Eleven Recent Holy Cross Grads Serving as Jesuit Volunteers

Nine members of the Class of 2008 and two members of the Class of 2007 are currently serving in locations around the globe as Jesuit Volunteers. The 11 alumni have dedicated themselves to a year or more of living and working for social justice alongside people living in poverty or on the margins of society.

In the United States this year, 237 Jesuit Volunteers will minister by teaching students of all ages, providing legal services, working with refugees and immigrants, serving with social services and at community centers, organizing low-income communities and caring for people with HIV/AIDS. This total marks a 10 percent increase in the number of volunteers for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps throughout the nation.

Three of the 11 Holy Cross graduates will minister though the international chapter of the Corps, which serves Tanzania, the Marshall Island, Belize, Micronesia, Peru, Nepal and Nicaragua. The volunteers accompany the poor in these developing countries while they work in schools, with youth and in parishes.

The rest will minister domestically, in large urban cities like Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, as well as smaller urban areas such as Portland, Maine.

Holy Cross hosts an annual post-graduate volunteer fair to allow students to learn more about these opportunities. This year, the event will be held on Oct. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Hogan Ballroom. More than 30 domestic and international service organizations will be on hand to answer questions from students, including Teach for America, the Peace Corps, the Nativity School, the Alliance for Catholic Education, and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

The following 11 students are serving as Jesuit Volunteers this year:

Daniel Bodek ’08 will be serving with JVC East at Youth-United for Survival.

Caroline Burke ’07 will continue to serve with JVI at Loyola High School in Tanzania. She began in 2007.

Caitlin Corneliess ’07 will continue to serve with JVI at St. Cecilia’s Primary School in Micronesia. She began in 2007.

Maggie Halley '08 will be serving with JVC Northwest at ElderHealth Northwest.

Kathleen Halloran ’08 will be serving with JVC Midwest at the United Community Housing Coalition.

Luisa Lora ’08 will be serving with JVC Southwest at the YWCA of Silicon Valley.

Amber Mooney ’08 will be serving with JVI at Proyecto Generando Vida in Nicaragua.

Megan Murphy '08 will be serving with JVC Northwest at Matt Talbot Center in Seattle.

Damon Reynolds ’08 will be serving with JVC Southwest at Civicorps Schools.

Caitlin Sullivan '08 will be serving with JVC Northwest at BABES Network.

Michael Wooters ’08 will be serving with JVC Midwest at St. Martin De Porres High School.

By Cara Joyce ’09