Introduction

TIKKUN OLAM The Hebrew phrase tikkun olam (pronounced tee-KOON oh-LUHM) was referenced many times in Avila University’s selected common read, Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer. This phrase suggests that humanity has a shared responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world. In modern Jewish circles, tikkun olam has become synonymous with the notion of social action and the pursuit of social justice.

Each year, Avila selects a common reading for our first year students. Students have the summer to read the selected book and respond with an essay prior to the start of fall class. Additionally, the University dedicates the Harry S. Truman Distinguished Lecture to the selected book. To compliment these experiences, all first year students enroll in a fall semester class, First Year Seminar, which provides an opportunity to expand on the global topics within the book. The subject of this year’s common read was timely as it allowed our first year students to learn and discuss topics of social justice and unsung heroes. As our students gathered for the fall semester to begin, students were impacted by the death of George Floyd which spurred events and unrest in most of their communities. As stated in our mission, Avila prepares learners who will contribute to the global community and our values state the importance of the worth, dignity and potential of each human being as well as right relationship with self and others. Justice for all is a topic of global concern and importance and was studied throughout the fall semester by our first year students. This publication serves as the culmination of multiple experiences shared among our first year students (Appendix A) on issues of social justice and how they can celebrate or become an “unsung hero”. Within this publication are the Culminating Projects of several of Avila’s first year students. It is our hope that through the curriculum in first year seminar, students have developed individualized and educated thoughts and opinions on the subject and will become change agents for the world. Below outlines some of the experiences that led to these Culminating Projects. The book selected for 2020 was Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer. In this book, we learned of the story of a high school history teacher, Norm Conard, and three of his students (Megan Stewart, Liz Chambers and Sabrina Coons) who in 1999 embarked upon a life changing project for a National History Day competition. This project led them to Irena Sendler who they discovered was a true unsung hero and was alive and living in Warsaw, Poland. During WWII, Sendler, who was a Polish Catholic social worker, organized a rescue network to save 2,500 Jewish children from certain death in the Warsaw ghetto. She remained virtually unknown for over 60 years. Through Life in a Jar, Sendler taught us the principle of “tikkun olam” which suggests that humanity has a shared responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world. It was necessary for The Harry S. Truman Distinguished Lecture to pivot from original plans in light of the pandemic. Regardless, Avila was honored to welcome Norm Conard of the Life in a Jar Foundation and Megan Stewart Felt of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes to our desktops and phones via Zoom on October 22, 2020 as our Harry S. Truman Distinguished Lecturers (Appendix B). With the event live-streamed we welcomed not only Avila students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors but also interested parties from around the country including high school students and retirees. The experiences and lessons shared by Conard and Felt were countless but one of the messages was on target with what everyone was currently living. Felt shared that Sendler never believed she was a hero and often asked herself, “Am I doing enough?” In turn, Felt asked the audience, “Are you doing enough?” Other highlights of the semester included classroom discussions on how Life in a Jar and Sendler’s story connects with other historical and current day social justice movements including Black Lives Matter, LGBTIQA Rights, Women’s Rights and many others. We discussed the danger of being indifferent on topics of social justice and shared details about heroes in our own lives. We realized that heroes are ordinary people who make a difference and that we can all be a hero. We learned how to respond to challenges and social justice initiatives with peace and nonviolence. One of the most effective ways to make a positive, sustainable change is to use a well-informed, logic-based approach to problem solving without resorting to violence in any form. We learned how to do this by navigating through components of a problem tree and a solution tree. We also heard from David Radasky who is a second-generation Holocaust survivor. We learned of his father’s amazing life story including the atrocities he witnessed and endured during WWII. But we also learned about many of his life philosophies including the belief that tomorrow will be better, look forward and not backward, learn tolerance, forgive, have faith, possess courage and be resourceful. Students are encouraged to be creative with The Culminating Project in First Year Seminar. Students can write a traditional essay or create a unique personal project such as a poem, song, piece of artwork, etc. The project helps students explore the complex issues surrounding our topic of social justice and explore their role and responsibility in resolving the issues through a peaceful and nonviolent means. These projects are a direct reflection of the multiple experiences in First Year Seminar including the classroom curriculum as well as the common reading and the Harry S. Truman Distinguished Lecture. This publication is a compilation of several projects submitted and an opportunity for first year students to share lessons learned from these experiences. I hope it can move us closer to the Avila mission and values by contributing to the global community and underscoring the importance of the worth, dignity and potential of each human being as well as right relationship with self and others.

Tikkun Olam,

Paige Illum, Ph.D., CSJA

Director of Student Engagement and Success Adjunct Faculty Avila University

Avila Community Values

e Excellence in teaching and learning e The worth, dignity, and potential of each human being e Diversity and its expression e The development of the whole person e Right relationships, with God, self, others, and creation e Service with the dear neighbor