid the part of town in which Kellom is situated, but when I arrived I was quite surprised. The …show more content…
In my own city of Omaha, egregious injustices exist and I have only now become aware of them. In addition, I have created personal relationships with those affected by these injustices and they have imbued me with their backgrounds and stories. Now that my service journey has concluded, I have some advice for the incoming juniors. First, it is important that one erases all preconceptions from his mind. If one embarks on his service journey thinking it will be boring instead of humbling, then he will not have an enjoyable experience. Second, forming relationships with the students is imperative. When one arrives into a classroom, the students rejoice and want his attention. However, if one fails to form any relationships with the students, they will think that he does not want to be with them and they will feel insignificant. Lastly, it is important to keep and open mind. It is impossible to predict how a day at service will unfold and what things one may encounter, so being ready and accepting of whatever occurs will help one gain more from the experience. Catholic Social Teaching Plus has been the apogee of my Prep career and I will truly miss every moment that has come with