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| Thank you for spending the summer with us Katie! |
Meet Katie, who volunteered at St. Ann Center for 8 weeks as part of her Summer Service Learning Program.
During her time here, she was able to help in all of the adult and child care units in ways ranging from leading activities to doing puzzles with the clients. At the end of her program, Katie wrote an essay describing her experiences and sharing her reflections on her time spent at St. Ann Center. We'd like to share some of her thoughts with you.
I wish I could better capture in words what my experience at St. Ann Center meant to me, but I have done my best. Thank you for the part that you played in that experience and to all the beautiful people at St. Ann Center who touched my life this summer! - to Delma, Our Volunteer Coordinator
But before I could dwell too long on my fears, Thomas, a middle aged man with a mental disability, came right up to me, grasped my hand in a intimate two-handed hand shake, introduced himself, and with a heartfelt squeeze and the most genuine smile said, 'You have a great day now, Katie.' - Katie's First Day
... I realized that my listed strengths and talents were much less important than one ability I shared with all human beings: the ability to love and be loved.
... I decided to dedicate my eight weeks of service to loving the people of St. Ann Center and showing them that no matter what society tells them, they are infinitely valuable as children of God. Little did I know that I would not be teaching this lesson ... so much as learning it from them.
All my life I have received awards and accolades for my intelligence, athleticism or artistic ability, but never in my life have I felt as valuable as at St. Ann Center, where I was loved and valued for doing nothing other than being me.
Entering into a Darla's pain was difficult and uncomfortable, but if I were to go back in time and have to choose between a puzzle with Emily and that conversation with Darla, I would again displace myself from my comfort zone and spend that time with Darla. - After Darla cried while sharing about her accident
I learned that one should never underestimate someone's abilities based on his or her disability. Emily demonstrated this to me as she put together puzzles with no eyesight by feeling the edges of the pieces with her fingertips . . .
I also learned that disabilities are not always entirely negative misfortunes, and that dependence is not a bad thing, for it brings us closer together as we live in solidarity and help one another.
I thought that I never wanted to play another game of Crazy Eights after playing it for an entire afternoon, until I realized that it wasn't about the game itself, but about the people with whom I was playing it.
It taught me that what is comfortable is not always preferable, as some of my most fulfilling encounters happened because I stepped out of my comfort zone.
This has inspired me to live each day to the fullest. Working at St. Ann Center this summer has revealed to me that whatever profession I choose, I want to be serving people directly and forming personal relationships with them.
A huge thank you to Katie for sharing her essay, her personal experiences with us. It honestly touches our hearts to know how much the summer impacted her. We look forward to having Katie back to visit soon! We hope others can relate to her experience and are inspired by her story.
