PostFlection on Call to Action Day

                                                               

Steven Rokkala

Freshman Seminar

Professor Therese Martin

Notre Dame de Namur

                               

                                                                                   

                                                         Post Call to Action Day                 

After waking up early and spending time helping out the Ecumenical Hunger Program I am pretty tired but content at the same time. First of all, I am really glad that although I had to wake up really early, I was able to do a lot of useful work. What we did over there was quite simple because the organizer was giving us instructions on what we should do. I started taking the rice bags and moving them to other places in the building. Then I would separate the white rice and brown rice and put them in boxes for families to take home. Next I went over the place where all the refrigerated items are stored and helped organize milk and eggs in a way that all of them would fit on the selves. After that I helped take out all the cardboard boxes and throw them in the recycling bin. I ended my time there by packing boxes with food so that families that come could just take the box with food. Although I was slightly disappointed I didn’t get to directly help assist the less fortunate, I know that they would be happy when they received their boxes because I worked hard to ensure that every box had two of everything. Although I didn’t find out about the finances, I found out that the place runs of the goodness of volunteers who package and distribute all the boxes. On the way home, my friends told me they didn’t enjoy the trip that much but I had always wanted to do something like this so that is why we have differing ideas. 

Pre-Flection Before Call To Action

                                                               

Steven Rokkala

Freshman Seminar

Professor Therese Martin

Notre Dame de Namur

                               

                                                                                   

                                                         Pre-Flection Call to Action Day    

I’m planning out my week now and I realize there’s important task coming up this week and that is going to the Call to Action day. Our Professor has decided that we go to the Ecumenical Hunger Program in Palo Alto which meant we would have something to do with feeding the less fortunate. I am glad I found that out when I was reading about it because every week I go to a local church and volunteer to feed the homeless. For me, it is the best way I can give something back to the society that I grew up in and it makes me feel good whenever I help other people going through tough times. I was thinking earlier today about if it would be similar to the type of work I do at church. Either way, I believe that the whole idea of Call to Action is great for me because it ties with the 4^th Notre Dame de Namur hallmark value: “We commit ourselves to community service”.  During the school year, I’m really busy during the weekdays so community service during the week would almost be like a holiday because it is something I enjoy doing. I’m pretty excited and I’m happy it is a learning experience too.  I hope to gain more knowledge of how places that help the homeless work and what impact they make on the families they give to. Another big discovery I’m looking forward to is how the organization run financially and who provides the financial resources for it. Some of my friends are interested in this trip and I’ve never done anything like this with my friends so this should be a great and fun learning experience of all of us.

Orientation Engagement Exercise

The orientation exercise in Taube center was a very enriching exercise in which we learnt about Sister Dorothy’s accomplishments and hardships and how they relate to the Sisters Notre Dame of De Namur’s core values. The documentary on Sister Dorothy opened my eyes to her hardships even though I’ve read her biography but it’s completely different when you see it. Through the engagement exercise I learnt how my own values incorporate into the school’s values and gained a better understanding when we made posters. The posters helped gain a better understanding how we felt about the school’s values. When Sister Dorothy moved over to Brazil, it was shocking how much contempt she got from her oppositions. She was a kind and fun person even during the most stressful of times. She had no need to help the farmers in Brazil but she had a calling and she followed it till her death and proved her persistent loyalty. This is what the orientation exercise really imprinted into me; her loyalty, her humility, her faith to God are all areas to improve on in myself. While working with the group I learnt that each one of us had learnt something unique and fitting for our lives and it was quite interesting for me to see that I’m not the only one that learnt something from Sister Dorothy. All in all, I believe that without the orientation engagement exercise, I would’ve been left with a bunch of undeveloped ideas and understandings of Sister Dorothy’s life and I’m glad I took part in the seminar session to collect my thought and build a knowledgeable understanding and find ways to incorporate it into my life.